2 Gigs, 2 Cities, 150 miles, 1 Headband &Take That

The following is a report on how my poor attempt at paying homage to Status Quo's 5 shows in 1 day went...

6am, well I am convinced this time is illegal so im not going to talk about it. Caught the briefly delayed first train of the day at 7am, thus enabling me to get the 7.41am train to Aberdeen with ease. After consuming one large black coffee I was finally awake.

A gloriously sunny day along the east coast whizzed by only to be replaced with a grey, damp and hot day in Aberdeen at 10.16am.

Arriving with plenty time to spare i enjoyed another coffee with friends before heading to The Lemon Tree. After setting up, sound checking and fixing the headband, I gathered some random thoughts and sat down for a bite to eat before playing at 1pm.

The gig went well, I found the head band to be of particular use as it was a hot and stuffy gig and the sweat would have blinded me.

Having originally booked my cheap return ticket for 7.46pm and realising this would make my arrival in Glasgow at 10.19pm and chances of making the gig a bit too close for comfort, I was relieved at the offer of a lift to Kirkcaldy from my friends Bryan & Vicki. This would enable me to catch an earlier (and less costly) train and get ahead of schedule. Who needs a helicopter?

After some form filling we headed out of the Granite City at 3pm. We made it to the train station in Kirkcaldy with 30secs to spare, where I hot footed it onto to the 5pm train to Edinburgh with merely seconds to spare.

A quick change of platforms at Edinburgh saw me safely onto the Glasgow train, where I sat gleeful in the knowledge that I now had enough time to get home, change and have dinner.

Not being a fan, I was ignorant of the fact Take That were in town. This meant my arrival in Glasgow was matched by about 50,000 pink cowboy hats all trying to get on the train to the south side. It was like a hen night from hell.

So I decided to abandon my normal 15 min train journey back to the flat and aim for the, swine flu ridden, kebab soiled, vehicle of abuse that is a Glasgow Bus. Thankfully I was spared this dice with death when I calculated the tailback of traffic caused by Barlow fever would take longer than ‘The Fleeing Scotswoman’.

My supposed 15 min train journey turned into an hour but I did still manage to eat a half heated microwave dinner and a catch quick glimpse of the ACDC tickets that had just arrived, woo hoo! before I was off out again.

Gig number 2 in The Liquid Ship, was a thoroughly enjoyable experience and was packed to the brim with folks out for a good night.

Next time I am aiming for 3 gigs, a white shirt, black waistcoat and not a pink cowboy hat in site.

J

The West End Festival

On Sunday I went along on to Scotland’s very own ‘Mardis Gras’ to catch some of the parade at Glasgow’s West End Festival. This weekend marked the start of a whole host of activities over a 2 week period.

I’ve been visiting the festival way back when it was held in the car park at Ashton Lane and it has fairly grown since then.

This year however, I was surprised the course of parade through the streets of the West End had been altered (as reported in the press due to council funding cuts) and instead of heading down the vibrant street of Byres Road it started at the University of Glasgow and headed through Kelvin Way and in to the park. Whilst I think the move to Kelvingrove Park was good idea, I feel there was something amiss from the parade not going along its usual longer route through many streets in the West End.

I tried in vain to catch some of the parade at Kelvin Way – but the overcrowding on this narrow stretch with prams, Zimmer frames, Rottweilers, and balloons, aswell as being hemmed in by park fences on the pavement, meant that I could not move to a position to see it properly. Still everyone enjoyed themselves and I did manage to get a snap of some of the performers, notably The Stormtroopers, Darth was just out of view. Excellent.

As part of The West End Festival I will be playing at The Liquid Ship on Friday 19th, I am also poorly attempting to partly emulate Status Quo’s 5 stages in 1 day record with my 2 shows in 12 hours. I will be (without the aid of a helicopter) playing at the Lemon Tree in Aberdeen on friday 19th 1pm and then hot footing it to Liquid Ship in Glasgow for a gig that night. If the trains are on time this will be achieved.

Rock n Roll