Mogwai number 1 album shocker

 It's very odd when someone you know ends up having the best selling album in the UK.  I've known members of mogwai for nearly 30 years and it's just amazing to see them do so well.  Hard work pays off!

Dystopian reality

 Over the years I've read a lot of dystopian science fiction, I've watched the movies and I've read the comics.  I never dreamt that I would be living the reality in 2021.  This morning I was out in the freezing cold queuing to get my first shot of the COVID vaccine, wearing a face mask.  I got on buses that were near empty and saw crazy people hanging around central station.

It's fucked.  On top of this, Donald fucking Trump continues to be the president of the united states of america, at least for the next couple of weeks and he basically incited an attempted coup that involved the storming of the capitol building in Washington D.C. by a bunch of freaks including fucking Ariel Pink.  In the UK we have an evil Tory government with Boris Johnston as out prime minister and cunts like Jacob Rees Mogg causing as much badshit as they can.

10,000 people in the UK have died with COVID-19 since Christmas leading to a grand total of 80,000 deaths related to a new disease in under a year.  Shit is majorly fucked up.

I miss my dad and some of my friends who are dead but in a way I'm glad they don't have to live through this shit.  I'm ok, I have a comfortable middle class existence but Scotland right now is fifty shades of bleak thanks to idiots voting for things like Brexit and the Tory party.

I hope the vaccine works at least a bit.  Not sure if anything will fix the damage to the UK after Brexit and COVID.  Hoping for Scottish independence but suspect that is unlikely.

Close Quarters by Angus McAllister

I saw this book in Waterstones the other week and I was intrigued.  I decided to check it out on my Kindle and I'm glad I did.  I got through the book in a couple of days and I very much enjoyed it.

I lived in the west end of Glasgow on and off between 1995 and 2008.   I did the university thing and the young professional thing and the overpriced rent for slums thing.  I also spent time renting elsewhere in the UK and interacting with factors.  I would not repeat any interactions with landlords or factors for fun.

McAllister is a retired solicitor who was a law professor.  He published books on Scottish property law.  He knows the hell of flats in the west end and psychopathic neighbours.  I recognised the geography of the book, the pubs and the characters.

Some of the reviewers online found the mid-section of the book a bit slow but I really appreciated the detail which added emotional weight to the story and fully filled out the details of the hell that Walter Bain subjects his neighbours to.

This book is funny and true to life.  Worth a read.

Brave in Concert at the Glasgow Royal Concert Hall

I had a good day today.  I did some business in the morning then I met my partner and her mum for lunch in town.  We were eating in the cafe at the Royal Concert Hall when my partner noticed an elderly neighbour.  We went over to say 'hi' and a friend of the neighbour appeared and asked us if we wanted to see the show.  We weren't sure what the show was and then we found out that it was the world premiere of a live orchestral version of the Disney Pixar film Brave.

We are very lucky people.

The music to Brave was written by a man from Uddingston named Patrick Doyle.  Our neighbour knows him well.  He wrote the music for many films including Carlito's Way, East/West, Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire and Rise of the Planet of the Apes.  He even wrote some music for the last Thor film.  When he was asked to do Brave, the producers hadn't even realised he was Scottish but he was a perfect choice.

He gave a short speech at the show, detailing the genesis of his work on Brave.  He also, touchingly, paid tribute to our neighbour and then the Scottish Symphony Orchestra began to play the score for Brave as the film started.

I thought I had seen Brave before.  I hadn't.  I must have watched the first 10 minutes before falling asleep.  Fairly standard for me.  It's a great film, and I loved it.  Billy Connolly is one of the main voice actors and Kelly MacDonald is another.  The story was good with a lot of the Pixar magic.  The live orchestra was amazing.

Again, I have to say, I'm a lucky bloke.  A brilliant unplanned day.

For any Scottish readers, see this if you get a chance.  Well worth it.

The time I met Billy Connolly

I met Billy Connolly once, I think in summer 1997.  I was living in a scummy student flat just off of Great Western Road in Glasgow, near the botanic gardens.  I was with two of my pals, on the way to an immunology exam.  It was a sunny afternoon and as we turned the corner we bumped into Connolly coming out of a local chiropractors office.

We were of course delighted to meet him.  I think he was slightly less chuffed to meet us. We all expressed out affection for him.  I'd actually recently seen him do a show at the King's Theatre in Glasgow and I still had the ticket in my wallet.

I asked for an autograph, and the Big Yin, clearly grumpy and wanting to escape started making excuses about not having a pen.  I promptly pulled out a pen and a ticket and a signature was duly obtained.  I still have that ticket somewhere.  It's a treasured possession.  I feel a bit sorry for the bloke as he can't even walk down a street in Glasgow without being annoyed by a bunch of spotty students.

I really enjoyed the Made In Scotland documentaries that have been on over the past couple of weeks.  I've got a pile of his old vinyl LPs from the seventies and a few of his DVDs somewhere.  He's an inspiring guy.

I saw him live again at the Armadillo a few years back.  He was excellent again.  We are lucky to have lived at the same time as him.

The Glasgow ABC - a great venue

I love the ABC as a music venue.  I, perhaps against mainstream opinion, think it's the best music venue in Glasgow.  I actually like the ABC more than the Barrowlands.  I'm heartbroken that it has been damaged in the fire that has affected the Glasgow School of Art.

Looking through this blog I've seen a lot of bands there.

The Butthole Surfers
Modest Mouse with Johnny Marr
Battles
Conor Oberst
TV on the radio in 2011 and 2008 and downstairs in ABC2 in 2006
Crystal Castles
The Vaselines
Shellac
Sonic Youth playing Daydream Nation
Slint
The Brian Jonestown Massacre
Low
Bonne Prince Billy
Bob Mould
Belle and Sebastian
Supergrass (which I had totally forgotten)
My teenage idol - Jello Biafra

I've seen many other great gigs there too - Ministry, Dag Nasty, Television, Afghan Whigs, Teenage Fanclub, Dinosaur Jr (who were very loud), sleater kinney and many many more.  The sound was good, the views were great.  When I was younger I even went to the nightclub.  The staff were really nice.

I hope that the venue can be salvaged and that they get it repaired.  Glasgow needs the ABC.  Hell, I even remember seeing all the Police Academy films there with my dad when I was a kid and the first Batman film back in 1989.  The though of the building being damaged in a fire like this is just sickening.

My respect goes to all the firemen trying to put out the fire.

Belle and Sebastian at the SWG3 Galvanisers Yard

The SWG3 complex is expanding.  Tucked away in a former industrial site behind the Yorkhill Hospital campus the complex has now taken over an old yard that is perfect for outside concerts.  Charitably it backs onto student flats which allows them to watch acts like Belle and Sebastian or LCD Soundsystem for free.  I've only been to inside shows to see Shellac, Godflesh and Loop so an outdoor show was a new experience for me today.

We arrived to find that most of the street outside the venue had been closed off for the show and a herd of Portaloos had been planted outside the yard.  There is also a larger indoor venue on the site that can host bigger shows that the small upstairs room.  A couple of food vans and a beer tent helped turn the outdoor area into a festival site.

We tried some food from the burger van.  The burger was better than the hotdog.  The first support band sounded a bit Morrissey-Like and the second group were more in the CHVRCHES pattern.  It was a pleasant May evening which is unusual in Glasgow.

B&S opened with Dog on Wheels and dribbled a few classics throughout the set. We were beautiful, She's Losing It, The Wrong Girl, Get me away from here I'm dying.  All West End Glasgow anthems.  There were newer songs that I am less familiar with that were pleasant.  As always, Boy with the Arab Strap was an anthem and the stage filled with dancing fans.  My partner had only ever seen B&S in a small venue before and she enjoyed the stadium show.

Belle and Sebastian accept all shapes and sizes.  They aim to entertain.  They want us to learn their new songs and they are happy to bring out the classics.  They don't have the live power of their local contemporaries like Mogwai but that's not really the point.  That's not what they want to do.

It's nice to see a Glasgow band on a sunny day in Glasgow.  Ned free.

Lost in France - DVD review

Lost in France has been out for a couple of years now.  I've only just got round to watching it tonight. It's a documentary about the mid to late 1990s Glasgow music scene that revolved around Chemikal Underground Records and the 13th Note/Kazoo Club.  It focuses on some of the bands from that era, including Mogwai, the Delgados and Arab Strap as well as other important figures on the scene such as Alex Huntley (later Kapros) and Hubby.

I spent a lot of my formative years in Glasgow at this time, buying records, attending shows, writing songs, practicing with bands and playing gigs.  It was a great time to be 16 to 23 in Glasgow and looking back, I'm so glad I was there.

The old footage from back then is great.  I kept looking for myself in the background but I couldn't see myself.  It's nice to see the old posters and record sleeves too.

I almost feel a bit young for this sort of nostalgia but I'm glad the film has been made.

Max Richter - Three Worlds: Music from Woolf Works - Glasgow Royal Concert Hall

I was in the pub with a pal from work a couple of weeks back and we were generally shooting the shit.  We were talking a bit about music.  My pal is into proper classical music and opera and has travelled to Milan to see shows in the past.  If you've seen this blog before or know me, you know that I like music although in terms of classical stuff Philip Glass and Steve Reich is more my thing.

In the pub I remembered that Max Richter was playing the Concert Hall as part of Celtic Connections so I picked up tickets to check it out.  I've got the Sleep CDs from a few years back although I haven't managed all 8 hours in one sitting and I've got The Blue Notebooks somewhere.  I think they were on my old iPod but I've not listened to him much.

The show tonight was the soundtrack to a ballet based on the work of Virgina Woolf.  I've never read her books but I am actually aware of the plot of Orlando, the centre piece of the night, after it was liberally showcased in an Alan Moore comic book a few years back.  The music was good with some great dynamics.  The violin part in the Mrs Dalloway segment was striking, really cutting through the sound.  The Orlando segment was anarchic and constantly changing, at one point reminding me of Pinball Wizard by the Who.  With much of the music, the melodies and themes were familiar, bringing to mind rock songs and post-rock sounds.

The final section dealt with the end of Woolf's life.  It was calming and felt very watery.

After a brief break, the chamber orchestra played On the nature of daylight from Blue Notebooks.  That piece of much is very familiar and has appeared in a lot of films and TV shows.

The music was lively and comfortable with some great sounds.  There was warm feedback which I think was intentional.  A good evening of modern classical music.

Mogwai at the Glasgow Hydro

In many ways this concert was a validation for Mogwai.  In the last 21 or 22 years, they have come a long way from concerts in the old 13th Note or the Key Youth Centre in East Kilbride to now playing on the largest indoor stage in Glasgow which has hosted artists like Prince, Depeche Mode and U2.

Beyond this, Mogwai have popularised unconventional music. Instrumental, guitar led, loud, distorted but catchy songs without words.  They have worked with some of their heroes and made soundtracks to films and TV shows.  They have never had a 'hit' song but they have had albums top the UK charts.

Tonight, they had local indie-poppers Sacred Paws open up.  I was able to catch the end of their set of bouncy polyrhythmic pop punk which reminded me of the Talking Heads or the Slits.  I own one of their early EPs but I will certainly pick up more of their stuff.

Ride were a really big band when I started at secondary school in 1989 at the tail end of the shoegaze phenomenon.  I loved 'leave them all behind' and bought a few of their CDs but I never got a chance to see the,  Live, they were much heavier than I expected and certainly good to see.

It was a real shame that Martin couldn't play tonight.  I can recognise his drumming with my eyes shut and it is slightly disconcerting to hear someone else play for Mogwai, with just slightly different timing and slightly different control over the beats.  The stand-in drummer did a great job for such a big show but I do wish that Martin had been able to play.  Hopefully, he'll be back to his drum stool in the near future.

The Mogwai set was a 'greatest hits' affair with tracks from throughout their career opening with Hunted by a Freak and taking in thumpers like Rano Pano, New Paths to Helicon Pt 1, Friend of the Night as well as a few new tracks.  There was great 1,2 punch of Mogwai Fear Satan (with an impressive burst of noise and light after the quiet bit) and personal favourite Remurdered.  It was nice to hear Stuart dedicate the last song of the main set to Martin.

A three song encore finished the night and the massive hometown night spilled out to a freezing Clydeside.  As always, I struggle to be objective about Mogwai but they have done well here.  They have done Lanarkshire and Glasgow and Scotland proud and pushed music forward, opening doors for other bands that make different music.

I hope to see them do this for the next 20 years.

(I almost forgot to mention the Aidan Moffat star turn as Santa to introduce the band.  Quality)

I've started to forget how many Nick Cave gigs I've been to - Nick Cave live at the Glasgow Hydro

If you are ever lucky enough to have a chance to see nick cave play a live show, grab it.  He's a great performer and with any band, or solo, he always delivers.  He's always got the goods.

I'm a pretty fortunate guy and I've now seen Cave so many times that I even forget entire shows.  I first saw him in 1998, at the Queen's Hall in Edinburgh as part of the Edinburgh festival.  It was him and a piano, reading some stuff from his introduction to the Bible.  He played a couple of songs he had 'just written' (Into my arms and love letter) before they were recorded and I think someone also played some violin.  I don't really remember.  It was long ago.

I first heard Nick Cave as the singer for the Birthday Party.  A free cassette tape came with an issue of Vox magazine and it contained a bunch of Peel sessions including Big-Jesus-Trash-Can and I was hooked by the swampy, drunken Jesus Lizard like noise.  A few years later a friend played me Murder Ballads and I was hooked.

Since then I saw Nick Cave with the Bad Seeds in the Glasgow academy (2004 and 2008), at the Barrowlands (2013) and in a solo show (that had completely escaped my memory) in 2015.  Every single show has been a cracker.  Ever show has been different but similar.

The Hydro is the biggest gig that he has played in Glasgow.  He opened with a few newer songs from the Skeleton Key album that I own but have yet to listen to.  We then got Higgs Boson Blues, From Her to Eternity and Tupelo.  The band were loud and aggressive.  Tight but with a loose feel.  Cave was having fun, laughing with the audience, jumping into the crowd and being an excellent master of ceremonies.

Into my arms remains a personal favourite and he played a beautiful version with the crowd singing along.  On another new song a 40 foot projection of a female singer appeared above the stage to take the lead vocals.  It was a bit of a U2 moment but it worked in the Hydro.  They also played a nice version of the Mercy Seat.  I have a Mercy Seat tea towel.  It is a personal favourite.

In true Bad Seeds fashion the encore included Stagger Lee which featured about 40 audience members dancing on stage along with the Weeping Song and Push the Sky away.

My ears are still ringing. Nick Cave is 60 but he is still one of the best front men out there.  Brilliant band and I really hope to see them again.  If this is stadium rock I can live with it.

Sigur Ros live at the Glasgow Clyde Auditorium

This was the third time that I've seen Sigur Ros and probably the most enjoyable.  A lot of my enjoyment was because of the venue, the excellent 'Armadillo' at the SEC in Glasgow.  Watching a chilled out band with great lights is much better in a comfy seat and it's always a bonus if there are no drunk twats about to pour beer over you.

I first saw Sigur Ros in 1999 supporting Godspeed You Black Emperor at the Garage.  I remember Jonsi, the singer, using the violin bow on the guitar at that point and having a great voice.  I remember watching from the balcony at the back of the Garage but I never thought the band were destined for greatness or (moderate) superstardom.

I didn't pay much attention to Sigur Ros after that until I was visiting friends in Bristol and I went to a dinner party (very middle class) and Sigur Ros was being played in the background.  I think it was the brackets album but I'm not sure.  After that I bought up a few of their CDs and got up to speed.

I saw them live again in the SECC about 4 years back.  The old halls at the SECC have very bad sound and generally are not  great venues.  My main memories of the show revolve around trying to find friends and not having anywhere comfortable to sit.

On this occasion all my physical needs in terms of seating were met.  I didn't really recognise much of the material in the set but the sheer sound and spectacle of the show was enough.  The lights were amongst the best that I have seen.  I understand that the most recent Sigur Ros album had a bit of a metal edge to it and this was certainly evident.

If you get a chance to see Sigur Ros on this tour take it.  You will enjoy it.  They are playing some shows in Iceland around New Year and I am very tempted to fly up (I am fond of Iceland).  They seem to be at the height of their powers just now.

Podcasts

Over the past few years I've started listening to a lot of Podcasts.  I always liked listening to the radio although I didn't always find the broadcast shows to be very exciting.  Podcasts are homemade radio shows that you can download and listen to at a time that suits you.  They also often cover more offbeat or esoteric subjects that appeal to me.

Mostly I listen to real life mystery podcasts, American political podcasts (mainly ones about Trump), Twin Peaks related podcasts and comic book podcasts.  And the Private Eye podcasts.

One of the first mystery style I started to listen to was Thinking Sideways - in this podcast three presenters take turns to present a mystery every week and discuss various theories on what went on.  The first episode that I listened to was on the 'Glasgow effect'.

Another slightly more fantastical podcast that I enjoy is Astonishing Legends - this podcast goes into strange tales in a great degree of detail.  They exude an X-Files type vibe and they are often rather credulous but the production values are good and I enjoy the shows.

From a comic book point of view Fatman on Batman produced by Clerks director Kevin Smith as part of his Smodcast empire is a good starting point (if you like Batman).  The early episodes in the archive are great, often focusing on individual comic book writers or artists and Batman related stuff. More recently the podcast has developed into a general forum for discussion of sic-fi, superheroes and anything Smith wants to talk about.

The Stuff You Should Know network has several good podcasts including Stuff They Don't Want You To Know and Stuff to Blow Your Mind (both of which have a sort of counterculture vibe) as well as the more mainstream, flagship Stuff You Should Know series.  All of these are fairly interesting.

In terms of Trump bashing Trumpcast is fairly funny and a good place to start.  The Pod Save America team have more White House connections and often have serious guests on to interview although they are often pretty funny too.

No Such Thing As A Fish  was one of the first podcasts I listened to, a spin off from the BBC QI series, where strange facts are discussed in an amusing manner every week.  It's good for a smile every now and again.

There are many more podcasts to check out - a few more are below
Page 94 - The Private Eye Podcast
The 2000AD Progcast - some great 2000AD chat
The Politico Nerdcast
A Twin Peaks Podcast

Enjoy

Frank Quitely at Glasgow Kelvingrove

I visited the Frank Quitely exhibition at the Glasgow Kelvingrove Museum for the second time today.  I'd been lucky enough to be invited to the opening night a few months ago and I wanted to have a slower walk around the show when it was a bit quieter.  The show finishes on the 1st of October so a bonus Friday off work gave me the perfect opportunity to visit the show.

Quitely is the pen name for Scottish artist Vincent Deighan, a graduate of Glasgow School of Art who has ended up being one of the most admired comic book artists in the world.  He seems to have fallen into comic book art after trying to find work as a commercial artist in Glasgow in the late 1980s.  His first published work was in the first issue of Scottish underground comic/Viz rip off Electric Soup.  I actually bought that comic when it came out and I really liked his strip The Greens although the actual comic was quickly confiscated and disposed of by my dad.

The Greens was a parody of the Broons, a perennial Scottish comic strip favourite initially drawn by Dudley D Watkins for DC Thompson in Dundee.  Watkins also created Oor Wullie and Desperate Dan amongst others.  The exhibition showcases some of Quitely's early Green's art as well as original Watkins art from the 30's, 40's and 50's.  I was particularly impressed by the painted cover art from one of the first Broons annuals.

On this visit I made full use of the audiovisual parts of the exhibition.  There were interviews with Quitely as well as his most famous (and fellow Glaswegian) collaborators Grant Morrison and Mark Millar.  It was interesting to hear them talk about developing story lines, character design and art techniques.  Quitely also highlights his own artistic development, highlighting art from a rejected Lobo comic as well as the rejection letter from the DC editor that helped him to re-evaluate his artistic approach to comic book storytelling.

The exhibition highlights the working methods of a comic book artist, often starting with doodles and thumbnail sketches on a comic script then developing through progressively more polished drafts until the final coloured and polished art appears in the printed book.

Morrison and several of the other talking heads in the films talk about how good he is.  At one point, after starting to work on the X-Men comic at the start of the century, a lot of comic book fans were expressing their dislike for Quietly's art.  A concerned editor asked him if it was hurting his feelings.  Quitely, was impressive self knowledge as well as self confidence, said that he knew more about art than these fanboys and he knew he was good so he didn't care.  He was right.

I've met Quitely a few times over the years.  He's a nice bloke.  He's drawn sketches for me and he has signed my books.  He has produced many pages of beautiful comic book art and he has worked with some great writers.  He deserved this show at one of Glasgow's finest buildings as he is one of Glasgow's finest modern artists.

I'd love to visit it again but it's finishing pretty soon.

A music course at East Kilbride Art Centre approximately 25 years ago

I was using Twitter this evening and said 'hi' to Davie Scott of the band The  Pearlfishers. He had tweeted a link about Brian Wilson and that brought back memories of a music production course that I attended about 25 years ago (roughly) that Davie taught in the East Kilbride art centre. I loved that course, I learnt a lot and even though I seldom make music nowadays it was a valuable experience.

At that time there was a small digital recording studio in the Art Centre and Davie recorded local bands like Gods Boyfriend. I was a music addict back then and I played in my juvenile punk band with some of my pals. My best friend from school and I signed up to the course to learn more about making music and it was great.

Davie had done some good stuff with the Pearlfishers as well as his earlier group (love and money I think  CORRECTION - hearts and minds!) and he was spreading the gospel of perfect pop to the grunge addled minds of EK. He was not the only person of interesting the course.  There was an older guy, a drummer, a contemporary of the Jesus and Mary Chain, who had apparently played in an early permutation of the Mary Chain and some band with the guy out of the Wildhearts and sadly suffered from mental health problems.  The bloke was a really nice guy with great stories but in retrospect some of his stories may have been delusions.  Back then I didn't know much about mental health problems and in the 25 years since then I've learned more through my various professional studies and personal contacts. I like to think that his story was true and he did play with the Mary Chain and that Never Understand was indeed about him trying to explain his psychotic episodes to William Reid.

Davie Scott himself is a man with a deep love and understanding of music and he was able to clearly explain this to the class. Brian Wilson of the Beach Boys was his hero and he taught us about various production techniques, arrangements and the rivalry between Wilson and the Beatles. I remember one session when Davie went through God Only Knows from Pet Sounds chord by chord, explaining harmonies, melodies, lyrics and arrangements, presenting to us a great argument that Wilson had created the perfect pop song. He may be right although 'Wouldn't it be nice' is a bit more catchy.

Music has been important in my life. It is not all of my life but it has been a major theme and a source of pleasure. I've played my guitar a few times this week for the first time in ages, just for fun. I always mean to write and record some songs  again but real life and its associated pressures always gets in the way.  I have a lot of passions, my girlfriend, music, comic books, neurology, art. I'm a lucky man.  I'm lucky to have had such a rich life so far.

East Kilbride was special at times. I remember playing concerts in the Arts Centre, seeing the great Alex Chilton of  Big Star play there and seeing my pals play there. My teenage life was at times electric and colourful and it is nice o remembered the good bits.

Conor Oberst at the ABC in Glasgow 2017

This was the third time that I had seen Conor Oberst live.  I never managed to see Bright Eyes but I've seen him play solo shows and with Desperadicos.  I was slightly late to the Bright Eyes game, only really getting into their stuff in 2004 when I was living in Coventry but Oberst has soundtracked much of my life over the past 13 years.  I rate him fairly highly.

This is the third gig that I attended with my girlfriend/significant other/better half this month and it was possibly a harder sell as Oberst is not a big name.  I managed to get her to the show, overcoming her doubts, and by the second song she turned round and said 'this is amazing'.  She was right.

Oberst is a talented guy.  He writes great songs and he plays several instruments.  He sings like a dream and he does an excellent Bob Dylan impersonation.  He seems to have fun on stage.  He delivered an amazing apology for Donald Trump (combined with some Trump family history).  Beyond Conor himself the rest of the band was great too.

The set included 8 Bright Eyes songs including a duet on Lua with Adrianne Lenker, singer from support band Big Thief.  Another 8 of the songs were from the Ruminations/Salutations set that has come out over the past year.  The more recent stuff is amongst his strongest material in recent years.

Basically, this was a great show.  I want to hear more new music and see him play again at some point in the near future.  Oberst should be much more successful and famous.

The Pixies at the Kelvingrove Bandstand, Glasgow

I started listening to the Pixies in 1991 or 1992 around the time that they broke up.  I initially heard Doolittle on tape, borrowed from the library in East Kilbride.  A neighbour gave me a copy of Trompe Le Monde and I bought a second hand copy of Surfer Rosa, looking for Big Black style Albini kicks.

They didn't click with me immediately.  I got the REM and Velvets references on 'Here comes your man' but it took a while to fall in love with them. Eventually I got there.

I first saw them live in 2004 at T in the Park and since then I've seen them in the SECC and at Primavera in Barcelona.  Generally they deliver and I was keen to see them again at the Kelvingrove Bandstand which is a great venue and usually ned free.  Sadly there was a bit of a ned problem last night which is often an issue in Glasgow.  Drunken twats are like scabies in Glasgow and I encountered one last night.

The pixies played a great 31 song set, starting with 'where is my mind?' and including 'wintering', 'caribou', 'nimrod's son', 'broken face', 'wave of mutilation', 'here comes your man', 'gouge away', 'planet of sound' and 'debaser'. They also played a bunch of new stuff I didn't recognise.  They were tight and the new bass player did well.  We also bumped into a bunch of pals which was nice.

Sadly our personal space was invaded by a drunken twat who thinks it is ok to be verbally aggressive to women.  Another concert goer was wearing a 'rudimentary peni' t-shirt and on reflection, I feel that it should be gifted to that drunken idiot as a warning to the general public.  After some razor sharp with and repartee, we left the venue during the last song to avoid me getting my ass kicked by the aforementioned intoxicated misogynist.  We listened to the encore of 'into the white' from the car feeling sorry for anyone who needs to interact with that dude on a regular basis.

The pixies were good and assholes are, sadly, everywhere.  Even at pixies concerts.  If wankers could fly we would never see the sky.

Minimum alcohol pricing may well make Scotland a better place.

Brian Wilson at the Kelvingrove Bandstand, Glasgow

When I saw that Brian Wilson was playing an outdoor concert in Kelvingrove Park I decided to buy tickets.  They were a bit pricey at £67 each (including fees) but he is a legend and he is one of the last musicians from his era that still play.  The Kelvingrove Auditorium is a great venue and it's unusual to attend any sort of outdoor concert in Glasgow.

I felt a bit sorry for Wilson.  He's an old man, in his mid 70s, and he has had problems with his health for 50 years.  It's a shame he still needs the money from playing concerts and I do hope that he enjoys the live performances.  His band is great and includes fellow original Beach Boy, Al Jardine, as will as well as his son, Matt Jardine.  Jardine Jr has an amazing voice and did a lot of the tricky harmonies in the songs.

Generally Brian would sing the first verse of a song and then the rest of the band would step in and take over with Brian just adding a bit of keyboard and occasional vocals.  The 12 piece band take a wall of sound approach to the classic songs and the arrangements are great.

We got two sets and a six song encore.  The first set included California Girls, I Get Around and In My Room as well as about 16 other Beach Boys classics.  After a short break they came back and played all of Pet Sounds before the final encore which included Good Vibrations, Surfing USA, Barbara Ann and Love & Mercy.  Wilson seemed re-energised for both Pet Sounds and the encore.

His voice is shot now, he sounds a bit like Dylan and he looks tired but he wrote these fucking amazing pop songs and I feel lucky to have seen him and a competent band knock these tracks out in a Glasgow park.  We went home smiling and singing Beach Boys songs.  I don't know if Wilson will ever play in Glasgow again but I'm glad I splashed out for the tickets.

A sunny day in Glasgow

We've had some cold weather this week and as you may imagine it has been a tough week as we held my fathers funeral a few days ago.  I'm still a bit tired but getting on about as well as expected.  After snow just a few days ago it is very pleasant today with sun in Glasgow.  I didn't need a jacket when I was out earlier.

I bought my mum lunch in a posh local hotel.  She's been spending some time in the garden and she's trying to catch up on sleep.  She's looking better.  Looking after a loved one as they die is hard.  I'm glad I'm close to home.  I started this blog when I lived in England over a decade ago and I made a clear decision to return to Scotland to be closer to my parents.  I'm glad I made that decision now.

Adult life involves a lot of responsibilities and balancing things.  Some people just walk through life avoiding things but that doesn't always work.  Duty is important and if your parents have been good to you, you should be good to them.  My mum needs space for her own grief but it is important to be nearby if she needs me.

Drawing

I used to draw a lot when I was a kid.  I guess this was because I was an only child and I didn't always have much to do where I grew up.  I was also a massive comic book fan so I drew my own comic books as a kid.  I was never any good but I did it a lot.  It was always something enjoyed but I knew I did not have the ability to make a career out of it.  I always fancied myself more as a writer but life eventually got in the way and I put my dreams away in a box and got a real job.

Bills need to be paid and I have expensive tastes.

Recently I saw an advert for a course on creating digital comics at a local college and I decided to give it a whirl.  It's on the night when my partner has her yoga class so it gets me out of the house and it doesn't interfere with joint plans.  I had the first class this week and it was great fun.  I still enjoy drawing, just for my own pleasure and I don't mind if anyone else is interested.

The class was an interesting mix.  There are young kids, still at school, who seem to be into manga and pinky stuff as well as older blokes, some in their mid 40s, who are comic book nerds just like me.  The class is run by a bloke who has an art school degree and used to play drums in a sort of Godflesh style metal band.

We did stuff on basic drawing techniques as well as an exercise where we had to create a comic against the clock.  It was fun.

I'm looking forward to next week.  I'm not going to be Jack Kirby or Steve Ditko or anyone like that but I will have fun.  And hopefully draw some angry and bitter comic strips.....