Blog: Glasgow

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So yes, off I went to see "Lost in Translation", which was LOVELY. I liked it. Back then to the hotel for TEA (Marks & Spencers seem to OWN every single FOOD outlet in Scotland, as far as I can see. I expect my next Scottish Tour to be sponsored by M&S Fruit Selections, as that is what i ATE the whole time, to avoid Tour Scurvy) then AWAY for The West End.

The Captain's Rest is not, apparently, a normal gig venue, and you could tell from the Faintly Scary upstairs bit, half occupied by gruff old blokes smoking PIPES, the other by KARAOKE. Downstairs however was a mirrored wonderland, like, as Adam Hectors said, Top Of The Pops in about 1978. We got to PA sorted out, we got ourselves set up, and we settled down with some BEER and waited for people to arrive...

And arrive they very much did! By the time I went to tune up the room was, if not full, then at least PLUMP. I'd had a good long think about my set, especially with regards to several of my songs being pretty specifically English, and made some changed, not least NOT starting with "Things'll Be Different" for the first time in well over a year. It all went VERY well indeed. "Lesson of the Smiths" went down GRATE as usual, and though a few people seemed to be a bit unsure (4 minutes in someone laughed, desperately, at the word "piss", as always) "Born With The Century" went down OK on a rare outing - Mr Sandy Blair, fellow veteran of Belle & Sebastian at QMU, had come and specifically mentioned it as his favourite. You don't get that sort of service with Bruce Springsteen!

My favourite bit was an IMPASSIONED pre-amble to "Things'll Be Different" discussing the Scottish Scottish Scotland nature of Glasgow City Centre (I think someone long ago toured the town saying "You're not Scottish at ALL!" and people got extremely defensive about it) and leading that into the need for the non-London English to follow their example, which got plenty much INTERACTION from the audience. It was ACE, and afterwards I sold a LOT of CDs, almost but not quite matching the mighty sales record set by HULL. The sound guy really liked it too!

Then it was time for The Hectors, and they were MAGNIFICENT. They're SUCH a lovely band, there's a massive LOVE VIBE coming off them, especially between the songs when Adam flies off on massively TANGENTS of Logical Imagination - me and Sandy stood laughing our heads off throughout, as indeed did the rest of the band. Ian, who started the band with Adam, was leaving the band at the end of the tour, and as I watched somebody videoing the pair of them singing together, I got a real impression of what an Important Thing it was that was ending, for them and for all sorts of other people who'd turned up to see them.

There was talk of Going On, but I knew I Had Had Enough, so got a lift back to the hotel, and retired with Mini-Bar Beer and Mini-Bar Crisps, a VERY happy Hibbett, for LO! I had ROCKED, and BEEN ROCKED in return.

posted 9/3/2004 by MJ Hibbett

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