It was a very frosty evening on Wednesday night. The UK has been suffering from an Arctic freeze blast for the past several days with most places experiencing snow. Glasgow is one of the few places to lay low enough in the Clyde valley to miss the snow, but the temperatures have been incredibly cold with dry, crisp conditions leading to very hard frosts and lots of ice. I for one was hoping that the Hydro would feel warm compared to the house!
We had hired a car for 24 hours. The trains weren’t running and I needed to get Christmas shopping out of the way and also didn’t want to rely on taxis getting me to and from the venue. Kill two birds with one stone. Get all the shopping done during the day, then get the OH to drop me off and pick me up from the Hydro. Sweet!
Amazingly we managed to make it to the venue without having to go near the M8. After 3 years of living here, we MAY just be getting our bearings with navigating around this city!
I arrived at the side doors just before 7pm and was let straight through. My seat was a strange one, I have to say. I was in the first section of the seats above the exec boxes – so the area of seating that is blocks 201 to 218. I was in block 217 but in row F – which is not within the main block of row seats but a row of folded seats along the walkway that divides blocks 201 to 218 from blocks 221 to 238. Great inasmuch as it means you’re not having to get up and down off your seat to let others past you if you happen to be in either end of a row.
My seat number was 278 so I was quite side on from the stage but the usher who let me through came over to me after a while and said I could move along down to the end of the F row seats of block 217 so I’d have a little more of a front on view.
The support act of Lizzie Reid arrived on the stage promptly at 7.45pm. I enjoyed her set. She has a good mix of slow, ballad folk pop to more indie pop sounds. I’ll explore her music more closely over the days to come. I have just learned that she’s the support act for Hamish Hawk when I see him at Saint Luke’s in February so I know what to expect when it comes to that gig. I look forward to seeing her again and within a more intimate venue.
As the crew worked on setting up for Paolo’s set, the Hydro filled to near capacity. The floor was filled to a degree I don’t think I have ever seen or experienced so far. The standing area was filled to the brim.
Another prompt arrival unto the stage at 8.45 by the main act of the evening, Mr Paolo Nutini. He started the show with Last Night In The Bittersweet album opener, Afterneath. He went on to perform almost the whole of the album in a setlist order that wasn’t in the same running order as the album’s track listing.
Standouts for me were Acid Eyes, Through The Echoes, Lose It, Petrified In Love, Everywhere, Shine A Light, Take Me Take Mine, and the absolutely gorgeous and wonderfully apt final song of the night, Writer. Mixed in between were classics like Jenny Don’t Be Hasty, Pencil Full Of Lead which segues into New Shoes, Candy, Scream (Funk My Life Up), Coming Up Easy, and Better Man.
Considering he had already played one gig the night before, he seemed genuinely blown away by the reception and reaction of the crowd.
Musicianship was par excellence. His band played exemplary. Lighting and effects and presentation on the large screens either side of the stage was world class. I loved the flipped imagery treatment too – everything on the right side screen was flipped horizontally and mirrored the left side screen images.
There are some negatives from the night I need to air. This was probably the worst gig I’ve experienced this year at the Hydro soundwise. They have been really great this year. I started to believe that the Hydro, as a venue, was getting an undeserving bad wrap by the locals because I’ve been experiencing such a good run! But…it wasn’t a constant problem through the night, but … yeah, the mix was a bit … at times it sounded really distorted and that was a bit of a let down.
The other negative was shit going on with the crowd. Call me an old whining curmudgeon but – people were CONSTANTLY getting up and down and up and down from their seats, going to the loo, getting more drinks from the bar. Up/down all fucking night! I was ssooooooo thankful I was in one of those F row seats because had I been in any of the lower seats, I’d have done my rag! It was just fucking non-stop! WHY do people drink so much at gigs? And I don’t even mean alcohol – I mean ANY drink, any liquid! People coming in with like 6 drinks in their hands for two people. Like, HOW THIRSTY are you going to get?! You’re sitting down! You’re not gonna be up and dancing and working up a sweat. Geez, Louise!
The other thing was the chatter. I had two blokes in the F row of seats in block 216 just separated by the stairway entrance to the lower block seats near me. When the main set was done and Paolo and the band went off stage for a short break, the crew wheeled out an upright piano for him to perform the song Julianne on when he came back on stage. So, as you can appreciate, it’s a soft, quiet ballad. These two c*nts near me just chatted to each other the whole way through the song! The whole way through! I wanted to go over and clobber them both. Sixty quid a ticket for seats where we were. SIXTY QUID! To listen to these two waffle over a song. They pissed me the fuck off, honestly.
Overall though, the gig was excellent and Paolo put on a masterful show. Those going to the three shows that are left (tonight, Sunday and Tuesday), you’re in for a treat. Paolo’s on fire right now and ***spoiler alert!*** Last Night In The Bittersweet I did declare to Billy Sloan (as he asked the question of us for his show this week for our album, song and gig of the year) as MY album for 2022. Sorry, Simple Minds, as much as I like Direction Of The Heart, ya lost out there! But you redeemed yourselves…but that’s more spoilers and it can wait for another post.
That’s my gigs for 2022 done. My first gig of 2023 will be seeing Kula Shaker at the Liquid Room in Edinburgh on 19 January. I only have two other gigs booked for 2023 after that. Hamish Hawk in February and The Anchoress in Edinburgh in September. Other than that, the calendar is clear. Yikes! I have a couple of other potentials I want to go to but nothing booked yet.
Keep a look out for my review of the year blog post coming up shortly.
