I set out feeling quite nervous. Galashiels is a place I had never been to before and to keep costs low, when looking into whether it was possible to see Hamish at the venue, I decided it wasn’t necessary to stay away in Galashiels for the night. I couldn’t find anything that affordable there and I had been to a gig in Edinburgh last summer and knew there were coaches that run between Edinburgh and Glasgow through the night, so decided to take a coach to Edinburgh and get a train to and back from Galashiels.
The only potential sticking point was my arrival back into Edinburgh after getting the last train out from Galashiels. The train would get into Waverley around twenty minutes after midnight and the coach back to Glasgow was due to leave the stop at 00.35. If I missed it, the next coach would be one hour later. This was really playing on my mind in the days leading up to the gig and on the day itself. I wasn’t confident I’d make it to the stop in time for the 00.35 coach and really wasn’t relishing the idea of waiting around in Edinburgh on a Friday night (Saturday morning) for a coach.
Even leaving Glasgow for Edinburgh I was cutting it fine. Once on the coach to Edinburgh and on my way, I tried to put the apprehension about the journey home to the back of my mind and enjoy the trip to the borders.
I arrived at the town around 5.15pm. Shops were closing up for the day so there wasn’t much to do in the way of perusing shops. The tapestry museum looked as if it had just closed as well. I decided to have a look at the venue, which was just around the corner from the tapestry museum. The band were already inside doing their soundcheck so I decided to hang about and listen in through the side and front doors. A couple showed up looking to see if they could get tickets for the show and managed to get themselves the last two seated tickets available upstairs. As they were waiting to be served, we could see into the auditorium and see the band rehearsing.
I got talking briefly to a woman who was there with her husband. They’re both photographers and were there as official press for the evening. She asked if I was a fan of Hamish’s and I said very much so and that I’d travelled down from Glasgow to see him. She told me that her and her husband covered the first and last nights of his tour in February at Newcastle (where they are based) and Aberdeen (where she originally comes from).
I filmed a little bit of the soundcheck. More for the audio than the video. I could hear them trying out Pulp’s Disco 2000 and was looking forward to hearing that performed later in the evening.
I lingered about a bit but didn’t want to look like a stalkerish pest. I didn’t think I was going to get much of a foot-in trying to get in on the soundcheck or anything. I decided to see if I could get something to eat and drink from somewhere. Just something sweet and maybe a coffee to pep me up to last out the evening. There was a Farmfoods down the road so I got an iced coffee and a chocolate bar from there and headed back to the MacArts to sit on one of the picnic benches outside and have my goodies.
I wandered back round to the front of the building. There was a bench seat there and I decided to sit and enjoy the sun. The husband and wife ticket-hunters came back and we sat and chatted a while. As we were chatting away, the husband and wife photographers came out the side door with Hamish in tow. He posed under a tree by the side railing and they snapped away, taking pro shots of him. They did this for several moments. While it was happening, the wife ticket-hunter said “you should go over and say hello.” “Oh, they’re busy right now. Maybe if there’s a chance after they’re done, I might. I don’t know.” After they wrapped up I decided to take a chance and excused myself from my company and went over. Gingerly I said “Hi Hamish, I don’t know if you’ll remember me.” “Of course I remember you. It’s good to see you. How are you?” He extended his hand for me to shake. “I’m really good. Very excited for tonight. I’ve never been to Galashiels before.” Then – the lady photographer says “Do you have your phone with you?” “Yes”, I reply. “I could take your photo with Hamish, if you like? If you’re up for it?”, she says looking to Hamish. “That would be wonderful!” I reply to her. “Is it okay with you?” I say to Hamish. “Of course! Yes, let’s.” I got my phone ready and handed it to the lady and we posed. As she was lining up the shot she said “aaww, you both look so happy”. Hamish says “Because we are.” Oh my god! He’s a darling!
With that he was off back into the venue saying “I’ll see at the stage later.”
I went back to the ticket-hunters and we spent some more time chatting away until the doors opened.
Support for the night was from Alas De Liona. A singer-songwriter from California. She has a more traditional folk sound to her music. She performed solo on acoustic guitar. Her set included a cover of Dead Or Alive’s ‘You Spin Me Round (Like A Record)’ which went down very well with the crowd – myself included. I enjoyed her set but overall I’m not a big fan of folk music. It’s no reflection upon her. It’s just not my style of music. She’s a great performer and has a wonderful voice. If folk is your thing, I’d recommend you check out her music.
I need to talk about the MacArts venue itself. Converted churches do make fantastic music venues and I have been treated to some gems this year: St Luke’s, The Studio in Hartlepool, and then this weekend with MacArts in Galashiels and Oran Mor – I do like a converted church venue, I have to say! MacArts has great acoustics, it’s a good size and just a short walk from the train station and with it being just an hour from Edinburgh, what’s not to like?! And the stage! A low stage and no barrier. So close to the action. It was fabulous!
Hamish came to the stage just before 9pm and from my vantage point I had a clear view of the setlist so knew what was coming. The show started with my favourite off the Angel Numbers album – Dog-eared August, of which I recorded some. It’s now hit after hit for me because after the album was released, I listened to both it and Heavy Elevator numerous times and know all the songs really well.
I decided to record another favourite off Angel Numbers, Think Of Us Kissing. I also absolutely adore Bridget St John.
There were then a trio of new songs. The first is called You Can Film Me – which they performed back in February at St Luke’s. The next two I hadn’t heard – Big Cat Tattoos (though perhaps that might have been performed at St Luke’s also, I’m a little unsure) and The Hard Won. I decided to record a bit of The Hard Won in the end.
Towards the end the big guns came out, ‘Bakerloo, Unbecoming’ and ‘The Mauritian Badminton Doubles Champion, 1973’, followed by the cover of Disco 2000 and finally the dark and thumping Caterpillar.
Hamish’s performing style is mesmerising. It’s kind of like he’s in a trance. He doesn’t really look at anyone in particular. And he’s both engaging yet ‘not there’ at the same time. His movements, facial expressions and mannerisms are just…so different. There’s no one quite like him around at the moment. I find his stage presence totally intoxicating. And the rich baritone of his voice is fabulous. Lyrically, he’s just magic. His songs are so arty and intelligent but not in a pretentious way, but more kind of witty and facetious and I love his use of language. It is what captured me right from the very beginning last year at the SM gig. The more I see him, the more he captivates me. I am so very much a fan and I fall harder with each gig.
After the gig I knew I’d have time to hang around before needing to get back to the station to catch the train. I was determined to get a ballpoint pen t-shirt from the merch stall. The guitarist, Andrew, was manning the merch stall but he couldn’t find a shirt my size. I gave him my email address so they could get in touch with me regarding stock in my size. I heard him say to another person he was serving that Hamish would be coming out. I waited around and a short time after, Hamish appeared. I grabbed one of the setlists from the stage as soon as the gig was over with. We were that close, I could just help myself. There’s the quick and the dead, as they say! I decided to join the queue for the merch stall again to get Hamish to sign the setlist.
When I got to him I said that I wanted one of the ballpoint pen shirts but Andrew couldn’t find one in my size. Andrew hears me say this (he was busy serving someone else at that moment) and says “Oh, I’ve found some now. Bear with me a minute.” Fabulous! It’s in a beautiful forest green colour. I LOVE the colour of it! I had vinyl thrown in as well, which Hamish signed for me. I was very lucky and am so pleased with my hoard of goods.
Tired on my legs, I made my way back to the train station. There’s a coach station there near the train station and I thought I could pop in there to use the loo. It was closed. Bugger! I should have gone before I left MacArts!
I’m sitting on the platform and thinking that I am going to have to use the loo on the train and what am I going to do with the merch while I’m in the train’s loo. Bugger! Mercifully the loo floor was dry and the train was travelling at a steady pace so it was all fine.
Then I started clock-watching and thinking about the time I had between getting off the train at Waverley and the time the coach was due to depart. Would my legs carry me up the two inclines I’d need to navigate to get to the coach stand? The side exit out of Waverley onto the bridge, then crossing Princes Street to get to North St David Street. I had 10 minutes to do it. When we got into the train station I quickly got my bearings (Waverley station fills me with dread. It’s such a HUGE station – it has TWENTY platforms!) and find my exit quickly. I beeline out of there as quickly as my chunky tree-stumps-for-legs will carry me. I made it! From there it was a loooong coach ride home. It stopped at the airport along the way and picked up about 40 passengers. We arrived at Buchanan Bus Station around 2.10am. I marched straight for the taxi rank and grabbed a cab that was waiting.
Was Hamish worth all that? By heck he was! Every day of the week.
UPDATE: If you live in England or Wales and have been wanting to get a piece of the HH action then you’re in luck! Hamish is playing a set of gigs in August with several dates incorporating the East of England, including a nearby old stomping ground of Bedford. The Esquires venue is where the OH and I saw Green Gartside (Scritti Politti) and Alexis Taylor back at the end of 2017. It’s a great wee venue. I’m tempted! But I can’t see it happening. Also, because of the type of tour it is, helping out independent music venues, they are doing a (friend goes free) deal. Any person with a full price ticket can bring a friend for free – with an accompanying Lotto product (ie: lottery ticket or scratchcard with receipt – check the T&C’s on the website for full details – tickets MUST be pre-booked). What a great thing! Check out all the details HERE – tickets go on sale 10am BST Friday 16 June.
