My apologies for the delay with this review. It may be a little shorter than usual…perhaps not. We’ll see?
I travelled down to Newcastle by train during the afternoon. The usual quickest route is firstly to go to Edinburgh on the express train from Queen Street and then on the LNER Azuma service to London. There’s usually just the one stop on the journey from Edinburgh to Newcastle which is Berwick-upon-Tweed.
I arrived in Newcastle just before 3pm. I had secured a Too Good To Go bag on the way down at a cafe called the Olive Kitchen on the road just opposite the venue. Everything was very conveniently located. The venue, Digital, is right in Times Square, the Leonardo Hotel (formerly Jurys Inn) is less than a quarter of a mile down the road from Times Square. I was familiar with it as it was where Birdy and I stayed when we saw Simple Minds at the Utilita Arena in 2022. This time I’d be sharing a room with Sue – she was also going to be my gig buddy. Sue arrived at the hotel a short time after I had booked us in.
The plan was to arrive at the venue at around 6pm and start queuing. We arrived a little after that. The weather was okay – dry but overcast and had been threatening to rain at any point, and also very cold! When we got to Times Square it wasn’t really obvious as to where the entrance to the venue was. We decided to head round the other side of the building just….to see if there was anything more evident there. Erm…no. We bumped into Hamish’s keyboard player, John Cashman, outside. We got chatting for a wee bit. Just a bit of this, that and the other, you know. Whenever I get chatting with any of the guys in the band, they’re always great for a bit of craic. Lovely people.
We went back round the front side of Digital and decided to queue at what looked like the front doors. Other people slowly started to wander along and join. Eventually (nearer to opening time) the security staff made it known where the entrance really was – i.e. NOT where we’d been queuing! Bless the Geordies! They’re swell people. Everyone filed down the queue in reverse. Barriers were in place, so those at the back of the queue filed along the barrier so by the time Sue and I got to the barrier we were first in the queue. Luvly jubbly!
There was a delay with us getting inside. The support act was only just having her soundcheck just before 7pm so that delayed us getting inside until closer to 7.15pm. There were spits of icy rain coming down as we queued. Nothing too heavy, thankfully, but it certainly added to the chill.
Once we were let in, I was thankful that we queued early. Digital is the opposite of a venue like the Barras where it is very wide and not really long. Digital is quite narrow and long. The stagefront could probably accommodate 10 people standing side by side along the barrier – if that. I think it’s the first time I have managed to get absolute dead centre for a Hamish Hawk gig. I mean….I think I’ve been at the front of EVERY HH gig I’ve been to so far – but never dead centre directly in front of Hamish.
There wasn’t too long a wait before the support, Amelia Coburn, came on for her set. I guess her music would be described as ‘folk’ – but it has a kind of Gothic feel to it. She has a high register to her voice, akin to the tone of Kate Bush. She had a full band with her, drums, keyboards and bass, whilst she played small acoustic guitars. I’m usually not much of a taker of folk but I do enjoy watching it being performed and Amelia certainly enchanted me. She released an album last year called Between the Moon and the Milkman and she performed songs from it – the ones that stood out for me were ‘Nodding Dog’ and ‘See Saw.’ She’s coming to Glasgow, playing the Glad Cafe on 11 May – I think it’s one for the diary. You can find out more about Amelia’s music on her website.
As for Hamish? Well, I didn’t think it could be possible to be even more eager to see him than I was in Aberdeen, considering it had only been three nights since that gig … but I was! I love the build-up. The use of the instrumental version of ‘Vivian Comma’ is such a great way of swelling up that anticipation. And once Stefan, John, Ollie, Lizzie and Andy all walk onto the stage and get set and ready to play, and then once Hamish comes on – it’s like floodgates opening.
It was an almost identical set, save for a couple of set switches: ‘Elvis Look-alike Shadows’ in place of ‘Calls to Tiree’ and ‘Questionable Hit’ in place of ‘Desperately.’ I adore ‘Questionable Hit’ and was very glad for it to be in the set. I love how he has woven the words together with this song. It has the fantastic thread of cynicism and naivety dancing with one another in it. My favourite lines are: ‘These nightmarish bailiffs / Everyone armed and dangerous / You will be charmed if not famous / Their eyes are like Vegas / And their steel is stainless’ – but the whole song. THE WHOLE SONG!
Soundwise, I think the gig was better at Digital than at the Lemon Tree. And they all just looked like they were having the best time up there. The Newcastle crowd were really appreciative. There were some questionable heckles. I think Hamish was a little worried about how to take a few of the quips thrown at him, but on the whole the crowd were brilliant, so receptive and as I say – the band were just loving it. It really was a fantastic gig. But every Hamish Hawk gig is. I’ll have to do a quick calculation, but I’m pretty sure I’m already into the double digits of HH gigs I’ve attended.
No hanging about backstage for hours afterwards. Both Sue and I were knackered and a warm hotel room and bed were beckoning.
The next day was a meandering journey to Monument Metro for a train to Whitley Bay and a fish and chip lunch at Trenchers in Spanish City. I’ve never been to the area before the restoration of Spanish City so I don’t really know first-hand what it was like but it really is a beautiful building now. Inside Trenchers is gorgeous! That beautiful domed roof is the centrepiece of the restaurant. They have a special going on at the moment where they have a 2 for 1 offer on mains during Wednesdays and Thursdays. This Thursday (20 Feb) is the final day. As it was a Thursday, we decided to take advantage of the 2 for 1 deal – hence the journey to Whitley Bay. We both had haddock and chips with mushy peas. Sue went for the small option – the fish came in small, medium and large options. I was a greedy pig and went for medium. And OH MY WORD – that was a big piece of haddock! But it was utterly delicious and there was no need for me to eat for the rest of the day. Ah…except for one thing. More on that in a minute.
On the way down to Monument Metro, we went into an Asian supermarket. I went on the hunt for anything pandan flavoured. The first thing I found was a single person serving of pandan flavoured Swiss roll. YES PLEASE! I then found packets of salted egg noodles. I had to get a packet of them (I’ve since had them and they were bloody delicious – a wee spicy kick, but ssoooo nom) – and in the mochi section? OH MY GOD – I nearly died! Pandan coconut flavoured mochi! I should have bought boxes and boxes and boxes, but one) I didn’t want to weigh myself down with extra stuff and two) need to watch the pennies. I HAVE to see if any of the Asian supermarkets in Glasgow sell these because they were just SEN-FUCKING-SATIONAL! The BEST mochi I’ve had since the days of going to Minamoto Kitchoan in London.
Once back in Toon from Whitley Bay, Sue and I went to a Caffe Nero for a drink and I cracked open the pandan Swiss roll. Yum!
On the train back home, I could feel myself getting increasing worse for wear. Lurgy was taking hold. Hence the delay in getting this review posted. I’ve been fighting the damn lurgy these past few days. I think it’s mostly the effects of not taking better care of myself when in Aberdeen. I let myself get VERY cold when there – especially when waiting around after the gig – as well as being in the queue beforehand. I took a lighter coat with me and I really should have rugged up warm. I took better care in Newcastle but it was already too late by then.
Thankfully I have recovery time before the final show of the tour at the Usher Hall next Saturday. Hopefully I have not passed this terrible lurgy on to Sue and she will be coming up to stay next weekend to also attend. And Michelle is going to the gig as well – so def. a girl’s night oot.
Until then, I’ll leave you with the curveball of the tour – Hamish performing the Rolling Stones’ ‘(I Can’t Get No) Satisfaction’ at the Newcastle show.
Adios amigos!
