Bonnie Scotland – There and back again – Just!

Outbound

Waking bleary eyed in not so sunny South West London, the travellers hitched up their wagon and headed way out west…

Stopping off at a staging post saloon for herbal tea and armed escort to Heathrow!
Where Sib saw us safely aboard the express to Glasgow…

Pre-Gig

Landing in Sunny Scotland we made our way to the delightful 13th Note.

Here we took in a spot of this fabulous establishment’s fine nutritious fayre.

Then heading down to the cellar where a posse of friendly faces from near and far were gathered to enjoy the pre-gig from Local band The Vex…

…who delivered a fine set comprising a selection of Punk Rock and New Wave classics interspersed with their own expertly crafted original material. Top stuff and highly recommended.

Social

We made our way back to the hotel for a spot of rejuvenating Siesta time before heading off out to the pre-gig social…

…On which note philosophers have ruminated on the importance of the pre-gig social – which is indeed a fascinating concept both experientially and conversationally… Leading some to muse that one day in the future ‘this’ is all that there will be… On this occasion we briefly had the pleasure of the company of Lord Alias who has this practise down to a fine art… All things must pass – existing (as we do and all of time does) as a brief flickering moment in the vast unfolding universe… We have one of the greatest bands on the planet with a hoard of fanatical followers resembling and referred to as the Family in Black… Let’s make the most of it while we can! etc ETC EiTC…

Off to a Crystal Palace packed to the gunnels with a great chunk of the aforementioned Fans in Black gathered in anticipation of the imminent Stranglers performance. Following a brief stop off at the Laurieston and a quick Namaste to the Nepalese gentleman, that was exactly what occurred! A Stranglers performance that is!

Gig Review

Arriving inside a packed O2 we set up camp near the mixing desk an unusual move but necessary when knackered! This also afforded a completely different perspective sonically and visually.

Settling just in time for the opening bars of Waltzinblack and to witness the sell-out crowd show their appreciation for The Men in Black…

Black and White

Taking the stage The Stranglers ploughed their way through the entire Black and White album with barely a breath or pause between. The monochrome stage set neatly reflecting the stark juxtaposition of the Black and White theme, most effectively.

Highlights for this part of the set to these ears being the whole album but of course if forced to choose – Dave’s excellent crooning on Do You Wanna closely followed by In The Shadows and Sweden.

At this point, being my first date of the tour I’m still too stunned by Enough Time to have formulated an opinion!…

Part Two

Then…
BOOM!

The lights kicked in to colour and the sound took off with the mighty Grip, a really effective contrast away from the first part of the set giving way to the perma-classic Walk on By, as the band coolly executed the remainder of the set which comprised a mix of classics and hits, old and new.

There followed a bit of banter and mutual appreciation as Baz informed the house that Glasgow was always the highlight of the tour and he doesn’t just say this line at every town…

Highlights part two for EiTC were WoB, (Dave Fave) Dead Ringer, The magnificent Princess of The Streets and Go Buddy Go.

Most notably absent: Stranglers in no Golden Brown Horror Shock!

…A brave move, which didn’t seem to bother the casual punter too much, as they lapped up the other assorted classics and hits.

Observances from afar…

Located as we were in a slightly elevated position toward the back of the venue afforded a unique new perspective (for EiTC)… Most interesting was the phenomenon of witnessing the crowd as a whole responding to the performance. During the more energetic and well known songs they would move and mosh about strongly. In some of the more up-tempo numbers they would respond with a gusto which would plateau out to a more sustainable pace quite quickly. While with some of the newer material and lesser known older material they would appear quite motionless. Yet the response at the end of each song was always rousingly appreciative. etc ETC EiTC

Afterwards we went for a spot of Curry before escorting Antro back to his motor vehicle then making our way back to the hotel.

Homeward

The next day we shared a taxi to the airport with evonx, where we enjoyed his company and that of a few more FiB before a lost passport panic and making it aboard our flight home by the skin of our teeth after a mad dash across the whole of the departure area.

The charming air hostess advised us to take a moment to remind ourselves that we’re really sexy! And before we knew it we were out on the tarmac at Heathrow where SiB collected us and delivered us safely back to our carriage…

Over…

Words and Pictures: Matthew Elvis Brown.

Bonus:

Stranglers: