Gig reviews - The Ginger Quiff

Ginger Wildheart/”Random” Jon Poole/Carol Hodge – live in Bannermans, Edinburgh

April 20, 2022 By neilho27@sky.com

Being a lifelong weegie, I don’t often venture through to the East for a gig, normally sticking to Glasgow City centre or its immediate environs. However, with no Glasgow date on this tour, I risked a nosebleed and made my way, with my brother, another ginger Hodge (sans quiff) through to my first ever Bannermans gig.

As I thought may be the case, we immediately bumped into another West coaster who had made the trip through and soon, I was bumping into several friendly faces, making the trip worth it before a note was even played.

Carol Hodge

This was a night of firsts, and despite my championing her music for some time, reviewing her albums and interviewing her for the blog, this was the first time I had seen my fellow Hodge live (apart from on several online gigs during COVID – but they don’t count).… Read the rest

Walt Disco – live in St. Lukes

March 30, 2022 By neilho27@sky.com

On a driech snowy Wednesday, of course it was snowing, after all Spring had sprung a couple of days ago which obviously is the signal for winter to appear in full force.

Not to worry though, it may already have been a long week, and the weather miserable but inside St.Lukes things were altogether different.

It’s Wednesday, so it must be time to party! The word was obviously out, and the discerning Glasgow music fans were out in force, bedecked in their gladrags.

Unfortunately, I missed openers Fauna, but was fortunate to catch Priestgate’s set. This was a performance and a half.… Read the rest

Sacred Noise – live in Bloc+

March 25, 2022 By neilho27@sky.com

This time last week I was still gutted that I wouldn’t catch Sacred Noise play their debut gig in Glasgow’s Bloc+.

I was resigned to this fact so to appease myself slightly I endeavoured to metaphorically shout about the band with a wee Introducing the Band feature.

Little did I know at the time but I was to be the only delegate on my training in Darlington, so we shot through the day at pace and I was on a train back home an evening earlier than expected. Still, I expected not to be back in time…

If i wasn’t an atheist, I’d say someone was looking out for me as, despite nipping into the office to finish some work, I managed to get to Bloc+ before the band made their appearance.… Read the rest

LNFG Birthday Bash – Domiciles, Deer Leader & Vulture Party

March 23, 2022 By neilho27@sky.com

I was beginning to think I was going to miss more gigs than I managed to attend this year having missed four so far for a variety of reasons, none more so than work meaning I have been sleeping in more hotel beds recently than in my own.

Judging by the rising cost of fuel, grocery shopping and household gas and electricity, I better make the most of these nights before they become a luxury I can no longer afford…

It’s not that I haven’t been at any gigs this year, I’ve managed a few – John Robb and his Membranes owning the Oran Mor stage as his thundering bass pulsed through my whole body, IDLES doing what they do with great aplomb in Barrowland and a raucous set in Stereo from the Tequila slammin’ party band Los Bitchos among them, its just that my head hasn’t really been in the game in terms of writing about stuff.… Read the rest

The Bluebells and Sister John – live in the CCA

December 13, 2021 By neilho27@sky.com

My penultimate gig of 2021, and my final Last Night From Glasgow double header extravaganza of the year was a pretty special night that will live long in the memory featuring the first band to re-release a classic album on the Past Night From Glasgow offshoot, Glasgow legends, The Bluebells, and the band who released my favourite LNFG release of 2021, the quite simply magnificent Sister John.

With the year threatening to end as it began thanks to Omicron and rumours of coming restrictions, there was both an sense of foreboding mixed with a n element of relief that the gig was going ahead at all, albeit with a reduced capacity.… Read the rest

Review of the the Year – The Best of 2021

December 9, 2021 By neilho27@sky.com

Yet another bumper year for new releases by new artists, classic re-issues and comebacks from some old favourites.

Despite what the salivating broadcasters and media will have you believe, there was so much more to the year than a new album by A****e, the banality of which didn’t even register on the gingerquiff seismograph such was its insignificance in the shadow of so much in the way of superb and exciting music that moved me. (Yes, I know she has a great voice, but oh so dull).

Anyway, no more focussing on negatives, There were so many remarkable albums this year that, once again, I can’t narrow them down to my ten favourites, so before I run down my Top 10 albums of the year, here are those…

In 11th Place (in no particular order)…

It was so hard to leave anyone out this year, I have loved records by so many wonderful and diverse bands and artists.… Read the rest

Broken Chanter/wojtek the bear – Live – CCA Glasgow

November 21, 2021 By neilho27@sky.com

Friday finally arrived in a week when I felt entirely discombobulated. On a daily basis I had no clue what day of the week or what time of the day it was. All I did know was that was desperate for the weekend to arrive and for it to start with another Last Night From Glasgow launch night in the impressive surroundings of Glasgow’s Centre for Contemporary Arts.

This time around it was a double whammy, with wojtek the bear’s album heaven by the back door released on the label’s Hive imprint earlier in the year (review here), and headliners, Broken Chanter new album Catastrophe Hits seeing the light of day just the the other week (review here).… Read the rest

The Jesus & Mary Chain & Gaye Bykers on Acid – Live in Glasgow

November 15, 2021 By neilho27@sky.com

After a week that, if I was being polite, could have been described as both difficult and challenging, one name was a common denominator in easing my troubled mind. That name was Mary, and they took me from Darklands to Everything’s Groovy across the space of two outstanding gigs over the weekend.

The Jesus & Mary Chain in Stereo

Having rocked my world with their return to perform the classic debut album Psychocandy in Glasgow’s Barrowland Ballroom several years ago, East Kilbride’s favourite sons Jim and William Reid were due to return to the self same venue to give the same treatment to their follow up Darklands in March last year.… Read the rest

Hanya/The Wife Guys of Reddit – Live – The Hug and Pint

November 9, 2021 By neilho27@sky.com

Monday night at the Hug and Pint

Last week my working week was due to be bookended by two gigs, Monday night in the Hug and Pint and Friday night in Nice ‘n’ Sleazy. As things transpired, there was a very different outcome to the end of the week than first expected, encompassing the highs and lows of the Glasgow live music scene from the perspectives of both music fan and performers.

My third gig in as many weeks in The Hug and Pint, and a realisation that perhaps I was out too much when the barman pre-empted my drink order when I approached the upstairs bar.… Read the rest

The (Fabulous) Courettes – Back in Mono…in Mono

October 29, 2021 By neilho27@sky.com

Last night The Courettes cemented their place as my new favourite band with a frenetic supercharged performance, fittingly in Glasgow’s Mono, supporting the release of their third, and in my opinion, best album to date, Back in Mono. The emphasis of last nights gig was fun with a capital F.U.N. Despite being three albums in, this was their first visit to Glasgow, hopefully there will be many more to come in the future.

On a miserable Thursday night in raintown, I made the effort to dress from head to toe in black and white in tribute to the this most stylish of bands, and ventured out in the pissing awful weather.… Read the rest