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| Mark Hickey unconscious circa 2012 after Band of Skulls |
The last time that I seen Band of
Skulls was at the insistence of a mate called Mark Hickey.
It was in 2012 and the night is
still partially a blur as getting a train to Glasgow
from Kilmarnock descended into a bit of a pub
crawl with each of us slowly succumbing to temptations put in our way by the
gods of bevvy.
So with that night as a warning
on how not to attend a gig we decided prior to this one that we would wear our
sensible hats and meet up early and make a more sedate trip to Glasgow to see the band in the Queen Margaret
Union.
(A venue that has the most unrock
and roll name ever.)
And then that’s where things went
wrong.
Meeting early really just means
there’s a surplus of idle time that has to be filled with something, and with
all the museums closed we ended up in a bar.
To our ever lasting shame we hadn't
even managed to make it out of Kilmarnock .
And then with Matt Scott – the third
musketeer - running a bit late we made another mistake and thought it was a good
idea to sample some craft beers.
Now my understanding of craft
beers is that they are normally made by people who shouldn't be encouraged to
go near a kitchen for hygiene safety reasons, and I think I have a good grasp
of the concept now as the one that we sampled tasted as if it had been left to
ferment in a bath with some tramps socks, but we gamely drank it, and another
and another.
Once Matt arrived we were at the
stage of thinking that introducing him to a pint of cheesy cock, or whatever it
was called, was a good idea.
He grimaced as it past his lips
and after finishing it had to wash the taste out of his mouth with a more
traditional lager.
It really is a disgusting drink.
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| Irene who I hadn't seen in what must be twenty years. |
Mark was still trying to assume a degree
of responsibility for delivering a smooth night of rock and roll for us all and managed to bravely extracted us from the bar with the insistence that we really should catch
a bus.
We missed it though, and Matt
worked out that in the time that we would have to wait we could probably
squeeze one more drink in at the nearest hostelry rather than stand around in
the cold.
He’s always a man with a plan.
Usually a crap one, but at least
he has a plan.
Now as everyone knows when
working out drinking time it makes a big difference if it’s a pint or a short
and Mark and me decided it was now time that we introduced bourbon and vodka to
the night and ended up having a few rather than a one solitary pint.
It would be fair to say in
hindsight that this was when we started to tempt fate, and it was with a bit of
an effort that we managed to pull back from the bar fly precipice and actually
catch a bus.
Unfortunately, or fortunately depending
on what frame of mind you are in, it stopped outside another bar in Glasgow,
and as my bladder was doing an impression of a space hopper ready to burst my
need to use their toilet was an excuse for yet another drink.
It wasn't looking good now.
The Band of Skulls trip was now
touch and go, but again we rallied and jumped on the subway and made it to the
venue around the same time as the band took to the stage.
And now here is the review bit
for the Band of Skulls fans.
Aye, sounded very good, but as
the floor has no incline in the venue, and we were at the back, I couldn't see
anything other than the backs of people heads.
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| Tonight Matt Scott and me are The Jesus and Marychain |
Another friend had a similar
experience at the Roger Daltrey/Wilco Johnson gig in London .
You don’t just go to hear a band,
but to see them to, and remove one or the other from the night does
impact on the entertainment on offer.
So that wasn’t too good at all.
Bit rubbish really, but thankfully the company made up
for it and while I couldn't say anything negative about the bands performance
it is doubtful I’ll bother attending anything in the QMU again.
It all seems a bit pointless
really.
We wandered about a bit trying to
find some sort of vantage point and ultimately gave up and went to stand near
the bar, and then it was finished.
I was a bit bemused and I am sure
the set in the Arches was longer, but maybe not.
However I doubt Band of Skulls
are going to give Springsteen a run for his money in the endurance stakes
any time soon.
After the show we managed to take
in another drink in Ashton Lane
before making our way to the city centre where we squeezed in yet another in
Pivo Pivo before catching a late bus back to the ‘shire.
Ultimately a great night out that
had little to do with Band of Skulls and nothing to do with the QMU.
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