Nick @ Classic Grand, Glasgow - Mar 3 2010

[HarperPR]

Wednesday March 3 2010

Classic Grand
18 Jamaica Street
Glasgow
G1 4NR

07870 375 2913

7pm

£10

Support: Paper Aeroplanes
+ Emma Curran

www.classicgrand.com

[Craig_Powers]

Hi,
Anyone from the forum going to the Glasgow gig next Wed?
I've just ordered tickets. I'm working in Scotland next week and will miss my local gig in Manchester.
Craig

[scotpaulabear]

Wish I were going but sadly I'm 3000 miles away! I know some lovely people who will be there though, including Graeme (Fuzzy) of this here forum...

[Craig_Powers]

Wish I were going but sadly I'm 3000 miles away! I know some lovely people who will be there though, including Graeme (Fuzzy) of this here forum...

I was counting on you Paula :( Never mind, see you at some other venue, no doubt.

I presume you are braving the snow on the US east side. ???

Craig

[scotpaulabear]

I was counting on you Paula :( Never mind, see you at some other venue, no doubt.

I presume you are braving the snow on the US east side. ???

Yup, though the weather here isn't so bad for a change! All very last minute, it's my uncle's funeral in Boston and I'm staying for a while to support my mom. Am trying to get her back to Scotland with me and maybe come with me to see his Harpicness in Preston :wink:

Am gutted to be missing Glasgow but in the grand scheme of things... :bored:

[HarperPR]

Okay, so tonight the show rolls on to...Glasgow!

Make sure you all give it plenty of welly as there are reviewers in!:wink::)

[HarperPR]

Emma Curran now added to support.

[HarperPR]

The word on Twitter is that Nick is on fire tonight! Not literally...I hope. There is wine flowing, table dancing and a bit of singing too, haha! Await Craig's opinion when he gets back to see if he agrees.

[scotpaulabear]

I got a quick preliminary report via expensive overseas mobile call from Glasgow - apparently a great night, turnout could have been better but still a lovely crowd. And - AND! - my friend was listening to THE ALBUM in the car on the way home, and she says it's fantastic! I wasn't sure if I wanted to hug her or throttle her for having it and I don't :wink:

She told me that there's a wonderful surprise guest artiste on what I think is the last song....

[SPOILER ALERT - look away if you don't want to know]













Lily sings "Silly Daddy" and Jan says she is a fantastic singer, and the song is gorgeous, her fave track on first listen of the album :biggrin:

[Craig_Powers]

The word on Twitter is that Nick is on fire tonight! Not literally...I hope. There is wine flowing, table dancing and a bit of singing too, haha! Await Craig's opinion when he gets back to see if he agrees.

Obviously, being on this forum, we have all seen Nick quite a few times. As such we get used to Nick’s superb guitar work, with his huge mix of musical styles, and his amazing vocal range. There is always a risk of taking this all for granted, but every so often Nick pulls a song out of the bag ~ one he hasn’t played for a while ~ and really leaves me spellbound. Last night was no exception, with “Boy Meets Planet”.

A couple of years ago I gave Nick a lift back from a gig in my car and Blood Songs was in the CD player. He said that although he was immensely proud of the album, he couldn’t listen to it. Well he seems to have fallen back in love with it because last night we had Love Junky, The Wanderer And His Shadow, Boy Meets Planet, and Blood Songs.

The gig itself was a bit flat. Attendance was low. The international football match probably depleted the crowd quite a bit. Not much audience banter either, which usually helps get Nick in the mood. Nevertheless he was on form and did his “Wireless Walkabout” act and climbed onto the bar; no mean feat given that there was about 3 ft headroom. Victorian coal miners had more space to work!

The venue was strict about timekeeping and Nick ran out of time. In fact there wasn’t an encore. Nick asked to imagine that he left the stage and had already come back on! He closed with Building Our Own Temple rather than the more likely Love is Music.

A good night and I’m looking forward to Liverpool (plenty of scouse banter there!) and perhaps Preston in April.

Craig

[HarperPR]

You sound a little less enthused than I was expecting, Craig. The tweets Mhairi was sending me made it sound almost like a different show...? When you texted me I thought then how you were not exclaiming from the heights!

[Craig_Powers]

You sound a little less enthused than I was expecting, Craig. The tweets Mhairi was sending me made it sound almost like a different show...? When you texted me I thought then how you were not exclaiming from the heights!

To be fair it was a good gig and Nick's playing and voice were superb. The audience were totally attentive, which is not always the case. I reckon that due to the clash with the international football match that the crowd were die-hard harper fans. No background chat. You could hear a pin drop.

...but I really like it when there is some heckling and banter because Nick is bouncing with ad lib jokes and you get a stand-up comedy routine thrown in for free.

As an aside, I've never spent time in Glasgow but it looks a really nice city. It was really clean as well; no litter at all on the streets. I reckon I'll sample its delights some more, instead of going to Edinburgh all the time.

Craig

[HarperPR]

Some pix and a few words from last night, courtesy of Tommy, a freelance photographer and writer.

http://bit.ly/b7m5ZN