BLACK SABBATH at the GLASGOW HYDRO

This was the first time ive seen Sabbath , almost saw them twice before, first time was cancelled hours before the start due to ice when Glasgows best medium size venue was Ingliston and second time the barrowlands in 1990 when the vocalist developed laryngitis two days before the gig.

Ive always been a Tony Iommi fan first and foremost , really liked the post-Ozzy Albums featuring Ronnie James Dio , Heaven and Hell and Mob Rules.

Was really surprised and impressed by how lucid,sharp and professional Ozzy Osbourne was , so unlike his fuddy-duddy persona on TV fluff.

My favourite song performed this night was "Snowblind"


The show shifted gear seamlessly from songs written nearly 45 years ago to ones penned only this year , a classic from the old days was "Black Sabbath"


A big rabble-rouser among back to back rock anthems was "Children Of The Grave"


Things finished with the style expected by the Kings of Rock and original Heavy Metal with "Paranoid" ( give it 60secs to get started).

WATERBOYS at the BARROWLANDS

Waterboys were live at The Barrowlands for the 25th Anniversary release of the Fishermans Blues Album tour.There performance at the Royal Concert Hall did not get great plaudits from veterans of many tours by the band, a big surprise for me as i saw then at the same venue a year before and they were absolutely breathtaking.But normal service was restored with a sensational concert with a tight , taut band performance just right and fitting for the venue.The continued popularity of the band was shown by the diverse locations of the people around me , a lady from Amsterdam , a couple from San Francisco and another from The Shetlands , all come to see their favourite band perform at the Barrowlands.

The show started of with some sedate paced numbers of which "How Long Will I Love You" was my favourite


And then the paced picked up when the band eventually warmed-up into full rock jamming mode  , as this review from The Scotsman Newspaper records " as the concert progressed, willowy mystic Mike Scott and right-hand minstrels Steve Wickham, the stunning fiddle player who acts like a lead guitarist, and multi-instrumentalist Anthony Thistlethwaite showed off their powerhouse credentials on We Will Not Be Lovers and jam band proclivities on their cover of Van Morrison’s Sweet Thing."


As one person pointed out " Mike made a remark part way through "that's us properly warmed up now", and I think what they were trying to do needed them to play themselves into the groove. I noticed a few times in the later part of the set Mike, Steve and Anto exchanging grins. Some of the interplay between Mike and Anto was just brilliant."

Here is a brilliantly crafted raucous version of "We Will Not Be Lovers"


There was also a compelling , captivating version of Van Morrisons "Sweet Thing"