A to Z Music tour
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Peter Capaldi
With Lousie Connell Stereo, 30 July 2025 I’ve been to a few gigs in Stereo over the past couple of years. A basement venue in the heart of the city. 300 of a capacity and, up to this week, I don’t think the capacity was ever seriously stretched for all the bands that had appeared…
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Gregory Porter
Kurpark, Wiesbaden, 22 July 2025 In seeking a definition for ‘eclectic,’ I found the following – ‘deriving ideas, style, or taste from a broad and diverse range of sources.’ A few words which more than adequately describes the musical acts we had seen over the previous couple of weeks across Europe. From indoor arenas to inside…
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Ezra Collective
with Kokoroko The KKL, Lucerne, 21 July 2025 A few weeks prior to seeing Nick Cave in Naples, southern Italy, and Gregory Porter in Wiesbaden, middle Germany, we were looking for a stopover to break up the journey between both and decided upon Lucerne in Switzerland. No point travelling all that way and not to…
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Nick Cave
Pompeii, 19 July 2025 The Amphitheatre of Pompeii is one of the oldest surviving Roman amphitheatres. It is located in the ancient city of Pompeii, near Naples, and was buried by the eruption of Mount Vesuvius in 79 AD, that also buried the city of Pompeii and the neighbouring town of Herculaneum. It was also the stage setting for Nick Cave and…
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Nile Rodgers and Chic
With Son Mieux, Cattolica, 18 July There is something very distinctive about songs that Nile Rodgers has an input into. They always involve beats that force the body to move in time to the rhythm coming from whatever source is playing the music. Radios, stereos, headphones, or a sunny evening in Cattolica on the Adriatic…
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Queens Of The Stone Age
With The Kills and The Amazons Bassano Del Grappa, 16 July A number of lucky factors had brought us to Bassano Del Grappa to see Queens Of The Stone Age, namely the venue was enroute between Munich and Catollica, with a minor detour on our #RaceAcrossEurope The were a band we hadn’t seen live before…
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Patti Smith
Munich, 13 July Under the big tent in Munich, part of the Tollwood Summer Festival, the audience who came to witness Patti Smith were, mainly, of a certain age / maturity. People who had been following the godmother of musical protest for a generation or more, a lot more. On stage for the best bit…
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The Kills
Tvornica Kulture, Zagreb, 12 July With Ki Klop in support The straight-line distance between Glasgow and Zagreb is a little over 1,100 miles and, as part of our own #RaceAcrossEurope tour, we were in the city to see The Kills deliver an electrifying set that had the locals swaying, cheering and idolising two people who…
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Yamato The Drummers of Japan
Opera House, Graz, 10 July Pictures taken from Yamato The Drummers of Japan website. ‘Serendipity – the occurrence and development of events by chance in a happy or beneficial way.’ If there is one word to describe why we found ourselves in Graz to see Yamato, The Drummers of Japan, then serendipity would be as…
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Amyl And The Sniffers
With The Bigoter X-Tra Zurich, 8 July Next up on this year’s Interrail European Tour took us to Zurich to watch the bundle of energy that is Amy Taylor front her band Amyl And The Sniffers. As if they have recently materialised from the Australian Outback, they are on the lips of everyone with a…
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Nine Inch Nails
With Boys Noize Accor Arena, Paris, 7July A different city. A different country. A different headline act. The same expectation and excitement. The first gig on our personal #RaceAcrossEurope tour, saw us take in the magnificent Accor Arena in Paris to see Nine Inch Nails with support, and some added musical accompaniment when required by…
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Butler Blake & Grant
With The Golden Tree The City Halls, 24 June For the past few years Bernard Butler, Norman Blake and James Grant have been ‘busking’ away at several small venues across the country. Professional busking it must be said. Intricate guitar work, beautiful harmonies, and a stage presence that captivates the audience. At the City Halls…
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The Secret Goldfish
With The Cords The Glad Cafe, 21 June The beginning of the end, an interview, album launch and a support act that are getting better each time we see them. The Glad Café on a summer Saturday night in Glasgow was the hottest ticket in town, as much for the musical talent on show as…
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The Waterboys
With The Deep Blue Barrowland Ballroom, 14 June The Waterboys have been in existence, one way or another for over forty years, debuting with their self-titled album in 1983. During that time, they have recorded sixteen studio albums shapeshifting along the way to be a rock band, folk rock, Celtic soul and whatever other styles…
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New Candys
With Floating Heads and The Miracle Seeds Stereo, 10 June Leaving the bright lights of Renfield Lane, it’s hard to imagine that the flight of stairs leading to the darkened basement of Stereo would lead to a powerhouse of psychedelic rock, spearhead by Italian masters New Candys ably supported by Scottish bands Floating Heads and…
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Pulp
OVO Hydro, 7 June A game of two halves with music from the present, taken from the album More released 24 hours before the gig, blending seamlessly with music from the past to a packed audience that had already taken the new songs to their heart. There was an old fashion Variety Show feel to…
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Tom McGuire & The Brassholes
With support from Niamh Corkey The Runshack, 4 June Based on the highly enjoyable debut and follow up albums by Tom McGuire & The Brassholes, it didn’t take too much persuading to buy a ticket to attend the album launch party at The Rumshack. With the album officially launched the previous Friday, there was also…
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The Bathers
With support from Constant Follower Glasgow University Debating Hall, 30 May There is something quite classical about the Glasgow University Union’s Debates Chamber. Renovated to its original stature, the space conveys a sense of tradition, elegance and grandeur. Those words in bold conveying all that is beautiful about the music provided by The Bathers, with…
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Glass Cheques
With support from Ferguson McChuills, 21 May McChuills is what you would call an intimate venue, tucked to the side of the popular city centre bar. While the bar’s TVs were showing the Europa League Final, far more entertainment was being played out in the darkened room next door, with Ferguson opening up for headliners…
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The Rose City Band
Stereo, 14 May Ripley Johnson’s previous musical projects, Wooden Shjips and Moon Duo, have been variously described as ‘experimental’, ‘minimalist’, drone rock, and ‘spacey psychedelic rock’, all terms that, providing you are in tune with them, draw you willingly to his current incarnation, the Rose City Band. In the run up to their appearance at Stereo in…
