Singing in the rain

I took my eldest Son to his very first "real" gig last night and rather than ease him in gently with something like the Tindersticks at Glasgow City hall I decided to throw him in at the deep end, Friday night, front and centre, Radiohead, Glasgow green.

I had actually bought him 2 tickets for his Birthday and told him to go along with a friend ....in the full knowledge that none of his friends would be seen dead at Radiohead. "Reluctantly" I agreed to go along with him and I am really glad I did as the gig was truly fantastic.

Despite the fact that we arrived at 5.40pm, a full 3 hours before Radiohead hit the stage, and had to content ourselves with drinking watered down cider/Irn-Bru that became more diluted by the second due to the usual Scottish June downpour, we both left with very big smiles on our faces.

One of the major benefits of arriving early is of course that you can stake your claim to a little bit of grass close to the stage and in the middle for the best view. I also taught my son the helpful rule of standing directly behind a group of small women in order to ensure an unobstructed view, at least until the pogoing starts.

Among the many highlights of the night there was a singalong version of Karma Police and what you would have thought was a stage managed opening of the heavens at the point that Thom started singing "rain down, rain down..." during Paranoid Android. They played almost all of the tracks from their fabulous new album and they came across brilliantly live live. The band certainly seemed to enjoy themselves and the rain soaked crowd danced, sang and moshed like only Glasgow crowds can. Thom showed his mischievous side when he looked heavenwards at the leaden Glasgow sky and said ,"you should move down South", but he was quickly forgiven after belting out a mesmerising version of Weird Fishes.

2 hours of fantastic music, an awe inspiring stage set and a friendly, fun loving capacity crowd. I just hope my Son doesn't expect this every time......maybe i'll go to the Tindersticks gig on my own.