In my 25 years of Mogwai watching, I always thoroughly enjoy when I can catch them in their home city of Glasgow, the three times I have witnessed them at Barrowland have been particular special nights. Thus, in December 2017 another Avanti express was boarded for their latest Glasgow date and I was accompanied by the three Dewhurst boys, Uncle George and a rare appearance from the inimitable Ian McIver. I had very recently relocated to Manchester and was in an initial marginal homesick phase, so the timing was opportune to have a communal gather incorporating obligatory noisy music.
Glasgow Hydro. Image Credit blogspot.com
Our initial port of call was booking into our rooms at the hotel where we encountered some shenanigans confirming our reservation but that was smoothed out eventually. In a public house directly opposite the digs, I reverted into my traditional ‘sherpa’ mode to glean information on the area around our venue that evening at Glasgow Hydro. There was an impressively helpful bar chap who provided lots of local gen on the Anderston area of town.
It was a fair trek on the next leg as we navigated a footbridge over the M8 motorway. Our destination of Anderston was the birthplace of Thomas Lipton, Sir Billy Connolly and Eddi Reader of Fairground Attraction fame.
There were a plethora of pubs, some of which were the busiest I have seen in years. It sparked recollections of the golden age of alehouses in the 1980’s/90’s when as a scrawny scamp I visited Wall Street and the Grey Horse (turned into Yates Wine House in 1988) on the old main drag of Church Street in Preston town centre on many Friday and Saturday nights out.
Yates Wine Lodge in Preston. Image Credit lep.co.uk
The venues were so busy back in the day you had to plan a loo visit by mapping the quickest optimum route, potentially after drinking Bluebols or the cheap but vile house wine in Yates which was called Volari. The slightly surreal tag line on their advertising at the time was ‘Volari, the wine where the fun begins (backwards)!
Back in 2017, in the second hostelry we visited I was astonished to see Mr ‘helpful bar chap’ who had finished his earlier shift and was now on his own night out, so I managed to purchase him a cold beverage.
The Hydro has had several names, the latest reflecting the current sponsors as OVO Hydro. It is a large multi-purpose indoor venue with a futuristic design including outer pneumatic translucent cushions. It was built at a cost of £125m and the capacity is between 12306 and 14500 dependent on seating/standing ratios which makes it the fifth largest in the UK. It opened on schedule on 30th September 2013 despite having a roof fire three months earlier, the opening act was Rod Stewart.
It has hosted boxing, wrestling, UFC and Commonwealth games events alongside having the kudos of the BBC Sports Personality of the Year being staged there in 2014. During the Independence referendum period, it hosted Scotland’s largest ever televised debate and has also staged the MTV Europe Music Awards. Elton John, Kylie Minogue, Nine Inch Nails and Nile Rodgers and Chic amongst others have played there.
After following Mogwai for 20 years and seeing them in some tiny venues back in the day it was gratifying to see them gaining the acclaim they had always deserved and performing to their largest ever audience. However, the corresponding downside to that in my view was that the place was cavernous and impersonal. The band were introduced by their long-time pal, Arab Strap’s Aidan Moffat who was decked out in Santa Claus garb!
Mogwai on stage at the Hydro. Image Credit theskinny.co.uk
They as ever were in fine form with the set list commencing with ‘Hunted By a Freak’ and ending with ‘We’re No Here’. The night curtailed with a reverse laborious trog back to the hotel where we were very glad to able to rest our heads after another Mogwai adventure!