It was in March 2018 that the idea first started to form in my mind. I would be turning fifty later in the year, and I wanted to do something memorable to mark my reaching that milestone in, more or less, one piece. I was in King Tut’s Wah Wah Hut, in Glasgow, watching a young band called Hunter & The Bear, in the company of my oldest friend, George (who was also reaching the same milestone that weekend), and his wife, Jen. As the gig finished, and we were heading home, I mentioned that I was considering trying to see fifty gigs in the year of my fiftieth. They were both enthusiastic about the idea, and the more I thought about it, so was I. The game was on!
By the time I hatched my plan at that gig in March, I’d been to nine shows. I only managed one in January, seeing the utterly brilliant Operation:Mindcrime, with my friend, Paul. I fared much better in February seeing five. The double-header of shows featuring Raveneye and Skam were both awesome, as was the show featuring Black King Cobra and the Sauza Kings.
March saw me go to three gigs, all of them superb. The Temperance Movement at the Barrowland will live long in my memory. Possibly the best live sound I’ve ever heard and, in Phil Campbell, one of the best vocalists out there. I also witnessed one of those ‘I was there’ moments when I saw Canadian band, The Glorious Sons, at King Tut’s. Those guys are headed for the very top, and will soon be filling arenas. I rounded the month off with the aforementioned Hunter & The Bear. A great show, but made more special by sharing it with my pals, who were visiting from the USA.
As spring got underway, I knew I’d be struggling to maintain a good tally of gigs. I work as a wildlife surveyor, and spring and summer are always busy. This year it was particularly so. It means staying away from home, in remote areas, with lots of stupidly early starts, and opportunities to get to gigs become very limited. Saying that, April wasn’t too shabby! I managed to see five shows, and four of them were amongst the best I saw all year. One of my favourite bands, Massive Wagons, took the roof off the Cathouse in Glasgow. I saw The Virginmarys for the first time (lost my Virginmarysinity, you might say), and was blown away. These guys are so powerful and passionate live and drummer, Danny Dolan, is a force of nature; one of the very best drummers I’ve seen. A real highlight of the month and the year, was winning a Facebook competition to attend the soundcheck, and chat to the band in advance of the gig, by Wayward Sons. I also got to take my friend, Malcolm, along – another member of the ‘Old Gits Turning 50 in 2018 Club’. The month was rounded off by Tax The Heat, who played a blinder of a show in Glasgow, to far too few people. These lads are brilliant and their sound is unique.
May was quieter but stuffed with quality. First up was Massive Wagons again, ably supported by the brilliant Hellbound Hearts. This gig, at the Dreadnought in Bathgate, was an absolute corker. Me and my main gig buddy, Wullie, sang ourselves hoarse, and spent a very enjoyable hour or so after the gig chatting to Wagons’ guitarist, Adam Thistlethwaite. The only other show that month was another standout: Black King Cobra, supporting Mason Hill, at King Tut’s.
June had been marked on my calendar for about nine months. Despite being a fan since the early 90’s, I’d never managed to see Pearl Jam play live. This year, I was putting that right. Thanks to a pal I met through Twitter, Phil Smith, I managed to get tickets for both of their London shows. I don’t really like arenas or stadiums, and I’m much more into small venues and up-and-coming bands these days, but this was a bucket list indulgence. As I was going all that way, I decided I might as well go the full hog and see both shows. In any case, PJ are renowned for playing long sets that vary dramatically from one gig to the next, so I was guaranteed to get a cracking mix of songs.
In the run-up to the Pearl Jam gigs, I entered a competition to win tickets for the Stone Free Festival, which was taking place on the Saturday 16th and Sunday 17th preceding the PJ shows, which were on Monday 18th and Tuesday 19th. I only went and won it! I had two tickets for each day, but this was only confirmed on the evening of Thursday 14th! I phoned Wullie and asked if he’d like to go. As one of his fave bands, Scorpions, were the headline band on Saturday, he agreed, and we made hasty, last minute plans to get there.
We flew from Edinburgh on the Saturday morning, and I almost missed the flight because the airport was so busy, and I’d made the fatal error of not checking in online, in advance. I had to run the full length of the airport, and made it onto the shuttle bus within seconds of them closing the gate! Wullie, meanwhile, had strolled through earlier as he’d had the good sense to check in online. I was flustered and breathless, but I was on the plane.
The Saturday was an absolute blast! We saw some great bands, the highlights amongst them being Killit, Anchor Lane, Aaron Buchanan and the Cult Classics, and the mighty Scorpions. We drank lots of beer and stayed on at the O2 for the after show party featuring covers band, Shot Through The Heart. At 4am, we stumbled back into the hotel and slept the sleep of the dead – well the comprehensively inebriated, at least. On Sunday, Wullie decided to head home. He had work and social commitments and wasn’t so interested in the bill for that day. I was pretty jaded and struggled to find a lot of enthusiasm for the majority of the bands. However, I did really enjoy Tyketto and Jared James Nichols.
In the organising of this last-minute addition to my itinerary, another couple of pals from Twitter offered me a bed for the night on the Sunday. This was really generous of them and I accepted with gratitude. Sonia Alani and Eric Duvet are stalwarts of the new rock scene, supporting so many bands and promoting the cause relentlessly. Eric is also a fantastic photographer and happened to be shooting the festival for Planet Rock. Check out his website to see his stunning work.
Next day, relaxed and ready, I was absolutely buzzing to see Pearl Jam, at last. At long, long last. I met Phil at the hotel he’d organised, and we headed out to have couple of beers and a bite to eat. The show was magnificent. The sound could have been a bit better, but that’s arenas for you. However, PJ were brilliant. Singing along to Black was a hairs-on-the-back-of-the-neck moment. During the gig, Eddie Vedder mentioned that he was struggling with a bad throat, but he was determined to get through the show. To be honest, I’d not noticed any issues but, disastrously, he was forced into cancelling the next night’s show! I flew home, gutted, but hugely grateful to have seen the first show, and to Phil for all he did to help me get there. There are some absolutely amazing people in the rock community.
Back to normality and I only saw one gig in July – Saints Of Arcadia, who I really enjoyed. At this point, just over halfway through the year, I’d only been to 19 shows (the festival only counted as one), and it didn’t look like I would be making that target of fifty.
August started with one of the highlights of the year. A triple bill of bands for under a tenner! It really is ridiculously cheap at times. First up were Fragile Things, who were excellent. They were followed by a band I’d been looking forward to seeing – Those Damn Crows. They didn’t disappoint! What a live band they are. I managed to snaffle a setlist and the band signed it for me. It’s got pride of place on my office wall. Finishing off the bill were melodic, Scottish rockers, The King Lot. It was a hard act to follow TDC, but they rose to the challenge. The rest of the month included two shows by the legendary Graham Bonnet – he of Rainbow, Alcatrazz and MSG. Both were great shows by a consummate performer and featured two great support bands in Gin Annie and Hollowstar. Finally, I went to the EP launch for young Scottish band, Concrete Kingdoms. In truth, I was actually there to see another favourite of mine, Empyre, who were one of the support bands. It was only the second time I’d seen them, but they were, once again, superb.
I went into September with a renewed enthusiasm for reaching the target. I was on 23 and had three more booked, for definite. As it happens, I also added two more as the month progressed. The Mason Hill gig in Edinburgh was fantastic. This is another band I have high hopes for, and who improve every time I see them. So tight, so polished. The next night, Welsh band, Scarlet Rebels played at the Stormbreakers event, where five bands competed for an opening slot at the forthcoming WinterStorm Festival. I’ve had their fantastic album, Keep Fighting, for a while and, live, they smashed it. Another Welsh outfit, Everyday Heroes, deservedly won a place but, unfortunately, Scarlet Rebels didn’t get the second slot on offer, which was a bit of an injustice. Florence Black were outstanding as support to very enjoyable, US rockers, 10 Years, and a young band called Edenthorn put on a great show at the Dreadnought the following week. At the very end of the month, I went to see Those Damn Crows again. I wasn’t planning to; they were first support on a triple bill and I wasn’t bothered about the other two ‘main’ bands. However, I had a free night, they were knockout in August, and I had a target to meet! Again, they blew me away. Another arena band in the making; if they can get the right breaks.
October is the month of my birthday. I’d planned on taking some time off to go on a short break with my family, and maybe slot a gig or two in, if I could. As it happens, a very nice little run of gigs popped up that week, and I decided I had to go for it if I was to stand any chance of making 50, and an influx of birthday money helped fund this plan.
Fittingly, the first gig of this run was on my actual 50th. I saw a band I’ve been into for a long time but had never seen live – Coheed And Cambria. Their new album is fantastic and the gig was brilliant. I saw Black King Cobra again, as support to Bigfoot, and they killed it. This is another young, Scottish band I’ve got high hopes for. A very funky, groovy band, with a rock edge. Australian band, Massive, were awesome two nights on the trot, with the Edinburgh gig a wild, raucous party of a show. That had been preceded by Killit, who I caught supporting Diamond Head. I didn’t watch DH, as I went to the Massive show instead. Two gigs in one night – I could do this! I saw Hunter & The Bear again, with my sister, in Glasgow. A superb show, with an amazing atmosphere, and the month was rounded off with another impromptu double header: Jizzy Pearl, singer with Love/Hate, and another long-time fave I’d never seen.
November duly arrived and I now had 36 gigs in the bag. Could I do it? Well, I was definitely going to give it a bloody good go!
After Jizzy Pearl had kicked things off, I got a surprise invitation from my pal, Stewart – yet another member of the ‘Old Gits Turning 50 in 2018 Club’ – to go and see Pat McManus (formerly of Mama’s Boys). We’d last seen him together in Alloa, thirty years ago! It was an odd venue but, boy, can Pat still rock that electric violin! Next, me and Wullie went to see Michael Schenker – my favourite lead guitarist of all time – and an all-star cast of singers that included Graham Bonnet. Mason Hill were absolutely brilliant, once again, supporting the surprisingly entertaining Dan Reed Network, and I saw another of my absolute favourite new bands, Broken Witt Rebels, play a stunning set in a tiny little venue in the Scottish borders. All of this led up to the annual pilgrimage to Troon in Ayrshire for WinterStorm.
Once again, the organisers of this brilliant two-day festival put on an amazing show. The standouts for me were Operation:Mindcrime, Wayward Sons, Anchor Lane, Everyday Heroes, The New Roses, Departed, and the phenomenal, Trucker Diablo, who had one of the most powerful bass sounds I’ve ever heard at a gig. I also got a chance to catch Black King Cobra for the fourth time this year as they closed out proceedings late Saturday night/early Sunday morning. Despite getting home at 3am, I dragged myself out to another show on the Sunday night. Once again, The King Lot put on a great show, and support band, Smoking Martha were very good too.
The month ended on a real high, with the return of The Virginmarys and another very special live show in Glasgow. Their album The Northern Sun Sessions is one of the outstanding releases of 2018 and the tracks translated to the live setting incredibly well.
It was December. I had 44 gigs under my belt. Six more should have been easy, right? Well, not really. I only had one more show booked. The rest would have to be picked off as and when, and I couldn’t see a huge number of options to choose from.
The first potential option was A Perfect Circle. Their album, Eat The Elephant, is sublime, and one of my top 5 releases this year, but their gig in Glasgow was sold out. Thankfully, I was able to use fan-to-fan resale site, Twickets, to get a ticket at face value, and avoided paying over the odds to some tout or organised thievery such as Viagogo. It was a great show, if a little unconventional. Singer, James Maynard Keenan, stood on a podium at the rear of the stage, unlit, throughout the gig! This was followed by my only advance booking of the month, CKY, a band I knew little about until September, but fell in love with. It was a bit of a shame that they were shifted out of the main Garage and into the smaller G2, due to less-than-hoped-for ticket sales, but they were still fantastic. For an old codger like me, this was a different kind of gig. Crowd surfing and a circle pit, and a raucous atmosphere are not what I’m used to, but it was great fun.
Now, I was struggling. I’d nothing else booked in, and I wasn’t convinced I had the time or inclination to get the last four I needed. What kind of talk is that, I thought? I wasn’t going to watch any old crap, but I had to be able to find four decent gigs before December ended. I checked the BandsInTown App and found a recently reformed, Glasgow outfit, called Baby Chaos: playing in Glasgow, on a Friday night, for a tenner. I was in! They turned out to be really good, too. Catchy, powerful rock and a great atmosphere.
As I’ve mentioned, I’m not a fan of arenas, and I’d put off going to see Black Stone Cherry, partly as it was at the SECC. However, one of the support bands was Monster Truck, who I’ve seen before and loved, so I took the plunge and grabbed a ticket. It was a really good show and I enjoyed it more than I thought I might. Only two more to go!
I’d noticed Trucker Diablo, who’d so impressed me at WinterStorm, were playing in Galashiels. It was an eighty mile trip each way, but I decided to go for it. Things got a bit hairy on the day, though; the first proper snow of the year, preceded by lashing rain and howling winds, descended on the area. An actual winter storm. However, I managed it, and the band were awesome. They really are a must-see live band.
And so it ends, but not in glorious failure! Oh, no. As if it was written in the script, the snow and ice relented the next day, and I was able to drive up to Dundee to round off an epic year of music by watching Scarlet Rebels as they supported Burnt Out Wreck. The venue was practically empty, as is so often the way in Dundee, but the band were fantastic. We had a good chat too and they posed for an obligatory photo. I’d done it! Fifty gigs in the year of my fiftieth birthday.
Some stats for those who like such things:
Total bands seen – 108
Most gigs in a month – November x9
The band I saw most times – Black King Cobra x4
The average ticket price – c.£16
Most visited venue – The Dreadnought, Bathgate x 6
I also managed a nice little haul of souvenirs …
I’ve not been able to devise a ranking, because too many were as good as each other and it’s proved an impossible task. Of the bands I’d never seen before, it was Those Damn Crows, Aaron Buchanan and the Cult Classics, The Virginmarys, The Glorious Sons, Trucker Diablo, and Pearl Jam who really made my jaw drop.
I had an amazing year going to all these events. I’m eternally grateful to my very patient and understanding wife, the old friends who’ve shared these times with me, the new pals who extended friendship and amazing generosity to a virtual stranger and have become firm friends since, and all the amazing bands.
Some people like to pontificate about how rock is dead. It’s not. It’s alive and well and going through a rebirth. There are some incredible bands out there, deserving of your support. Forget tribute acts and ancient has-beens charging a fortune for tickets, go and see new bands, in intimate venues, for less than twenty quid. You won’t regret it.
Oh, and if you fancy trying the 50:50 (or a variation thereof), then go for it!
Peter Carroll
