The Delgados at Barrowlands – grand night out 🙂
WE’RE going to Barrowlands to see The Delgados tonight so I head into Glasgow with Margaret, drop her off then go and find a McDonalds for breakfast, a three-hour coffee and wifi.
I get quite a lot of work done, including knocking up some artwork and making the new version of Loch Lomond (Home) available on Bandcamp and Soundcloud. It’s available immediately to folks on my mailing list, in my Wildcats’ group…and also reader of this blog. Download/stream/listen here.
I also set it up for ‘official’ release – ie: Spotify, Apple Music, Deezer, Amazon etc etc – on 3 March.
Intrigued to see if this kinda ‘soft’ release works.
After a quick wander round at The Fort I go back to the car and have my sandwich, do a little more online work then it’s time to pick up Margaret.
We head to The Winged Ox at Saint Lukes for some grub – excellent food and great value – then toddle round the corner to Barrowlands.
I’m slightly disappointed in support act Andrew Wasylyk. As former frontman of the Hazy Janes and a good singer/songwriter (as well as one of my old New Deal for Musicians clients!) he has an eight piece band and plays 45 minutes of what I’d describe a chilled out instrumental film music. Musically it’s all excellent…but as a live performance (especially in a place the size of Barrowlands) it leaves both Margaret and I a little cold. And confused.
The Delgados are, on the whole, excellent…I’m not convinced they needed the additional strings and woodwind, particularly as these instruments seemed to overpower the guitars and vocals. Only other complain was a very inanimate and lacklustre audience. A sell-out crowd at Barrowlands usually increases the atmosphere exponentially, but this lot gauche the impression they weren’t really that fussed about the music.
We discuss it on the way home and come to the conclusion that the majority of audience members were all ‘too cool for school’…or maybe at the show because it was either ‘the place to be’, or ‘John Peel liked them (a lot)’ rather than because they actually like the band and the music. Regardless, we like the band, the music and had a great night.
AFTER breakfast I get the paddleboard inflated and make up a meal plan – and shopping list – for the coming week to send to Margaret.
I get a little more work done in the studio by the time David rolls up and we head out for a couple of hours’ paddle on the loch.
It’s kinda grey and spookily misty but the water is pretty flat most of the way.
Back home we have a coffee, David heads off and I have a quick lunch before getting back to the studio.
I wanna cut some of the instrumental intro on the new version of Loch Lomond (Home)..and there’s a few rogue transient spikes that need sorted. No idea where they came from but they’re pegging the meters and annoying me!
There’s some green screen video to be shot in the studio to add to the stuff I put together yesterday. Suddenly it’s after 8pm and Margaret’s making dinner so I shut up shop and head to the house,..
I do a very rough video edit for the new Loch Lomond (Home) so I can let the Wildcats hear it in the livestream
AFTER my usual Monday morning rush to get on top of stuff before my first Zoom guitar student I have time to plan the rest of the day.
I need to make a few edits to the new recording of Loch Lomond (Home) to remove a couple of rogue clocks/peaks..and I still uncertain whether or not the intro is too long. I’ll see what the folks in my Facebook Wildcats’ group think when I let them hear it tonight.
After lunch I have a music industry Zoom meeting for an hour or so, then I decide to go for a walk up the loch side and try and grab some footage for a rough edit.
Taking moving, selfie video proves to be harder than I anticipated but I get some footage. However, when I get home, I find it’s at a different frame rate and audio sampling rate than the rest of the stuff on the timeline and it’s never gonna sync properly. I end up manually selecting some short clips and manually joey-ing them around to fit.
There’s not a lot of time before my next Zoom student..then it’s pretty much straight into the livestream so I pull something quick’n’dirty together for the livestream and leave it at that.
WE’RE up at a reasonable time and have breakfast then I head to the studio.
Although my plan is to do a ‘proper’ recording of the alternative version of Loch Lomond (Home) there’s a load more web server stuff to be done which takes much longer than I expect.
Mid-afternoon Matty emerges from the spare room and goes out for a run.
We’ve been having problems with our hot water and our pal David rocks up to check out what’s going on. Looks like it’s a valve…I order a replacement from Screwfix and Margaret drives to Dumbarton to pick it up. We’ll get it fitted tomorrow.
In the kitchen I ball up the pizza dough and put it in a tray for later tonight then make up some wholemeal sourdough, replenish and feed the starter and hit the studio.
I spot a message from Betty and nip along to see her..then back home and into the studio where I start setting up to record. I get a version of the song down, but it’s not great…then it’s time to go back to the house and start prepping for pizzas…
The human jukebox – Tom Urie at the Oak Tree Inn…
AFTER the routine stuffs out the way, the morning and eery part of the afternoon is spent trying to unsubscribe for my web hosting company’s security packages.
All the sites are now clear of malware and – hopefully – secured. I don’t need to be paying a monthly fee for every site on the server!
Of course, cancellation of these kind of things is never straightforward…and I get really pissed when they offer me a 40% – then 50% discount…I explained that I’d enquired about a multi-site discount or service at the outset and was told they couldn’t do that. Obviously they could have if they wanted to!
I’ve also noticed that the anti-spam service I use for one of my email addresses has been billed monthly at $20 a month instead of annually for $69. I check the renewal and there’s no option to change back to annual billing. What the fuck is going on?!? The company’s support, help and contact page are also ‘unavailable..try again later.”
By the time Martyn arrives to go for a walk up the loch side my piss is boiling! Good to leave it all behind for a wee while!
Back home I get a little more work done then we head to the local pub to catch the end of Tom Urie’s Friday evening set. Nice to see him and relax with a beer.
Matty’s coming to stay, but won’t be arriving ’til later. We have dinner and watch film which we stop when Matty appears sometime after midnight…
NO time for a lie-in…lots to get done before my regular Thursday morning guitar student arrives.
One we’re through with the lesson I get a little more security work done on my set server then get my stuff together before heading to the school in Balloch.
En route I stop in Croftamie to pick up a gas cylinder for the pizza oven.
After a couple of hours with the kids I head for home and pick up a prescription for the prostate ‘problems’.
I’m home in good time for another guitar student arriving.
After the lesson I make some poolish in prep for a batch of pizza dough to be made tomorrow and ready for Saturday.
Sitting in front of the fire we make a quick phone video of another version of Loch Lomond (Home) I’ve been messing with…not really my style, but I like it…and after posting around my socials, it looks like other folks do too 🙂
I SLEEP right through my alarm and don’t wake up ’til about 9.30am. Weird.
Lots of stuff to be tidied in the garden after breakfast – it’s a lovely day – cold but dry and crisp.
After making up a shopping list and meal plan for the coming list and sending it to Margaret I spend some time setting up gear in the studio. After the Mac upgrade there’s still quire a lot to be done to integrate everything. And said’s law delivers an email from Apple saying they’ve just launched a new Mac mini worth an M2 chip. Just two weeks after we got the M1 chip-based model. Ahhh…hindsight’s an amazing thing.
I get out for my first proper walk since I was in hospital and enjoy a stroll up the lochside just as it’s starting to get dark.
Margaret’s just arrived back with the shopping when I get back…we put it all away and I start work on the pork shoulder cutting it into cubes for tonight’s pork, chorizo and bean casserole. I keep a few portions of pork for carnitas and save all the fattier bits and off cuts for my next batch of Andouille sausage.
While the casserole’s bubbling away we take a walk along to see Betty…then home just after 10pm for dinner.
ANOTHER early start – this time into Glasgow and Margaret drops me off in Milngavie at 8am to get the train into town.
My final destination is Forth Valley hospital at Larbert…but any direct public transport from home is non-existent. With that in mind the easiest way sis to go into Glasgow then get a bus from Buchanan Street bus station.
My appointment isn’t until 3.45pm tho’, so I do my usual breakfast/coffee/wifi routine at a McDonalds for a few hours, have a walk around town the catch the bus.
The bus driver, though, decides he isn’t gonna stop at the hospital despite me having got up and standing beside his cab. I press the emergency stop button and told him I thought the bus would stop automatically at the hospital. He replied “I did and no-one got off…”. That’s bollocks, I was standing at the door and he didn’t stop at all. Cunt.
Anyway I get off at. junction and walk back up the road to the hospital. Still a couple of hours ’til my appointment so I have some lunch in the cafeteria and start drinking lots of water as instructed…and rest any urge to go pee.
I’m seen pretty much bang on time at urology and go through the pee flow test, bladder scan, willy and ball examination…and finger up the arse. Now I’ve had the finger exam at the doc’s a few times, but they were nothing compared to this. Let’s just say she was ‘very thorough’!
Anyway, the upshot is that there’s nothing terribly sinister going on but the flow suggests my pee tube is being restricted by my prostate. I’m prescribed two types of medication that, apparently, I’m to be on for the rest of my days.
Margaret’s waiting in the car park to take me back home…I don’t feel like doing much so I chill in front of the fire and play some guitar. Oh, I have a couple beers too…just ‘cos I’m feeling sorry for myself!
THE alarm goes off at 7am for me to get the wholemeal sourdough bread in the oven.
It’s done before 8am but needs an hour to cool before getting tore in. Margaret and Mikey are both still asleep anyway.
Meantime I hit the office, finish the West Highland Way Gifts’ order for the village shop, sort an invoice and drop it all off.
Back home I make a batch of feta and sun dried tomato egg bites, get some work done then have breakfast before a Zoom guitar session with one of my students.
When I finish Margaret and Mikey are finishing breakfast. Fiona’s coming at midday to go for a paddle so I get my board inflated and gather all the gear I need.
It’s a fair bit windier than we expected and the loch’s really choppy. We make to the island and have our coffee then make our way back.
After a late lunch I get back on the web server malware issue then do a little prep for tonight’s livestream into my Wijldcats’ Facebook group.
Another Zoom session with a guitar student then it’s onto the livestream…then back to the house for dinner and an early-ish night.off to Glasgow early doors then onto Larbert for an appointment at the prostate clinic. Yuk!
STRAIGHT into the office after breakfast to get on with my accounts and tax return.
By the time Mikey rocks up early afternoon I’m up to date (for last year’s accounts!) and my 2021-2022 tax return is submitted. Phew. Must make a start on getting 2022-23’s accounts brought up to date…
Next job is website/server malware removal. I’m pretty sure I know who the while server got infected. One of my web clients hasn’t (ever) kept his site up to date and when things get so old they become vulnerable to attack…then all the sites on the server get cross-infected.
Once things are in hand – and it’s gonna take a wee while – I start production on a bunch of West Highland Way Gifts‘ stuff for the village shop. Looks like it’s gonna be good weather the next few days so I want to be able to deliver the stuff tomorrow (Monday) morning.
Margaret’s helping Mikey sort out all his receipts and accounts for his tax return…I go back to the house and make dinner and we watch our pal Bill’s monthly livestream form Florida…
