25 Sept 2013

The Long Drive to Scotland....

Well, how can you follow all that? I'll tell you how, a swift drive up to Glasgow, dinner at  Pizza Hut, and a once-in-a-life-time-gig at the Classic Grande Glasgow to see the one and only UK Alice Cooper Tribute band Gallus Cooper!
Scotland here we come
Ozzy lookalike screams his heart out

Some other band I completely forgot about. sorry guys

So, off we went, early on Friday morning with our trusty satnav (in Steve's head), to Glasgow. On and on and on...... for a while and then some. But we got there in the end, found a car park oppo the venue, and went to find food. Pizza Hut in Scotland is, unsurprisingly, pretty much the same as in England, even down to the dried up mayo in the salad bar.

And then we went back and changed into our ''show gear' in the car park (we are soooo ROCK AND ROLL) Got back to the venue where there was a Q, so we waited for about, oh five minutes ) and then went up to the box office to pick up our tix. MASSIVE THANK YOU to Rachael and Bill, we were on the VIP guest list, so we got to sit in the VIP bar :) See, I told you we were V Rock n Roll.

Before the show, we spent sometime with Bill and Rachael, (snake providers supreme) downstairs, out the back whilst waiting for the main event. Bill has invested a lot of time and effort into this show, building the gallows, making costumes, providing the snake etc, and it was a privilege to share some of it with him before the show. And the odd fag too. :)  I don't smoke. really. Gave up in 87.
Anyway, we sat in a kind of brick tunnel, with a gate to the road at one end,  - and the creepy winding stairs down to it were awesome ....would've made an excellent party venue!


The VIP area was a bar upstairs at the back of the not-very-big hall. Great view, but, well..... it's at the back. Fine for the support band, a Black Sabbath tribute. Now, I love Ozzy dearly, but I find BS a little dirgy at the best of times - these guys were very true to their idols, and so they were very enjoyable, even tho I don't know  Black Sabbath like a superfan would.
 One of the best things about gigs is the opportunity to meet up with other like minded fans, and this was no exception as Peter Woodrow and friend had arrived a little after we had! Great to meet up with you guys so soon after the last time!!! So, we went down to spend some time with them, and also get a bit nearer the front.


Gallus Cooper time -  tiny stage, but they made the most of it! Was SO GREAT to hear so many Alice songs performed - there was a girl next to me who knew all the words too so we sang together! Loving the gallows, and Bill in the Frankensteins costume, and all the props, and the massive effort they have put into it!! Lots and LOTS of fun - although I'm kinda glad the sword didn't come too near me :) that looked a bit scary tbh. My memory is a bit hazy as to the set list, but they did all the usuals faves, Nice Guy, Elected, Dwight Frye, Dirty Diamonds (got some beads!) and of course Schools Out, complete with balloons. Bill played a number of parts, inc Frankenstein, and various zombies, and it was him who hanged Gallus. Somehow, I seem to have missed photo-ing that bit. . . . . . .





Bill shows off his brilliant Black Widow jacket
School is defo out

So, it was another excellent night out, many thanks to all who made it come together, specially Bill and Rachael, who were off the Ireland with Gallus for the following night, but STILL let us stay in their place even tho they weren't there.

Fuck me,  their house deserves a page all of its own. Looking extremely normal and unassuming from the outside, cornflake gravel notwithstanding, once you get inside, it's a whole other story. The living room is dominated by two Alice portraits on the wall, and an assortment of Halloween decorations, some of which shriek if you get too close, lol. The snake's glass container is in the corner, and there are two mad Sphinx cats, who we had to shut in the kitchen as they are kind of smelly LOL. But one of them keep peering thru the glass door, think she was lonely, bless. So we did let them back in for a bit - she was SO happy! And I am a cat person after all.
Awesome paintings, the kind of art I'd like to have on my wall



Jeez, I neeeeed one of these
 

Bill has an amazing collection of props lying around, fake balls and chains, axes,  '18' crutches, countless backstage passes...... Several polystyrene heads/skulls and body parts, a large collection of costumes, humungous cobwebs, Alice figurines, the list goes on and on! Also, a glass fronted cabinet with  pictures books dvds, cds, singles, etc etc -  the whole place is Nirvana for the true Alice fan, and I consider myself very privileged to have seen it all, never mind stayed there twice!
I believe Rachael has now aquired two gigantic hairy spiders, so I don't know if I'll be able to sleep there again.............Well, alright, I might manage it if they're in some kind of secure cage/box/container/strongbox/container/trunk/lockup/fort knox/.......

After a decent sleep, we set off back home again, a long trip during which we planned a trip to Florida to see Alice in October, and discussed how much fun it would be to be in a tribute band! Well, Steve would be in the band, I would just do the stage design and help with props etc :)
On the way home
And sadly, that's it for the time being. Alice is touring in USA for Oct/Nov, so if I don't make it to Florida or the Pudding, it'll be Germany next March, and the Classic Meets Rock tour..........But I am counting on Steve to come thru for Florida (heheh)

Meanwhile I am trying to catch as many tribute bands in the UK as I can - Whole Lotta Led, Limehouse Lizzie, and Think Floyd. And we will be seeing Ugly Kid Joe In October, so Bring It ON!!


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