Hothouse Flowers – Glasgow Barrowland

I bought the single Don’t Go when it first came out.

To say I liked it would be something of an understatement.

I can clearly remember one afternoon playing it sixteen times in a row. Whether that demonstrates excellent musical taste or some sort of obsessive personality trait is probably open to debate, but either way I was completely hooked.

Not long afterwards I bought their debut album and loved that too.

For one reason or another, however, I never got around to seeing Hothouse Flowers live, despite their reputation as one of the best live bands around. Over the years I’d heard countless stories about how good they were on stage, but somehow our paths never crossed.

So when they announced a pre-Christmas Barrowland show featuring songs from their first two albums, the decision was made instantly.

It was a complete no-brainer.

Before the main event, support came from Lorraine Nash.

She was excellent.

Even more remarkably, the audience were almost respectful throughout her set, which is becoming something of a rarity these days. Lorraine’s songs and performance were more than strong enough to hold people’s attention and she did a fine job of warming up the crowd.

Then it was time for Hothouse Flowers.

One thing I discovered afterwards was that not everyone left happy.

Some fans on the band’s social media pages were complaining that there weren’t enough songs from the first two albums. Others seemed particularly upset by the fact that Don’t Go stretched out to around twenty-six minutes and included lengthy instrumental sections and individual band introductions.

Personally, I loved it.

Part of the joy of seeing a great live band is watching songs evolve beyond their studio versions. If I wanted to hear the exact album recording, I’d have stayed at home and put the CD on. The extended version of Don’t Go felt like a celebration rather than an indulgence, with each member of the band getting their moment in the spotlight.

And judging by the smiles on stage, they were enjoying themselves as much as the audience.

That’s always a good sign.

Unfortunately, there was one member of the audience who seemed determined to test my patience.

For reasons that remain unclear, Emma and I appear to attract the oddest people at concerts.

Tonight’s contribution came in the form of a woman who started complaining to her friend that tall people shouldn’t be allowed near the front of gigs. Having voiced this fascinating theory, she then squeezed in beside Emma and proceeded to talk through much of the show.

Not quietly either.

At one point I found myself staring at her in disbelief, only for her to respond with a shocked expression, as though I was somehow the unreasonable one.

The lack of self-awareness was genuinely impressive.

Her finest moment came when she interrupted Liam O Maonlai during the show.

Fortunately, Liam handled the situation with considerably more grace than I would have managed.

Rather than getting annoyed, he spontaneously made up a song for her on the spot.

And somehow, despite the circumstances, it became one of the most magical moments of the evening.

She probably didn’t deserve such kindness.

But that’s one of the reasons Liam is Liam and I’m me.

Looking back, I thoroughly enjoyed the concert. After waiting decades to finally see Hothouse Flowers live, they more than lived up to their reputation. The songs were fantastic, the musicianship was exceptional and the sense of joy coming from the stage was infectious.

Whether they played enough songs from the first two albums is something other fans can argue about.

I got to hear Don’t Go stretched into a glorious twenty-six-minute adventure at the Barrowland.

That was good enough for me.

The videos below include Lorraine Nash’s support set, footage from Hothouse Flowers and the wonderfully unexpected moment when Liam turned an audience interruption into something genuinely special.

Some people in the fan group were not happy with the Hothouse Flowers show, especially the twenty six minute version of ‘Don’t Go’ which included a band introduction where they all done a solo spot, which I enjoyed. They said they never played enough songs from the two albums but I thought the songs they played were great and the band seemed to be enjoying it. See what you think…

Unfortunately we seem to attract nutters everywhere and tonight we had a most annoying woman who started complaining to her friend behind us that that tall people shouldn’t be allowed down the front. Then she squeezed in beside Emma and talked all the way through the gig. When she caught me staring at her she had a shocked look on her face, like I was crazy for giving her the evils.

She rudely interrupted Liam and he graciously wrote a song for her on the spot. She didn’t deserve it, but here it it. It was quite a magical moment.