Where: The Usher Hall – Edinburgh, Scotland (UK) & The Barrowlands – Glasgow, Scotland (UK)
Venue ratings: Both 10/10 (How could I rate them any less?)
Who I went with: Myself
Where I stayed: EDI b&b (a flatshare) in Edinburgh & Artto Hotel (which was basic but nice) in Glasgow
How I travelled there: Paul drove down for work, so I got a lift to Edinburgh. I went back home and returned to Glasgow a few days later via bus because I couldn’t book so many days off work in a row
Beverage of choice: None at the actual venues but cava beforehand
SETLIST:
- Where Did All The Guitars Go?
- Land Of The Bees
- One For The Radio
- God Of Rock & Roll
- Friday Night
- Corrupted
- Lies
- Route 55
- I’m Fine
- Too Close For Comfort
- Everybody Knows
- Star Girl
- Happiness
- Obviously
- Not Alone (Tom & Danny acoustic)
- All About You (Tom & Danny acoustic)
- Shine On (With Steven Battelle)
- Red (Danny in the crowd)
- Forever’s Not Enough (Encore)
- Honey I’m Home (Encore)
- 5 Colours In Her Hair (Encore)
I really hope my blog will do these concerts justice, as they were two of my favourites so far. I am doing this one a bit differently, as I will be comparing the Edinburgh and Glasgow shows. Basically, I am too lazy to write two separate blogs. That doesn’t make me any less passionate about what I have to say, though. I was ecstatic to secure tickets to both of these shows during the stressful pre-sale, as they sold out in a matter of minutes. Glasgow was my first choice, being one of my favourite cities and one of the best places to attend concerts. I had two tabs open and got an Edinburgh ticket as a back-up before a Glasgow one became available again. I couldn’t bring myself to sell it and decided McFly is worth seeing at least twice. The Barrowland Ballroom aka. The Barras is such an iconic venue and I couldn’t think of a more fun band to see there than McFly as their energy is off the charts and I knew their songs would have everybody jumping up an down in excitement. I heard you can feel the floor move if you dance hard enough but sadly I didn’t experience this. The Usher Hall is also a brilliant venue and beautiful inside and out. A lot of people name it as their favourite Scottish venue and I can see why but I am more obsessed with ticking off Glasgow venues from my bucket list. An Aberdeen date was later announced but I figured seeing the band three times on the same tour would probably be overkill.
I queued in the late afternoon both days as I have come to the conclusion that arriving at least a couple of hours before doors open almost always guarantees you a great spot. I know McFly are hugely popular, so worried the queues would be a mile long by the time I arrived but I didn’t end up far back at all. We general admission folk had the VIP guests to contend with, who paid almost triple the price to enter the venue early and attend the sound-check. I might have considered it if I didn’t have so many events on but it seemed a little pricey, even if you are promised a goodie bag and the chance to take pictures with the band (from behind the barrier). Paul queued with me in Edinburgh and held my spot while I took advantage of the local Wetherspoons’ facilities. I missed Kerr Mercer’s relatives handing out signed cards and bragging about how much of an up-and-coming artist he is but Paul got me one. In Glasgow, I had my kindle app to keep me company. They didn’t come around to hand out cards there, unless I missed them because I was glued to my book. Queuing was painless for the most part but it became freezing, so I wore my jacket until McFly came on.
We were let in at 7pm both nights. I got a wristband for Usher Hall to signify I was standing, as there were also balcony seats. I get a thrill every time I walk into a new venue and always try to remember the small details of the interior. The entry to Usher Hall was more straight-forward, as you head into the main area. The Barras was more of a free-for-all once they opened the barrier to the doors and you have to go up several flights of stairs. The cloakroom confused me, as I didn’t know whether to go that way to find the stage or not. I didn’t find toilets or the merch stall, so I am guessing they were both in there. It was easy to get a spot near the front both nights and I was nice and central, in front of Danny. I could feel the blood pumping through my body as McFly are one of my favourite bands and they hold a special place in my heart, since seeing them was my first real concert (which I went to of my own accord, instead of being dragged). We were promised new music at the end of their London concert at The O2 Arena back in 2021 but their new album, ‘Power To Play’, which this tour is promoting, was a long time in the making. Tom released a children’s album, ‘Space Band’, in the meantime, which is fun but I am not the target audience and I don’t have kids. I do think it would have been funny to include one of the songs from it or at least a snippet on this tour but I’m kind of glad they didn’t. It was a pleasant surprise to hear Dougie singing on the album, after the positive reaction from fans when he filled in for Tom on some tour dates when he fell ill. I got back into their music when they released their album ‘Young Dumb Thrills’ in 2020 and single ‘Dragonball’ around the same time, after a long hiatus. Their ‘Lost Songs’ also made me really happy, since ‘Red’ instantly became my favourite song of theirs to date. Before this tour, I had forgotten about their older songs ‘Corrupted’ and ‘Not Alone’ but they are fantastic additions to the setlist.
Kerr Mercer was the first to take to the stage and effortlessly captivated the crowds. It was an oddly mellow start to the evenings but everyone lapped up his songs with no complaints or disinterest. I am failing to find any information about him online or recordings, so I made a special effort to remember his songs. I am a sucker for piano ballads, so his music is right up my street. I thought he sounded a bit like George Ezra, since his voice was lower and richer than I expected it to be. He announced he is from Glasgow and lives just up the road from The Barras. I don’t know whether he is doing every tour date or just the Scottish ones as his name wasn’t on the tickets but he seemed genuinely honoured to have the opportunity and told us McFly was the first band he had seen live. I was astonished to hear he is only seventeen years old. He joked about a song he wrote when he was fifteen, called ‘Carry Me Home’ if I am remembering right, saying he still performs it to this day. Both opening acts were much chattier in Glasgow than they were in Edinburgh, though he laughed about his canned water on the first night and said he wished he was drinking beer instead. He encouraged us to shine our torches for one of his slower songs to create the desired mood and most people obliged. When his set was near the end he told us he sold out a show at SWG3 (which I was coincidentally attending the following night for The Wonder Years) before promoting his upcoming appearance at King Tut’s. There is a barcode you can scan on his crew’s t-shirts and the signed cards which were handed out, linking to tickets for that show. He jumped on to the guitar for his last song, switching it up a little. He is undeniably talented, so I’m interested to see if he gains a lot more recognition over the next few years. Hopefully this tour has given him a boost.
LostAlone came on after a short interval and got the crowd more pumped up. They paraded around the stage with what seemed like an endless amount of energy, encouraging people to go as wild as possible and wave their hands in the air etc. Steven Battelle (frontman of the band) comes across as a quirky person and has an odd sense of humour, which you could see took people a while to adjust to. Some people didn’t know what to make of the whole thing and were growing increasingly impatient to see McFly but most of the crowd were on his side. They were unpredictable and kept me wondering what they were going to do next, even though it was my second time seeing them by the time Glasgow rolled around. SB talked a lot to the crowd between the songs and, although he boldly referred to himself as “a legend on stage” numerous times, they were mostly optimistic and supportive in response. He talked about playing golf with the band the day before and feeling the pain in his arm as he fist pumped the air and got heckled, with people accusing him of not playing the sport well enough if that was the case. He replied they haven’t even seen his Instagram videos and are just making a snap judgement based on his appearance, which was really funny. The band barely stood still and were giving 110% effort. It was great to see SB perform ‘Shine On’ with McFly later in the night, too. They were much more rock-orientated than KM before them and worked well as a bridge between him and the main act even though none of the musicians were particularly alike. He confidently promoted their new single, ‘I’m A Fire You Can’t Put Out’ before an equally energetic performance of it and left me feeling more in the party spirit by the end of their set.
McFly came onstage at 8:50pm sharp in Edinburgh but a little later in Glasgow because the fire alarm went off minutes before they were due to perform. My heart sank to the bottom of my stomach as I panicked we would all need to be evacuated, which would eat up too much time and lead to the concert being cancelled. Thankfully, they turned it off after a couple of minutes and nobody spoke of it again. The show opened with the ‘YMCA’ song and the corresponding letters flashed along the stage. It was reminiscent of when Pistola Bear played it on the screen at The O2. Was he a one-off gimmick, or will he make a return? ‘Young Dumb Thrills’ was shunned this time around, with only ‘Happiness’ making it on to the setlist. Fans have been very vocal about their hatred of ‘Party Girl’ (Tom thanked us for sticking with them through that phase, so they are well aware of the backlash) and ‘Shine a Light’, which I actually like but was noticeably absent from this setlist. I don’t know how well received ‘YDT’ was but I must have listened to it a hundred times. They bounded onstage to a roaring applause both nights and the places exploded with the sound of guitars during ‘Where Did All The Guitars Go?’ This album has helped them deviate from their pop band image/reputation and really showcases what they can do. They really deserve more credit than they get. It was great to hear the new songs, since I have listened to the album so many times and play it in my car to calm my driving anxiety. I adored Tom and Danny’s stripped-back acoustic set and got goosebumps because of the beauty and sincerity of it. I was highly anticipating ‘Honey, I’m Home’ which is my favourite off of the new album and Danny hit it out of the park. He is one of the best singers I have ever heard. Dougie’s songs were fantastic and emotional and I wondered whether singing felt normal to him by now. Harry was excellent on the drums too, of course.
I love all of the band members and couldn’t decide who to focus on, with my eyes darting around the stage and making me dizzy. I wouldn’t change anything about the setlist and the only way it would have been better is if it was longer. That would be asking a lot, as they were already on stage for nearly two hours. I heard they included ‘Transylvania’ on Halloween in Birmingham, which was a nice touch. They also dressed up for the occasion! People were speculating whether or not they would have Lewis Capaldi guest star as they were going to open for him a couple of months earlier before the concert was cancelled but no such luck. It didn’t matter. People just had guest stars on their minds since they had some for their London shows. Dougie did most of the talking and although it seemed semi-scripted, they added different jokes and quips each night. A few moments made me laugh, like when Harry imitated the Glasgow accent and Dougie introduced Tom as “David Walliams’ worst nightmare” since they write children’s books of a similar style. Dougie also tried to provoke a reaction by pitting Edinburgh and Glasgow against each other but the crowd wasn’t really feeding into it because many others were probably going to both shows. To be even more dramatic, he declared Edinburgh was their favourite because it has a castle. The rest of the band quickly stepped in and said his opinion does not represent theirs. A fan held up an old sign and the band admired it before Dougie outed him for having unofficial merch, which was also hilarious. I felt sorry for Danny when he sang in the crowd in Glasgow for ‘Red’ as people went crazy over him and refused to let him go. He laughed it off and joked he thought he was never getting out of there but looked a bit traumatised when he clambered back onstage. He was pressured to take his hoodie off shortly after that ordeal and Dougie called everyone perverts for objectifying him and said they are trying to be a real band. That whole bit was quite cringe-worthy. People were much more respectful in Edinburgh but the band must have known what they were getting themselves into.
I was excited to take home two guitar picks from Glasgow. Dougie nearly took my eye out with one and it landed in my bag, so it was destined to be mine. I think the other one was from Tom, as it hit me in the side of the neck. I have been to so many concerts now and this is my first time getting guitar picks as I never catch or reach them quickly enough. Danny threw his sweaty towel into the crowd both nights but I am happier with my guitar picks, honestly! He tried to throw it to the top balcony in Edinburgh but everyone missed it, so it fell into GA. The band waved and smiled at people as they sang, which made everyone feel included and noticed. They also did a segment which they claimed was “going viral”, where they brought fans onstage to play the cowbell during ‘Everybody Knows’. Going onstage in front of thousands of people would be my worst nightmare, so I put my head down. They picked a VIP guest in Edinburgh and she did a great job. In Glasgow, they chose a woman from further back in the crowd who held up a sign saying she could play the cowbell and that it was her thirtieth birthday. Something tells me she was lying about her cowbell playing abilities, as it took her a while to grasp it. It was quite corny but I’m sure these people will cherish those moments for the rest of their lives. I am an even bigger fan of the band now, if that is even possible. I am eyeing up a ticket to their newly announced show in Halifax next year already.
GALLERY
EDINBURGH
Queue at 4:30pm. Paul took this, which is why it’s HD
Usher Hall wristband
Ceiling and upper balcony
Kerr Mercer
Shining flashlights
LostAlone
Fist pumps
Tom
Dougie
Tom & Danny pose
Full band
Cowbell fan moment
Another full band shot (which was hard, with how wide the stage is)
Dougie making everyone laugh
Danny in the crowd during ‘Red’!
Cont’d
Another T & D guitar pose (there was no shortage of them)
Atmospheric
They seemed genuinely happy, which is always so good to see
Blurry exiting shot of the band name on stage
GLASGOW
The venue (admittedly taken two days later)
The ceiling
Kerr Mercer
Switch to guitar for his last song
LostAlone (It was so cold in there at the beginning, hence the jackets)
Embarrassing his crew member who showed up late, having him dress as a hot dog all day
Tom
Pose
Following Danny’s lead
Close-up of Danny
Didn’t turn out great but this is actually one of my favourite photos as it captures the atmosphere
Dougie
Cowbell moment again
Full band shot (best I could manage)
Performing with Steven Battelle for ‘Shine On’
Danny just about surviving the Barras crowd
‘Red’ pose
T & D pose x3
Dougie pose
<3
Harry
Guitar picks!
Hey Jenna! I am sitting at my desk working on your letter now, and just finished up reading this blog entry too. Absolutely amazing! Looks like so much fun!! Love the content you got!
Thank you for reading and for your kind comments. Definitely one (well two) of my favourite concerts ever! I have written you back today, so hopefully you should receive my letter soon!