Paolo Nutini: Last Night In The Bittersweet Tour 13/12/2022

Where: OVO Hydro – Glasgow, Scotland (UK)

Venue rating: 9/10 (there was confusion again concerning which door to queue at)

Who I went with: Myself and my deteriorating mental health

Where I stayed: Hampton Court Guesthouse

How I travelled there: The longest bus journey in the world, from Inverness to Glasgow (which took six hours longer than it should have)

Beverage of choice: I downed one of those mini vino things from The Co-Op!

SETLIST:

I’ve been dreading writing this one. Not because of anything Paolo Nutini said or did but because it was one of the worst days of my life until around 8pm. If it wasn’t for my flight to San Francisco being cancelled on me very last-minute the month before, this would have been my worst experience with transport to date. I got an early-ish bus from Inverness to Glasgow at about 10am but was worried before I even left my house because there was snow on the ground. This shouldn’t be a big deal and you would think we would be better prepared for weather conditions such as this, being a cold and gloomy country most of the time. I was rightfully anxious because as soon as we boarded the bus we were told there was an accident on the A9 and we would have to wait until it cleared before we could even move. Seemingly, a lorry had skidded across the road and blocked both lanes. I knew we’d be waiting a long time, as traffic would be queuing up on either side. I started looking to see whether it was possible to get a refund for the concert because of the circumstances which were out of my control but it wasn’t.

We finally got the “get-go” and my optimism was returning even though I knew I’d already be cutting it fine, as I like to relax in the hotel and properly unwind before heading out – especially after a long, cramped and stuffy bus journey. The driver announced he was going to “try”, which didn’t sound promising at all. We did a u-turn just after we passed the university and headed back towards the bus station… My heart sank as soon as we met a long queue of cars and turned around. We stopped in a lay-by and the driver told us we would be heading back to the station for a while, so we could grab some drinks and snacks etc. while we waited even longer for the green light. When we started moving again he said it was a false alarm and we will be going now, after all. So we went around the roundabout and headed back towards the ever-growing queue of cars.

We crept along at a snail’s pace for most of the journey but I was just happy we were moving. I had a knot in my stomach in case something else happened, or I’d miss the show entirely after all of this drama. Someone on the bus had no choice but to phone their work to say they wouldn’t make it in time for their evening shift and I wasn’t the only person on the bus heading to see Paolo Nutini. The scenery at least looked pretty with all of the deep snow, so that at least took my mind off things for a while. We made it to Perth, after what felt like five eternities. We stopped for longer than I felt we should have and the driver said he will be needing to take a forty minute break since he was over his time. We all sighed and got off the bus, only to be told another driver would be taking his place to do everyone a favour and we would be leaving soon after all. It was an emotional roller-coaster and I really think we should have been given compensation for the stress and confusion all of this caused. We were on our way yet again when another accident happened. We were stuck in traffic and I knew we were in for it when I saw sets of flashing blue lights whizz past us. We were waiting for ages until that accident was also sorted out, near Greenloaning. I’ll probably feel sick to my stomach every time I pass there now. I read it was a five car collision, so I hope everyone got out of that okay.

Because we were significantly late, the driver stopped at some kind of bus depot just outside of the city to swap over with yet another driver. Except, the new driver was nowhere to be seen as he was sent to the wrong location by mistake. We were forced to hang around for at least another thirty minutes before the new driver showed up… I don’t see why the driver we already had didn’t just take us into Glasgow, as we were so close by that point. Unless they’re really strict about not doing overtime but I doubt that. When we eventually made it to the bus station in Glasgow, tons of people downstairs cheered. Not only did it take nine and a half hours when it should only take three or four but the bus was far too hot the entire time. The heater was broken and stuck on full blast. Everyone was sweating and fanning themselves. I knew that would allow germs to easily spread too, as there were no windows open or anything. I also didn’t have anything to eat so I was feeling tired and dizzy. I regretted booking the concert because I’m not PN’s number one fan – I just thought it would be interesting to go see him because he’s a famous Scottish musician who hadn’t toured in a while and I like some of his songs

I high-tailed it to the hotel on Renfrew Street (which happens to be up the steepest hill I’ve ever seen), changed my clothes and dashed to The Hydro. I did stop off at The Co-Op briefly to refuel and gulp down a mini vino like it was in a shot glass, which successfully improved my mood. Again, I didn’t know which queue to join even after asking two people working there. They really need to make it clearer. There’s no reason you should be directed to the wrong entrance after showing them your ticket. I think they still let you in anyway but it makes things so much quicker and simpler when you know for certain where you’re going.

I missed the opening act, BROCKHOFF. Well, I arrived in time to catch their last song. I booked an extra night in Glasgow (for £34, not bad) as the thought of getting back on a bus in the morning made me feel physically ill after that ordeal. I’m nervous every time I get on a bus now, more than I ever was before. I hastily bought another PN ticket for the following night (14th) when I was stuck on the bus in case I missed this concert altogether but I wish I’d held off and bought a ticket to go to King Tut’s Wah Wah Hut instead so I could have seen other artists and written a more exciting blog. I’ve never been there before but I’ve heard so much about it. I’ve just passed it a couple of times. It looks small and unimportant from the outside but so many artists have fond memories of performing there. I wanted to see Greg Pearson there but Paul wasn’t up for travelling down, as we’d already done a lot in the summer and he’s not obsessed with going to concerts like I am. BROCKHOFF was performing there the following night, so it would have been an opportunity to see them after all. I’d never heard of them but I still don’t like to miss the opening acts if I can help it! They’re a German band, so I don’t know when they’ll be back again. PN did five nights at The Hydro between December 13th and 20th, which is very impressive and proves how in-demand he is. He had different support acts each night.

I was tired, standing on my feet all night. I was also irritable when the wine wore off, so the people singing loudly and badly behind me got on my nerves. PN has an incredible voice and great stage presence but I was disappointed he didn’t perform some of my old favourites. I was sad he didn’t do ‘These Streets’, which mentions various locations around Glasgow. I thought it would have been an appropriate song to sing for a homecoming show but maybe he has grown tired of performing it over the years, along with my other favourite ‘Last Request’. It’s my fault for waiting this long to go see him, since this is the tour for his recent album and not an anniversary of his first, after all! Some people on Twitter complained about the remix of ‘Jenny Don’t Be Hasty’, as it sounded a lot rockier and not much like the original version. Others said they felt the remix kept it fresh, breathing new life into the song. You can rarely ever please everyone. The song was at least vaguely recognisable.

He started off the night by saying he’d been really looking forward to these shows and that they’re like an early Christmas present to us all. He managed to not come across as obnoxious/egotistic when delivering this line, somehow. He came out wearing a plain white t-shirt and jeans, which I liked. The fact it was such a casual and effortless outfit made it stand out from everyone else’s outfits I’ve seen and gave the impression he wasn’t trying too hard to be someone he’s not. The screens behind him were full of psychedelic colours and shapes. Some people complained it was too “trippy” for their liking and others said the whole thing was boring and was putting them to sleep. To add to the madness, there was even a “pink elephant” sequence from ‘Dumbo’. The reviews of the concert were incredibly mixed. I enjoyed it and can see he’s very talented but agree the songs he selected to perform were not the most exciting or engaging from his discography. I think he was trying for a relaxed atmosphere and just wanted to sing songs with his biggest fans and not go to great lengths to cater to his more casual fans. As a casual fan myself, I still had fun listening to the songs I didn’t know as well and appreciated he changed them up a little each night. I always think that’s a good idea, especially when there’s multiple shows in a row.

There was a point in the show he really divided the crowd by declaring his love for Nicola Sturgeon. This was a risky move, pushing his personal beliefs on us when at least half of the room were bound to disagree with him. Discussing politics at events such as this is rarely a good idea, as this topic can easily provoke anger in people. He obviously wasn’t concerned he would lose a lot of fans after making this statement and would make heaps of people in the arena uncomfortable. I don’t follow politics closely but felt awkward when he said this and suddenly like I was in the wrong place when everyone around me cheered. That’s not how you should make people attending your concerts feel. Understandably, there were a lot of angry tweets after the show with people saying they won’t be attending any of his concerts ever again. Of course, others were delighted by his remark and praised him for it. I think it’s more acceptable to talk about the cost of living crisis and things like that, which everybody should agree is bad. As soon as you start talking about your favourite political leaders, you should stop to think for a second.

I hadn’t listened to his newest album a whole lot, even though I’d bought it back in July when my dad and I were in Glasgow to see George Thorogood. My favourites of the night (since he left out a lot of oldies) were ‘Acid Eyes’ and ‘Shine a Light’, which are both from the new album, ‘Last Night In The Bittersweet’. I could see the crowd becoming a bit disengaged but he didn’t seem too phased by it, thanking us for “coming out on a Wednesday and jumping around like it’s a Friday”. Maybe he was seeing reactions that I wasn’t. I was disappointed by the atmosphere as it’s always underwhelming when it could have been more electric. It might have just been the area I was standing in though, as PN seemed to be perfectly satisfied with how the night was going. Not many interesting things happened in the crowd during the concert. I squeezed myself as close to the stage as I could get without actively blocking anyone but desperately wanted to escape the screeching girls behind me. I failed. At least they were having fun and showing some passion, instead of talking about completely unrelated things which sadly happens a lot at these things.

One girl was carted over the barrier after fainting but I’m getting used to that happening now. It’s almost a guarantee. Are they too drunk? Dehydrated? Overheated? I don’t know how it happens but it does almost every time, without fail. PN made sure to mention her and hoped she was okay, which was nice of him. I’d be so embarrassed if that happened to me, I’d never live it down. Especially because I’m not the daintiest creature on the planet, at 5ft 10. I’ve never fainted in my life, so I don’t plan on starting any time soon. I think it was this concert (I’m writing this in March, so it was a while ago now) that a girl was so overwhelmed/uncomfortable she sat down on the floor, drawing a lot of attention to herself. When security asked if she was okay, a girl beside her explained “She’s fourteen”. I felt bad for her, as she was red in the face and clearly out of her comfort zone. She thankfully seemed a lot better once she had some water.

This is my most unprofessional blog so far because I can’t remember much of what happened throughout the night. I guess I was too traumatised by the agonising journey there to take everything in. I wasn’t the only one who had issues travelling in, as there were a lot of people online saying they didn’t think they would make it. I want to move to Glasgow. That would make things so much easier for me. PN was fantastic, all negativity aside. He has a unique and beautiful voice, which didn’t falter at all. He was very likeable despite his controversial opinions and powered through each of his songs with mountains of charisma and charm, wowing the crowd – or at least those of us who weren’t full-on daydreaming about other things by the end. I felt energised when I left the venue and was glad I went. I didn’t really feel the need to go again the second night but knew I’d make the most of it and have a more comfortable/laid-back day, so would be able to enjoy it more. I walked back to the hotel the way I usually do, through the small park near The Hydro. It was an extremely foggy night. I find fog absolutely gorgeous, with the silhouettes of all the tall buildings and the moon trying its hardest to shine through. Overall, a good night!

GALLERY: