The Script: Greatest Hits Tour 26/05/2022

I didn’t have time to experience much of the VIP lounge and I was in an awful mood after that ordeal. I just got my wine and downed it. There was a band playing softly in the corner, comfortable seats and large windows to look out of. From my experience, I wouldn’t say the VIP upgrade is worthwhile. There is another VIP area, which was cordoned off. That was for viewing the concert from and there are toilets and a bar in there as well, I think. I was confused about whether I was entitled to enter that section or not. Maybe there is an even more expensive upgrade. I would prefer to watch the concert from as close to the stage as possible, anyway. The sound wouldn’t be as good from all the way up there and you would miss all the interaction with the band. It makes more sense if you are a celebrity wanting to avoid being recognised and swarmed by us common people.

There was only one gap at the barrier when I got on, so I wedged myself in. I was pleased with the spot I got because the band came over to our side a lot and there was commotion in the middle section and a girl was even thrown out. The opening act was Ella Henderson and she was my favourite opening act so far. I already knew a handful of her songs and was excited to hear ‘Ghost’, written by Ryan Tedder. She has so many hit songs I hear on the radio but didn’t know were by her. She wore a lime green outfit and told us she has family from Scotland and struggles a lot with her mental health, which inspired many of her songs. I loved when she sang ‘Let’s Go Home Together’ with Tom Grennan, who was originally on drums as far as I could make out. It was a surprise because he is famous in his own right and I didn’t recognise him when he was part of the band. Before ending her set, she thanked “the boys” for having her and promoted her upcoming tour before launching into ‘Ghost’, the song she says started it all off for her. I got goosebumps. There’s just something about her voice I really like and it’s a beautiful song.

I jumped when the music started when The Script came on stage as I must have been right beside the speaker. My ears were ringing all night, which is pretty unusual for me even after attending concerts. Danny O’Donoghue laughed at how loud the crowd were after only three songs and, during a heart-felt moment, told us the songs they wrote for their first album are probably more relevant now than ever before. They transitioned to the B Stage during ‘Paint The Town Green’, which was a lot of fun as Danny let a little girl bang on the drum he was carrying on the way, making her night. The song ended in an explosion of green confetti, which was glorious and very Irish. The B Stage would have also been a good place to stand since you can see the band members up close, especially during ‘The Man Who Can’t Be Moved’ (their biggest song), when Danny sits on the corner of the stage. Everyone was singing along and sometimes Danny would hold out the microphone to amplify their singing, confident they knew all of the lyrics.

They did their usual thing of phoning someone’s ex boyfriend and singing ‘Nothing’ down the line to them. The woman they selected had her ex on Face-time during the performance (which we could see clearly on the big screen) and he didn’t seem phased by any of it – he actually looked quite happy to be in the spotlight. She told Danny he was we called Hugh and he laughed and responded, “F*ck Hugh” before ending the song, which got a big laugh. He mentioned the tour name – how it’s called “Greatest Hits” but they feel they are only half-way through their career. This is an observation I made as well, surely it is too early for a greatest hits tour. They discussed how The P&J Live was the last venue they played in before lockdown happened and Glen Power posted an emotional live-strram from the building earlier that afternoon, reflecting about everything and talking about how excited he was to perform there again. A cool thing about Glen if it you follow him on Twitter, he will almost definitely follow you back. It’s nice he is up for interacting with fans. Danny shouted “They can’t keep us locked up!” before charging into the next song. They had minimal breaks between songs and the band seemed to get more energetic as the night went on.

The couple beside me were huge fans and I can tell they must follow them to each location. Mark Sheehan gave them a ton of attention and must have thrown over five guitar picks to them. It was nice but I wish they didn’t shower these people with quite so much attention. I was hoping to get one but didn’t have any luck. At the end, they were shining their phone torches on the floor to try and find the ones they missed. Didn’t they have enough? I did get “half a high-five” from Mark when the band returned to the main stage. They were heading to the steps which were a little out of reach but Mark made the effort to reach out to me. I was lucky to see him, as he was absent from a few of the previous shows. Danny knelt at the corner of the stage and appeared to sing ‘Something Unreal’ directly at me. He might have been singing to the hardcore fan beside me but it didn’t look like it. I like to think he was making it up to me for not giving me a high-five moments before. They know how to make you feel seen, which is really nice. It seemed to end as suddenly as it all began and soon people seemed to be filing out of the arena, in high spirits.

I took advantage of the upstairs VIP toilets at the end, which I admit was a decent perk. I also bought myself a tour t-shirt with the golden-coloured silhouette of the band members on the front. The next day, a man complimented my t-shirt on my way back to Inverness – even though he said he had no idea what was supposed to be on it. I’m glad I managed to have a good time in the end, after the disastrous beginning to my evening. The arena itself was nice and it could have been a much better experience if things went smoothly.

The band exceeded my expectations and I’d see them again if I got the chance. They are performing at Edinburgh Castle later in the year but that’s a bit soon for me, even if it is an epic venue. I’m really looking forward to hearing more amazing songs they release in the future. Fans are saying they’re playing snippets of (speculated) new material before the concerts start but I didn’t notice that at this one. I’m already excited for the next time I see them, whenever that will be.