OK just for a change I thought I would do a post on something a little different, which is a gig I went to see last night up at the new SSE Hydro as Peter Gabriel played, and it was a great opportunity to see the new venue.
Starting with Peter Gabriel who was touring his widely acclaimed "So" album released back in 1986 (apparently this was a 25th anniversary tour but it has been going on for quite a while!) so it promised to be quite a show. Gabriel himself is now aged 63 so he is quite a different figure of the younger man that appeared on the front cover of the "So" album all those years ago, and when he took to the stage he looked more like Marlon Brandon in Apocalypse Now than anything else! (well OK except a bit slimmer!). However regardless of that his musical talent is still as strong as it has ever was back then, and as he walked rather casually onto stage and announced the plan for play for the night, by saying it will be in three parts, like a meal, with the starter (which featured three acoustic songs) then the main course, which featured some of Peter's best songs such as Secret world, Digging in the dirt, Shock the monkey and Solisbury hill. After this followed the dessert, which was of course the full "So" album, which was terrific and featured several highlights, particularly great versions of Red Rain, Sledgehammer (which had Peter do some cool moves!) Don't give up and Big Time. Although one of my favourites of the night from the "So" album was in fact Mercy Street, as it was a wonderful live version of one of Gabriel's best and most ambient and atmospheric tracks. The show also had an amazing light show and there are several tracks in which the lighting was put to great use, and there was even a big bizarre looking saucer that hovered down and lifting up Peter and revealed what looks like a big bean stalk, before he went sliding down it like some sort of shute!
Peter was also backed up by an excellent band, which featured the original recording musicians that played on the "So" album, which included the bass layer, Tony Levin (who uses drumsticks tapes his fingers while he plays the bass!) and the superb Manu Katche on the drums. Kate Bush is of course absent here, however Gabriel does utilise fine backing singers (who are both young and rather fine ;-)) one of who provides good vocals on "Don't give up". And overall Gabriel did an excellent job in representing the main cross section of his material on the night and played what easily a show over two hours.
As for the Hydro itself well it has to be said it quite simply is a stunning venue and while the SECC until its arrival was the biggest venue in the country (which seats a max capacity of 10,000) the Hyrdro now eclipses it with an impressive capacity of 13,000. But more importantly where the Hydro scores big is not only in its capacity but also in its incredible design as the inside of the arena is amazing as it soooooo big and the sheer scale of the venue is hugely impressive. Another great thing about the Hyrdro and one of its main draws is its sound, as the sound quality in the venue is terrific and to be frank it pisses all over the SECC, which has a muddied, muffled and frankly mediocre sound overall (the three Ms!). And that is where the Hydro's expansive dome shape also probably helps improve the acoustics of the sound in the venue as the sound resonate more cleanly, unlike in the SECC where it is a more flat probably also due to the lack of height and space in comparison.
Externally the Hydro also looks pretty impressive (although not necessarily too pretty!) and the translucent panel cushions that surround the outside also glow in the dark in shades of blue and green, which gives the effect of it being like a giant equaliser, in short its pretty nifty looking! So overall I was actually blown away by the scale of the venue and just how impressive a venue it is overall as it easily stands as the country's best. The venue will also be used next year for the 2014 Commonwealth Games Netball and Gymnastics events and just maybe in the future we might see some tennis action there too, with hopefully one day the Davis cup returning to Glasgow or the ATP World tour finals could scope it as a potential venue, it sure has the capacity to do so! (or perhaps that's just wishful thinking from an ardent tennis nut!).
The only downsides I would say to the Hydro however is with big acts playing it will also come down to a matter of cost with the tickets, as the biggest acts will demand more money. Although the Peter Gabriel tickets were quite reasonable (£35) and I'm later going to see Simple Minds next month (£39 for the cheaper ones and £55 for the more expensive ones, and I bought the former) but other acts such as Michael Buble will charge up to £200 a ticket! (sod that!). I also felt the insides of the venue overall lack a polished look as it looks almost like inside the venue is still under construction as what you get are concrete pillars and walls and there is nothing in the way of decor or anything. I also felt that as we were seated just over half way up towards the back of the arena, looking down on the stage we had a somewhat minute view of Peter Gabriel, and without the help of the large video screens it would have been difficult to make him out at times, although when he strutted the centre of the stage he was clear enough I guess.
Despite that though the interior design is still impressive and its all well laid out and you can even get eateries where you can buy a pizza or burger, as well as get a drink of course and you also get plenty of LCD TV screens all around which helps give it that modern look. The seating is also excellent as at last we have got comfortable seats (and about time!) and leg space is not too bad either. And its when you walk into the arena itself and go up the stairs to find your seat that's when it really hits you just how BIG the Hydro really is and that you really are in a venue that is purpose built for the big boys and girls in the world of showbiz to come and play.
Sooooo anyway that's it for this post and I have to say I enjoyed both the venue and also watching Peter Gabriel play for the first time, and if you fancy checking out the Hydro, please do go as you won't regret it and I myself cannot wait to go back there again soon.
And that's it for now!
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