MOTORHEAD / THE DAMNED / GIRLSCHOOL
Glasgow Academy
19 November 2009

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Well, it's finally here. Motorheads 30th anniversary. No, not the anniversary of them starting; that was 4 years back. This was the big one. The 30th anniversary of me seeing them live for the first time, something that's way more important.

Naturally, it was the worst night of the year, as the heavens opened, and the gales blew, but we still got there in time for Girlschool, who were even better than when I saw them supporting Motorhead a couple of years back. Sure, no-one was too bothered about the new songs, but as they banged out stone cold gems like 'Demolition', 'Screaming Blue Murder', 'C'mon Let's Go' and 'Demolition', they had the crowd eating out their hands, aided by what was, surprisingly, the best sound of the night.

The Damned have three good songs. Which take up about 9 minutes. Which left 36 minutes of psychedelic goth faffing, with Dave Vanian so low in the mix as to be indistinguishable and the most annoying keyboard of all time, just begging for a good slapping. It's at times like this I wish I wasn't a raging alcoholic in remission.

There was more faffing about by the road crew before Motorhead hit the stage, but there they were, blasting into 'Iron Fist'. Sad to say, and it may be heresy, but Lemmys live powers have been noticeably on the wane over the last three tours. Age must, finally, be catching up with the 64 year old. The band weren't helped by a poor sound, but only drummer Mickey Dee came out of the show with head held high. Lemmy must have been using Dave Vanians microphone, because he was only rarely heard at full power. This meant that 'Stay Clean' and an awesome 'Over The Top' were the highlights of their set.

Not a great night, but one that saw Girlschool, to my surprise, coming out on top. And if Kim McCauliffe [deleted].

:twisted :twisted :twisted 1/2 / 3.5 out of 5