No entry for....

...red taxis, black taxis or little green men!

Traffic into Glasgow was horrendous last night. Travelled at snail's pace from Stirling all the way in. AC DC were apparently playing the SECC but that didn't seem to explain it as it got easier as we approached the town.

Parking was fun too. When we arrived at our usual parking spot at the Bridge Street Underground Station, there was a big notice up to say that we would have to buy a £5 parking ticket in advance. Never having had to do this before, K went off to see what it was all about. Still confused. Nobody really seemed to be able to explain why we would have to do it this way and pay more than usual into the bargain, or why we would need the "free" underground pass they handed out with the parking permit - as our destination was only about 50 metres away!

Anyway, parking was relatively easily done as there didn't seem to be too many people going in to see Chick. Obviously, the O2 (previously the Carling Academy) had to have seating for such a prestigious event, consequently the numbers in the venue were limited. Didn't stop security rifling through my bag at the door though. I mean really!

Add to that the fact that they lacked the foresight to do anything more than a perfunctory clean and the Academy still had the charms associated with a metal gig. The floors all around venue were still sticky with the residue of months worth of spilled beer and every handle I touched had me scrambling for the wipes I had in my approved bag contents. The crowning glory however was the water that was lurking in the corners of the loos, presumably the left overs from a previous attempt at cleaning and the poorly covered drains in the floor. On the upside there was loo roll available; on the downside it had been placed, albeit neatly, on the floor beside the sanitary ware, rather than in the dispensers. Euwww!

The entertainment was, however, fantastic. I'm not the biggest fan of solo piano (I much preferred the Return to Forever gig in London last summer) but boy can that guy play! He worked through some Monk and Evans before going on to do some classical pieces. The best bit for me though, was at the end when he played some of Children's Songs and then embarked on an ambitious experimental piece in which he got the audience to be the 500 strong vocal chorus and the full orchestra to accompany him. A lot of fun and all in all a good night.