The game started alright until one 
of the Hibs fans got red carded for a dangerous tackle. Fair enough, but in general the ref was a bit of a wanker. Despite being a man down, Hibs got the opening goal from a penalty, and the game was well and truly alive. Unfortunately, not long afterwards Motherwell replies with two quick goals, neither of which the goalie had much of a clue about. The second half was frustrating, with no goals added by either side, though a Hibs player did manage to hit the crossbar with just a few minutes to go. In the end, Hibs went down 2-1 and it was time to head off the Glasgow.
of the Hibs fans got red carded for a dangerous tackle. Fair enough, but in general the ref was a bit of a wanker. Despite being a man down, Hibs got the opening goal from a penalty, and the game was well and truly alive. Unfortunately, not long afterwards Motherwell replies with two quick goals, neither of which the goalie had much of a clue about. The second half was frustrating, with no goals added by either side, though a Hibs player did manage to hit the crossbar with just a few minutes to go. In the end, Hibs went down 2-1 and it was time to head off the Glasgow.
I've heard that the centre of Glasgow is quite nice, but any parts I saw were an absolute dump. I feel genuinely sorry for any nice, decent people who live there because that city is seriously in need of disinfectant and a good scrubbing down. Some of the people there are totally weird. It's almost as if the Neanderthals weren't actually made extinct - they've just been hanging out in Glasgow for a few millennia. Thankfully we managed to find a car park not too far from the venue and after venturing out for a scabby meal, we ducked back into the car to eat it so that we wouldn't have to deal with the freaks and so we could give the car a little extra protection.
In time we started to see a few Carter t-shirts appearing and thought it was safe to go and line up out the front. I loved seeing all the Carter t-shirts. I had on my After The Watershed tour t-shirt which no one else seemed to have, but I loved seeing the variety. Once we got in and to the merchandise stand there was plenty on offer too. I picked up a Sheriff Fatman re-issue t-shirt with "You Fat Bastard" written on the back for £15 and a blue hoodie with the Carter logo for £25 which will be great for showing my love for Carter even in the colder months. People from the Carter forum started recognising me and we had a quick chat and a few offered to try getting us into the afterparty which had been organised last minute - I didn't even realise there was one.
We went into the concert hall and saw about half of Chris T-T's set and he was pretty good - musically and lyrically his stuff reminds me a lot of Billy Bragg. While it was on I saw Les in the crowd, and Scott and I had a quick chat with him, before someone else wanted a chat and we didn't want to hog his time... especially since I'm staying with him for a week or so from Tuesday! Next were the Frank and Walters who were a quality outfit. As expected, they played After All, but I was absolutely surprised and elated when they finished their set with Michael... an absolutely brilliant song.
There were songs being played off a CD before the gig started and people were singing along. I thought, if people are singing to songs off a CD, how into it will they be once Carter actually come on. As I'd hoped, Jon Beast was there before the start to get the crowd warmed up. He wouldn't have been too warm as he was completely in the buff except for some (we think) excessive black electrical tape around his todger. 
Beer was flying up on stage and he was absolutely saturated. He introduced Carter and then it was time for the classic opener - Surfin USM. For the first time, the meaning of the title became fully apparent as there was crowd surfing, moshing and all manner of insane shenanigans afoot. Scott and I were only five rows back, but in time I think we each slipped off and back in separate directions as we left those shenanigans for those insane enough to endulge in them. That said, it was nice to be in the hustle and bustle for one song at least so that I could experience that part of the gig too. Next was My Second To Last Will and Testament and I was singing along but the singing started aggrevating my asthma which had been playing up and I almost got to the point where I couldn't breathe, so amidst all the excellence of the gig, I almost started to panic. Thankfully I'd drifted far back enough that I could slowly regain my breath and enjoy the concert from that point on, even if my involvement wasn't as active as I'd otherwise probably have been. Jim and Les seemed to have a great time on stage, and the crowd did too. 
The best thing was that there was nothing even remotely tragic about it. Often when bands reform there's a certain lameness about it all but this seemed to be no different to any other gig from their heyday and cudos to the boys for being so bloody brilliant to be able to pull that off. Scott's favourite song for the night was Sheriff Fatman. Mine was a toss up between Glam Rock Cops, The Only Living Boy In New Cross and Say It With Flowers. No surprises in the track selection, although I was a little disappointed that there weren't any songs played from once Wez the drummer joined the band... still, I guess the drum machine doesn't know those songs so it was perfectly understandable.
Beer was flying up on stage and he was absolutely saturated. He introduced Carter and then it was time for the classic opener - Surfin USM. For the first time, the meaning of the title became fully apparent as there was crowd surfing, moshing and all manner of insane shenanigans afoot. Scott and I were only five rows back, but in time I think we each slipped off and back in separate directions as we left those shenanigans for those insane enough to endulge in them. That said, it was nice to be in the hustle and bustle for one song at least so that I could experience that part of the gig too. Next was My Second To Last Will and Testament and I was singing along but the singing started aggrevating my asthma which had been playing up and I almost got to the point where I couldn't breathe, so amidst all the excellence of the gig, I almost started to panic. Thankfully I'd drifted far back enough that I could slowly regain my breath and enjoy the concert from that point on, even if my involvement wasn't as active as I'd otherwise probably have been. Jim and Les seemed to have a great time on stage, and the crowd did too. 
The best thing was that there was nothing even remotely tragic about it. Often when bands reform there's a certain lameness about it all but this seemed to be no different to any other gig from their heyday and cudos to the boys for being so bloody brilliant to be able to pull that off. Scott's favourite song for the night was Sheriff Fatman. Mine was a toss up between Glam Rock Cops, The Only Living Boy In New Cross and Say It With Flowers. No surprises in the track selection, although I was a little disappointed that there weren't any songs played from once Wez the drummer joined the band... still, I guess the drum machine doesn't know those songs so it was perfectly understandable.
By the end I was happy but completely buggered. My symptoms, which had been getting worse thoughout the gig included sleep deprivation, asthma, chest infection, conjestion, tension headache, and possibly still a touch of jet lag. I also had ringing in my ears (and still do!) but I don't think I was alone on that count! Alas, neither of us were really in any state to attend the afterparty. By the time I got out of the venue I felt like I could do with a respirator and a fire extinguisher full of ventolin. We got to the car safely and thankfully the car was still in one piece too. We found a service station and I got a drink so I could take a raft of cold & flu tablets and painkillers and try to fix up my shabbiness. We got home by midnight and I went straight to sleep and even though I had to wake up at 6pm to have a shower to declog the conjestion in my head and chest, I got back to sleep and for the first time since I arrived in Edinburgh, I actually got what you would call a "proper sleep". Once I woke up I had a chat to Stephanie on Windows Messanger and got to pull funny faces at Bennett. He had a great old time and so did I. He also looks pretty dapper in his new glasses. Apparently he's been a good boy and has been wearing them most of the time. Maybe he's enjoying being able to see longer distances - I know I would.
Thankfully, today is going to a cruisy day, and in half an hour or so we're off to Roslyn Chapel, which people outside Scotland would know primarily for its role in Dan Brown's Da Vinci Code.
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