Scarborough - review by Helen Burns

For those unlucky enough never to have been there Scarborough is a largish seaside town on the Yorkshire Coast famous for many things, including being the location for the film ‘Little Voice’. We eventually arrived late at the venue en masse; a seething ragamuffin troop comprising of me and Wal with Emily (aged 12) and Tom (aged 8), Maggie and Mark with Matthew (aged 14) and Sarah (aged 11), Rona and Geoff with Philippa and Paula (God only know how old they are) - totally disrupting the poor chappie who was opening for Glenn. The Yorkshire Coast College Theatre used to be Alan Aykbourne’s theatre before he moved to the old cinema down the road * and is a small theatre in the round. You have to walk across the ‘stage’ floor top get to the bar or the loo, which sometimes takes the performing artists by surprise.

Glenn appeared at 9-ish with Ted and Lou, showing them how to set up the guitars. What lovely lads they are, taking their responsibilities very seriously. Glenn set them to work later selling CDs.

Because of the layout of the place Glenn had to alternate between to mics at opposite sides of the stage to give us all a turn at seeing whichever angle of him we preferred. Initially he wasn’t too chuffed with the fact that the bar would be closing half an hour into the performance and ran out to try to get it left open for us. However, it transpired that it was a theatre licence which is more restrictive than a normal rock venue licence, so there was a slight flurry while last minute drinks were bought.

Sartorial stuff: Same old jeans, plain red T shirt and …..wait for it…..brown crepe soled shoes I haven’t seen before. Same long hair, although it’s starting to annoy him, so we may not see its like again for another 10 years.

I can’t remember much of what he played, to be honest. However, one song must receive an honourable mention. I have nagged and nagged for at least a year for him to play By Your Side, and the previous weekend he borrowed Maggie’s copy of A Round and A Bout in order to learn it. Hurrah! He played it! I can die happy. It was wonderful and lovely and I was in raptures. Thank you Glenn (even though he only did it to shut me up).

I have a theory that audiences either ‘get’ Genitalia of a Fool or they don’t - there’s no middle ground. The Workington audience loved it but I’m told it rather fell on stony ground at Stoke. It died at Scarborough too. In fact, much of the audience seemed pretty inanimate. This might be partly because it was a seated venue  but it might also be because audiences are ALWAYS like that but I don’t usually see them because I’m too near the front. In a theatre in the round the rest of the audience are difficult to miss. Anyway, I’d be interested to hear what reactions other people have witnessed to this song.

One encore, but he was losing his voice slightly, succumbing to a coughy cold. The audience would have had him back for more but he disappeared, gladiatorial style, stage left.

Emily had two observations to make afterwards. One was: “Glenn’s mad”. The other was “He sounds just the same as he does on the records”. That, I think, is pretty much sums up all you need to know about seeing a Glenn gig.