Thursday night saw me in Glasgow at the Oasis gig with Steff, Oswaldo and Lilly.
We left Edinburgh at 4:15 from Haymarket Station. "Happy new year guys" Said Oswaldo, as he handed Steff and I a small piece of tinfoil each "There's enough for a couple of lines."
We arrived in Glasgow just after 5pm and headed to a bar called The Counting House in George Square. The drinks bill came to less than £7 a round, which was stunningly cheap compared to what you would pay in Edinburgh's city centre bars, so there was much rejoicing. And a couple more rounds... Followed by a small sojourn to the gents toilets to say hello to Prince Charlie. Sniff.
After another round of drinks and a very reasonably priced curry thedecisionn was made to find a bar that still allowed smoking on the premises. As we walked Oswaldo handed me a joint and told me to "Get a blast of this, man."
Lilly spotted a bar across the road from where we were so we trooped over and hit the bar. Another round was rapidly dispensed with and another one was ordered as I headed to the gents to speak to Charlie again. Snort.
As the time to make a move was rapidly approaching we finished our drinks and headed in the general direction of the SECC. Several attempts were made to flag a taxi but none would stop so close to a rank that had a queue of people waiting patiently at it, so we walked on and stopped one a couple of streets away.
As we drew up outside the SECC there was a small crowd of people milling around. A few Policemen were searching people or emptying bottles of cider down the drains, much to the annoyance of the fans who had paid for them. Oswaldo produced another joint and we stood at a safe distance and smoked it like our lives depended on it.
Then it was time to move into the SECC. As soon as we got past the securityguardss and the Police and into the building we headed for the bar. A couple more drinks were had and a couple of visits to the toilets were made. Snort. Swallow. Sniff. Swallow.
We could hear the support act winding down and it was decided it may be a good time to make our way towards the stage, swallowing the last of our drinks and dumping the plastic glasses on the floor as we went.
We found our seats, after much debate as to where they were located, and waited for the main act to appear. Oswaldo announced that he was going for a piss and headed off in the general direction of the toilets. Returning ten minutes later looking even drunker.
I laughed as I stood up and barged my way through the crowd and headed for the bar. Four double rum and cokes later I wandered back. "Where were you?" Asked Lilly. "I went for a ciggy and a piss." I said, sitting down before I fell down.
Just as my arse hit the chair the house lights went down and the crowd around me stood up. Oasis appeared on the stage and the noise from the crowd rose to a level that made my ears buzz. Liam Gallacher walked to the microphone and said something I couldn't make out over the noise of the crowd and the noise level rose again.
The opening chords of the first song blasted out and, as one, the crowd bounced, swayed and sang along. The cocaine shifted a gear on me and my heart started beating faster as the sweat began to run down my face. The memory of the Scottish Executive Anti-drugs advert popped into my head...
"Taking cocaine can make you twenty-four times more likely to have a heart attack."
Did I care? Did I fuck. The music was loud and I was off my head.
As the gig went on I sang along to the familiar tunes and jumped around like a monkey driven mad by mescaline. Until I remembered that I had left my house keys in my work by accident and had no way of getting into my house when I returned to Edinburgh.
The final song, a cover version of The Who's My Generation, finished off and we began to make our way out of the gig and headed for the train station. I borrowed Lilly's mobile phone and quickly called my work to ask Bobo to put my keys somewhere I would be able to pick them up from.
We walked for about a mile, until Steff managed to stop a taxi, and made our way to Queen Street Station.
As we had arrived half an hour early for the train home we hit the Burger King in the station and I leapt at the counter and ordered three bacon-double-cheeseburgers and a diet coke. Just under a tenner later I headed for the platform and we got on and grabbed a table.
The train was due to leave Glasgow at 11:30 but due to the Oasis gig being on at the SECC, and The Doves playing at the Barrowlands, there was too many passengers and we had to wait until more carridges were added to the train.
The train finally left Glasgow at 12:30 and we got into Edinburgh at 2:15am. After waiting for a taxi we headed towards the club so I could collect my keys.
Having picked my keys up I jumped back into the taxi and it took me home.
All in all a very good night.
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