CHELSEA PREVIEW / Glen Campbell at the Philharmonic review

Being a bit of a jack of all music tastes and a facist of none, too young to remember his heyday  and certainly not a superfan, i still absolutely bit the hand off a mate when they offered me a freebie(of sorts) for Glen Campbell's farewell tour gig which was stopping over at the always brilliant Liverpool Philharmonic venue on Tuesday the 25th of October 20011.

 

The tickets were snapped up for this gig ages beforehand by his legions of enthusiastic fans and i felt genuinely lucky and a little guilty to be able to have got one, a really good one at that. ''Just offer him ten quid for it or something, he wont take it...'' was my advice. I hate these situations so with trepidation i ventured: ''Mike, can i give you some money for this brief mate, i really appreciate it...'', ''Nahhhh, fuck off mate...im just pleased someone else will see it.'' came the reply.  ''Righto, im getting you a few bevvies at the interval and afterwards then...'', ''SOUND''. For those who arent aware, the great man's recent diagnosis of Alzheimers has began to affect his musical efficiency somewhat and that ability between songs to whimsically fill the gaps with a showbiz anecdote or two.



With these concerns almost tangible within the auditorium at the start and a talking point for almost everybody around you, it was heart-warming then to see three of his offspring (his daughter is a reet corker by the way) guiding him straight into it and putting him and us at ease with a sensational rendition of 'Gentle On My Mind'. It was all there, the guitar AND the voice, this is where he is most comfortable.

All the classics were in there to enjoy, Galveston, Witchita Linesman, Rhinestone...mixed together with an engrossing Duelling Banjos with the aforementioned daughter and the odd tear jerking moment of honesty: ''Liverpool, Im really happy to be here, you know what? Im happy to be anywhere...'' made for a truly memorable night.

Good luck Glen.


And so on to tonights ''entertainment'', Everton v Chelsea lite in the Carling Cup. Let's face it their first team were in most parts on a different planet a couple of weeks ago at the bridge. Tonight though, putting out names such as Oriel Romeu, Ryan Bertrand and Josh McEachran might just give us (the manager) the impetus to get past these rich fucking twats and book our place in the next round. Wouldn't that be nice? And would it bring the hordes of fair weather moaners back now were getting to the business end of the competition? Probably not.

  

It represents a great opportunity to progress, we may have got them at a perfect moment after their comedy weekend hate-fest at QPR. But having the likes of John Terry Ashley 'The Cunt' Cole and Dider Drogba unavailable could upset things sufficiently for us impress ourselves upon them(ha!) whilst at home. To put it simply, Moyes needs to go for it. Velios and Saha partnering each other and Drenthe on the right would be nice too. It's inexcusable if he exercises caution against a gang of kids, a team who are ''expected'' to beat you, all whilst being at home in the least valued cup competition. No excuses tonight. Well, none until El Nino grabs a brace and suddenly the venomous Kopites like him again a bit.

Above all else, it represents a brilliant opportunity to get a chippy tea on a school night and walk towards one of your favourite places in the world stuffing your fat fucking kipper and dreaming of Wembley. What more do you want?


''So come on, come on, Get down to Goodison Park...


WOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!''