Really. Not work safe.

Inevitable I guess. But very funny indeed:

Taxi for Robinson!

Wow, this guy can fairly play the guitar!

I took along embrawean (14), who had to be bribed with the prospect of a kebab on the way home.

We found the Picture House already packed to the rafters and the support band in full swing. We had no idea who this was but agreed they were not bad at all. Imagine my surprise to find out that it was Sandi Thom, whom I'd previously dismissed as a publicity-hungry, Alex-Salmond's-arse-kissing, talentless, no-mark. I stand corrected. She was in fine bluesy voice with a good backing band and I wanted to hear more. The Sandi Thom backlash backlash starts here.

On to the main event. JB is a superb guitarist. Jaw-droppingly so. He is also a seasoned entertainer. At times this could verge on the hokey eg the lights been shone on the audience when a response was required was as subtle as a ba-boom-tish. But, hey, who says the blues have to be hair-shirt? BB King's Live at the Regal is pretty high entertainment too.

This gig had been sold out for months and the crowd loved it. I liked the songs, I liked the solos. I am in awe of that level of sustained inventiveness and particularly liked the guitar/theremin combo. However the thing that stays with me is the way that he works the stage.

And embrawean? The aspiring guitarist was so impressed that he forgot all about the promised kebab. Result.

That's the Scottish Symphony Orchestra. No, wait, come back!

This was an evening themed around the Scotland's History series. I thought this was a rather good series although I see it has come in for a panning from some quarters for being 'too English'. No, I've absolutely no idea what they mean either.

Anyhow, first up was Mackintosh-Ross (AKA them from Deacon Blue) with a rather good country-rocking set. Their usual band (inc chief pearl-fisher Davie Scott) backed by the SSO. I've never really got the Weedgie fascination with country but this was pleasant enough.

Next up was Neil Oliver, presenter of Scotland's History, for a few vox pops with Jackie Bird. This was immediately followed by the SSO playing the music from the series, against a backdrop of suitably atmospheric clips.

Again, OK. I should say that I suspect that this was why more than half of the audience were there. We, on the other hand, had come for God Help the Girl, Stuart Murdoch's solo project, where he was backed by most of Belle & Sebastian (was that an afro Stevie was sporting?). This was wonderful and the orchestra was used to good effect on some swooping ballads. Ace and worth the price of admission on its own.

Last up, which I enjoyed more than I thought I would, was Eddi Reader and band (inc Boo Hewerdine) playing selections from her 'Songs of Burns' album. I have to say that I've always thought of her as a striking voice in search of material to match. Who'd have thought that songs written over 200 years ago would provide that match. Her Burns interpretations are really very good indeed. She succeeds in rescuing them from dusty schoolbooks and kitsch TV shows and making them seem relevant and fun. And again, the SSO were used to lush effect. And she got the biggest laugh of the night by dedicating Ay Fond Kiss to "..the love affair that broke my heart this year. Katie Price and Peter Andre."

So, a rather varied night, which was never less than interesting. The variation might account for the poor promotion of this concert, which didn't succeed in selling out the Usher Hall. Surprising, given the bargain price of £15 for a ticket.

That's right - Gong. With the Steve Hillage band as support. At the Picture House in Edinburgh.

Having seen Yes last week, I'm obviously working my way through the bands whose logos I used to have etched on my schoolbag.

I wasn't quite sure what to expect but have to report that it was all rather marvellous.

Firstly, Steve Hillage. Now, I last saw him when I was a 17-year-old in 1979. And yet, 30 years later he actually looks younger. Seriously. He has ditched the beard and now looks like Harry Potter's elder brother. Other half Miquette Giraudy was clearly a child bride as she also looked unfeasibly young.

Anyway a good set. Good backbeat, warbly synths and Hillage's trademark guitar (he was playing a minature one that reminded me of guitar hero). Like as stripped-down Gong in fact, as everyone on stage were also in that band. Good renditions of Searching for the Spark, Salmon Song and hurdy-Gurdy man. Alas, no Electrick Gypsies.

Gong were fantastic. I have never, ever seen a band enjoy themselves so much on stage. They clearly know their chops. Pretty much the same sort of sound as Hillage beefed up with woodwind/sax, Daevid Allen and Gilli Smyth. Zero the Hero, Can't kill me etc. all present and correct plus some rather good new (to me, at least)stuff (Digital Girl).

The 70+ Daevid Allen was - and I'm sure he must be sick of this epithet but none other will do - sprightly. Constantly dancing around the stage, singing, playing guitar, gamely changing into his pixie hat etc. For nearly 2 hours. My dad's that age and he generally sticks to a round of golf.

Alongside the solid beat, classy soloing, chanting etc. there was a backdrop with rapidly changing computer-generated images: galaxies, pyramids, pixies, flying teapots. You know, the usual.

All in all, an explosion of sound, colour and manic fun. All buoyed, I suspect, by what was a capacity, and very positive, crowd. I can't quite get over the fact that Gong - a band whose name no-one I mentioned them to recognised other than the friend I went with - managed to pack out a middle-sized venue on a Sunday night.

So no hummable tunes or memorable lyrics but a hugely entertaining, downright joyous night out.

We all have our ways of lumping and spliting the world: PC/Mac, crunchy/smooth, those who like Neil Young/those who don't and so on. My own version is brutally simple: the world is divided into those who have had dealings with a compulsive fantasist and those who have not.

Because once you have had to deal with such an individual, you will never take anyone at face value, ever again.

To be clear, I'm not talking about 'Why yes, that £100 hairdo really does suit you!' or 'Thanks, mum - I've really been looking forward to this new Susan Boyle CD!' type white lies. I mean a deliberately constructed false life. As with all lies, it grows and grows until more and more people twig that the details don't quite add up. And then it implodes under its own weight, leaving a trail of ill-feeling behind it.

Most of us, I think, find it hard to believe that anyone would do such a thing. I certainly did until my own encounter with a fantasist. No direct harm was done to me but, several years later, I still find it all quite chilling. I've come across a few since but not on the same scale, thank goodness.

By now, if you are still reading this, you will either be thinking 'Eh, WTF?' or nodding wearily. Hence my first para. If you're in the former camp, this song may help explain matters. If in the latter, you may agree with me that it is indeed the scariest song ever:

Yep, you read it right.

Dug out my old vinyl copy of Yessongs this evening. I have to report that it is very, very good indeed. Much better than I remembered it in fact. OK, so the lyrics are daft (what is a Siberian khatru anyway?). However they do seem to fit. And there are some missable solos. However, there are also a great many hummable tunes and much of the music is, frankly, rather exciting.

Now, what prompted me to dig out the vinyl is the fact that Yes are coming to this very town next week. My question is, are they worth going to see or is this incarnation a sad chicken-in-a-basket rendition of past glories and best avoided?

Your comments/advice appreciated.

Just started reading this issue and have been struck by the sudden realisation that...I have been interviewed by Kate Mossman's dad.

Top that pop-pickers.

Good guy too.

At last, in a final 4-episode session, embrawumman and I finished series 5 last night.

Partly, I'm sad that there's no more to watch.

Partly, I'm looking forward to purchasing the DVD boxed sets and watching it all over again. And probably the commentaries too.

Partly, I'm bemused that the main series 5 plotline is essentially the same as that for Watchmen.

Mainly though, I'm relieved that I can now go about my life without without the constant fear of reading or hearing something that gives away the plot. Bliss.

Happier endings than I might have anticipated for many of the characters too.

I recently acquired a John Lee Hooker box set - Blues is the Healer. A 10 disc set for under a tenner - bargain! And worth many times more than I paid for it, IMO.

Downside is that, although it is a nicely presented box, there is vanishingly little information about the tracks. The name, basically - no dates, band members etc.

The early discs are fairly easy - they're the early Besman recordings, complete with 78 hiss. However the later discs, some with full band, are more difficult to pin down. Disc 10 sounds like a complete live session and I'm guessing that other discs also have some sort of thematic unity - if only the compiler had told us what it was.

So... is there anyone from the WM sufficiently versed in Hooker to make some informed guesses as to provenance?

Full track listing is in the comments.

I heard this in a record shop, didn't follow it up at the time due to penury but have never quite been able to get it out of my head. No-one I have described it to has recognised it - even google draws a blank. Can the Word Massive do better?

It's a long folk-esque track with a chorus along the lines of:

"The wheels go round without a sound"

"My father walked a hundred (?)miles to watch these wheels go round"

This has been bugging me for years - since 1983-ish, in fact, which may be a clue.

Any suggestions?

Just finished catching up with series 1 on my V box.

Against all expectations, it really is as good as various Word staffers have suggested.

Astonishingly, jaw-droppingly so.

My only comparator is 'Our Friends in the North' - and there were only about 6 episodes of that. The fact that I have another 4 series of The Wire to watch is a source of great joy to me at the moment and the inevitable end of season 5 come-down too far away to let it worry me.

But can it really be right to enjoy a TV series so much?

The pleasures of emusic.com are, I think, well known to many Word readers. It is the nearest (legal) on-line equivalent to browsing through a large, eclectically stocked and reasonably-price record shop. Somewhere in amongst the legions of the mediocre are the rare gems; albums that you've always wanted or didn't know existed or are unfamiliar yet irresistibly compelling. There can be few greater pleasures in life and my emusic subscription allows me to do it every month.

And yet, isn't part of the pleasure of mining for gems, the joy of then sharing them with others? I'll therefore be adding a few of my finds below - feel free to add your own or, indeed, to subject mine to your mocking scorn.

Here's a start:

http://www.emusic.com/album/Various-Artists-The-Great-Liverpool-Acoustic...

I'm sure that all of The Great Liverpool Acoustic Experiment compilation is good. However, your attention is drawn to track 8, Just Drive by It's Immaterial. I love It's Immaterial, and was surprised and delighted to find this track, which is, I believe, the best thing they've ever done.

As the album title suggests, it is acoustic (not their usual style) yet is a logical progression of their Song album. Quietly hypnotic, lovely, addictive - the feel of driving in the early hours. How I wish there was more like this by them.

Well worth, I suggest, investing a monthly credit in. Song sample here:
http://www.emusic.com/samples/m3u/song/11095819/15881872.m3u