I had planned to go to the Virginmarys/Therapy? gig at Union Chapel in London. Everything was booked. Planned to meet Eva & we were gonna go around “Winter Wonderland” etc. But i had to cancel due to my chemo meds just made me real rough (having had 2 weeks where my bloods were rubbish, everything gets delayed/put back. I was quite depressed about it all really) But health is more important, so skipped the gig 🙁
As luck would have it, i’d previously mentioned the gig in Peterborough to my niece, Alice. She had planned to go xmas shopping, so, needing my fix, i dropped her a message to see if she fancied doing the gig. ” Yes ! ” was the answer, so here we go 🙂
The venue had been changed from Cherry Tree as it closed down! Probably a blessing in disguise as The Brewery Tap is more central & a great pub. (They even have their own micro-brewery). There’s a nice size side room, “The Tap Room “, where the gig was gonna be.
This tour is a great example of the humility of the guys. Making people aware of how others often cannot get the basics to survive. The idea of “People Help The People” is great. You make a food donation as your entry to the gig. (Or give them £5 on the door. We thought it’s lazy to just hand over a fiver, so went shopping)
Had a quick look in the Tap room, said a brief hello to Ally, then off we went for food. Leaving the place, saw Danny at the bar, so said hi .
After a little Xmas shopping with Alice, we went to get the food donations. Dropped em off back at the car, then went for our food. Guess where we went? Yup, easy with me, a Wetherspoons pub, “The Drapers Arms” 😉
On way back to venue, we picked up our donations from the car & in we went. Bit early though as we were the first in ! Met ” Fi ” , who was organizing this event & had a nice chat. Alice was promoting herself to Fi very well 😉 Then we went back into main room for drinks.
Eventually we go back in Tap Room. The support act was a guy called Richard Combault. Apparently, he used to be in a local band called “Midget”. I seem to recall the name from the early 90s. His set was pretty decent. Had some great little songs & good lyrics…especially about a divorce lol. Very entertaining. I think he must have brought a bunch of his mates with him as a few people left after his set.
Soon enough it was time for Ally to hit the stage. A funny thing; there was a big “dining room table ” on said stage. This had the keyboard on it ! Why ? well it appears they lost the proper keyboard stand (+ a mic stand) already on this tour ! Don’t forget the list guys 😉
I love hearing these songs in the naked & raw versions. Really shows the emotion & you see what great lyrics they have. Tonight we get a bunch of the “classics” including “Walk In My Shoes” , “Lost Weekend”, “Motherless Land” , Moth To A Flame” , “Northern Sun “, “Cast The First Stone ” etc.
Ally , as ever, is very open & appreciative. Early on he mentioned about the whole “Food & Awareness” campaign on this tour. Apparently ” Fi “, who put on this event, was one of the first to sign up to the idea. Before “Lost Weekend”, he mentions this.
Later on, totally unexpected, Ally asks me which song i’d like to hear ! I had a total brain freeze ! After already hearing a bunch of great songs & getting totally drawn into it all, i just blurted out “…urm… Brother hold on…” (Moth To A Flame of course). Allys reply was ” I usually play this on the keyboard, but i’ll do it on guitar for you”. So, unique version on this tour 🙂 Afterwards he mentions ” This guy has been following VMs around the UK for about 5-6 years or so & even saw us abroad?”. I say “Yeah, abroad on Skunk tour “. (I went to Porto,Lisbon, Madrid, Barcelona, Amsterdam..+ a few UK dates back in 2010)
An unexpected highlight also followed; “Northern Sun”. Brilliant stuff. The show is finished with “Cast The First Stone”.
Afterwards we briefly hang & get some photos. My niece Alice was VERY impressed with the show (first time seeing Ally, so will check out the VMs stuff)
Big thanks to Ally & Danny as always. Look forward to the gigs next year 😉
Ok, this was somewhat rushed, as i’m off to Amsterdam for weekend. Just wanted to get it out there. Apologies for quality of video clips. Not enough light & my camera is for sure on its way out.
