Hotel Rob was gonna be quite busy as he had 6 of us staying. So much so, that his reservations board ran out of letters ; 
Rob had told everyone to meet at “Tap East” Westfield centre as it would be the easiest way. So, after finally working out proper exit for Robs side, now it messes up my mind as i’m going in the opposite direction! Not been there for a while, but eventually found it. Upon arrival, no one was there ! But soon enough, the whole gang arrived & they were on the beers… 
Most of us head back to Hotel Rob to drop off bags. Once there food is bought. Eventually we head off to Brixton. Go to the usual pub “The Beehive”. Jims already there & has got a table.So we all pile in there. As it was “Fish Friday”,that’s what i had to eat 🙂 We were tightly packed around this small table, so ate it off my lap. After a while Mel arrives. Actually, it was a last minute thing that Mel decided to come. She messaged me to say she wanted to meet me as we’d not seen each other for ages. As luck would have it, she didn’t need a ticket as i’d arranged for a “helper” ticket for both nights. She’d brought with her some dayglo orange nail varnish (to tie in with the V2.0 album colour) “Simon, i want to do your nails !”. I was a bit reluctant to start off, but then thought “fuck it, lets have a bit of fun” 😉 A couple of the others caught this monumental moment lol 
After a while, we set off to the venue. Along the way Mel said to me ” I’m disappointed in you Simon” Huh? “You’re not wearing the old red fleece that you wore on the V2.0 tour” 🙂 I didn’t even think about doing that 🙁 Walking towards the box office entrance, i see that the M&G people are all in a line waiting to go back in. Say hello to Renee, Paul & Sophie. Then i notice Mike sat down. Don’t think he recognised me to start of with as I’ve now not got any hair & am skinnier. Had a nice brief chat. Emily then came out to get the M&G peeps back in.Seemed to take a while for us to get the helper ticket, but once in, still managed to get front row. Yay !
Tonight it’s “Dream Wife” who are opening the show. Tbh, we didn’t really watch them much, as we were having a catch up ! A funny thing was that Mel asked me “Simon,who would be your dream wife?”. My first reply was that after what my previous wife did, i’d never get married again! Whilst Mel went to get a drink, i had a think about it. It’s easy to lust after someone because of their looks,but you still don’t know if they’re a (cheating) bitch or not haha. My confessions were Katie McGrath (played Morgana in TV series “Merlin”). I love the Irish accent & in interviews she seems fun. Eleanor Tomlinson (Played Esmeralda in TV series Poldark) I’ve always had a bit of a thing about red haired lasses. Now if only i could find an Irish lass with red hair who’s fun…haha Mels answer was a lot less complicated 😉
After the show in Nottingham, i just KNEW Brixton would be better. They’re still playing the same set as before, but i’m hoping for a switch around or a couple of different songs added. It kicks off with “Afterglow”, then it’s “Deadwood”. I’m still don’t like how they start with such sombre songs. Fortunately, the next one “Temptation Waits” is a lot more up beat. Btw, i do love the links between songs. As an example, the “Are you flirtin with me?” line, which is Juliette Lewis from the film “Natural Born Killers” works so well. (I wonder if they have to pay any kind of royalties to use that sort of thing? I’m sure Juliet would be fine about it, but wonder what the companies would think)
After “Wicked ways” the crowd is so damn loud. This is much more like a home coming show. I’m loving it already. Shirley gives the speel about how long they’ve been playing at Brixton Academy & how grateful they are. Also mentions her dads there…i’m sure by now they’ll have gotten over that wee argument before Nottingham…& she thanks us fans who have stuck by them for all these years.
Next it’s “Special”. This is always a fun song. I’m still not too keen on “The World Is Not Enough”. “13x Forever” & “Get Busy With The Fizzy” i enjoy. Going back to the links between songs, after the “Hammering in My Head” the clip used from the film 2001: A Space Odyssey, where Hal says “Take a stress pill and think things over” fits perfectly before going into “Medication” 🙂
Of course, Shirley is still proud about the fact that their cover version of “Thirteen” was the best cover version ever. Next song is another cover version “Can’t Seem to Make You Mine” by The Seeds.
“I Think I’m Paranoid” is still such a classic. I really wish i could go down there in the thick of things…Mel decides SHE needs to go downstairs for a bit of fun…
I don’t know exactly what happened between ITIP & Sleep Together, but Shirley asks if everyone down the front is ok. Maybe it was down to Mel or rather, someone giving her a hard elbow 😉
“Lick The Pavement” is one of my favourites I love the rawness of this song. It’s short n sweet.
The rest of the show, just seems to go so quick 🙁 For the encore,they start with “The Trick Is to Keep Breathing”. But then they do something i wanted the to do : change the set list ! They played “No Horses”
Not only that though, they also played “Cherry Lips (Go Baby Go!)”. What a way to finish the show !