I’d been looking forward to this one for a while. Not only the gig, but a chance to spend a little time with someone. Unfortunately, the latter plans fell apart.”The System” seems to do that sometimes. Can be so frustrating… So anyway, i decided to not go too early as i’d only end up spending money around Nottingham!
I was very curious how the support act “The Cruel Knives” would be. If you’re not aware, they are a new band formed by a couple of the guys from “Heavens Basement” (what a great band they were) namely ; Sid Glover & Rob Ellershaw . The band is completed by Tom Harris & Al Junior. They’ve obviously got some good connections in the business as they are now opening for The Pretty Reckless all around the UK/Europe.
Upon arrival at Rock City, i noticed they hadn’t posted the times for the night. Also, they’d not put out the barriers. Immediately, i thought something wasn’t quite right.
There wasn’t a queuing system, it was a mess. Some people had paid extra to be VIPs. What they were supposed to get for that was EARLY ENTRY + a poster. (Ah yes, i remember doing VIP for TPR which included a photo with the band…which didn’t happen. But hey they’ve got your money & when you try arguing , well it’s pointless…).
So, as there was no info being given out, there were quite a few punters who were not impressed. From a personal point of view it was getting really hard for me to stand outside for so long. I eventually had to sit on the steps. But the biggest annoyance was one of the RC security guys! When one of the VIPs tried asking him a question, he said something like ” Calm down !”. Erm no mate, YOU are the one that needs to calm down & LISTEN to the people who have paid to see the show. He was basically a bully. Totally ignorant & showed no compassion what so ever. The problem was that the band were very slow with soundcheck so doors just kept getting pushed back. I understand if security are not getting good info, they are in an awkward place. But as an example of how differently some security deal with this, later on, the HEAD of security came out & said something like “….they’ve told us they’re going to be a while…”. He then said “….i interpret that as it will be a long time….”. He was calm & collected as he told this message, unlike the arrogant twat from earlier on. Good vs bad eh? I won’t even bother mentioning about the whole early entry & bar stool for disabled people like myself & the others….
The only good thing(s) to come of the delays was i saw an old mate who i’d not seen since around the time of my seizure & also got chatting to a couple who’d traveled from Mablethorpe area. (Hello if you’re reading this !) When we finally got in, i helped them by showing where to go & also got them a bar stool.
I got my fave spot on balcony so was reasonably happy.
So first up it’s “The Cruel Knives” . First song everything just seemed too loud & had a poor mix (maybe they didn’t get a line check due to TPR taking so long?). As they went along, it did improve. It’s good to see that Sid hasn’t changed & is still the show-off in the band 🙂 (That’s meant in a nice way. He knows when the cameras are on him & hes a fantastic guitarist). I was unsure if it really was Rob Ellershaw up there ! The new “Liam Gallagher” hair style totally threw me 🙂 Hearing everything for the first time is always hard to take in. Overall, i thought there were some good songs & it’s all very upbeat. There’s potential as, to me, they don’t sound like most of the typical young bands. It’s more solid rock. I wanna see them again.
The sound of “Hells Bells” & various other classics are played over the PA before The Pretty Reckless take to the stage. The guys just casually walk on & start playing, then Taylor comes on. The screams from the girls in the crowd are very loud ! As ever, Ms Momsen is sassy wearing her long leather coat. I don’t care what anyone says, this really is the Taylor Momsen show. Tonight we get songs from the past few albums, starting with old favorites “Follow Me Down ” & ” Since You’re Gone “. As i don’t have the latest album, i didn’t know what to expect from the new stuff. “Oh My God ” is typical TPR with a barrage of drums. By now either the sound is getting better or i’m just getting used to it ! Interestingly, the next song, “Hangman”, is something very different for TPR. It’s nice to see the variety going on in that song. One of the biggest problems tonight are the long silences between songs. It kinda kills things. Blaming it on the jet lag is a cheap get out clause.
Ah cant beat a bit of classic TPR! Great vocals from rock city crowd 🙂
Tonights show features a bunch of songs from the latest album “Who You Selling For “. There are way too many silences between songs. A few problems with equipment ( “….my mic stand keeps falling over….hired gear haha…”) & a general lack of flow. Jet lag eh ?! I don’t think they reached their stride tbh.
Towards the end of the set they play ” Living In The Storm” & that was the most animated we saw Taylor tonight.
Of course, all that buggering about & delayed doors has the knock on effect because there’s a curfew of 10pm tonight. Yep, you guessed it, the club/disco is from then. So a few songs must have been dropped from their set. Even though their set was officially over, the crowd kept shouting for an encore. When the house lights went up, there were certainly a few “Boos” in the crowd. I hope they bring their game next time so we don’t feel so cheated….
“At trip to Amsterdam including an insight into the snoring techniques of my mates ”
This one will be more about the time in Amsterdam than the gig review…..
We booked this some time back & for a change, we decided to travel via ferry. Plan was to have a few days in Amsterdam & visit various places old & new. The journey started on Thursday & it seemed only right to visit the Wetherspoons in Louth as it’s “Curry night”. There was some disapointment amongst our group as the meal wasn’t up to the standards we were expecting. After Andy G. getting replacement WARM rice & then the lass asking if we were happy or not, we all got free coffees 🙂 Afterwards we drove up to Hull to catch the ferry. (I think maybe the last time i took a ferry might have been back in ’99 going to Rock Am Ring in Germany). It was a very smooth overnight sailing, but i really suffered a lack of sleep due to the “3 part non-harmony” of my mates SNORING ! After enduring it a while, i could easily work out WHO was doing the snoring by the different sounds they made (sad?) I’ll leave it at this: One had a very deep gutteral snore, one a “breath through the mouth” snore & the other a nasal snore with a kind of “wimpering” sound on breathing out ! God knows what or who he was dreaming about 😉 ( I guess we all snore & i’m supposedly no exception! My mate Rob says i was super loud when we went to Angelfish in Glasgow. Of course, i knew nothing of it,but the others did,as is always the case lol) It was a l-o-n-g night but at least once we get to our hotel i’ll be able to sleep as only sharing room with one of the guys….famous last words eh 😉
Over the next days we planned to visit various places in the Dam. Some we’d been to before & others were new. Andy T. was very organised having brought a map on which he placed stickers indicating locations to visit 😉
First day we tried a pancake house. The guys were impressed, but i wasn’t. Around midday we checked into our hotel. http://www.backstagehotel.com/en I last stayed here when over for Garbage gig. A nice reasonably priced place located very close to Melkweg/Paradiso.
Andy queues up a day early ;-)Then it was off for more exploring visiting places like Cafe Gollum & an early evening meal at a Nepalese restaurant. After the disappointment with the pancakes, this place was great !
I confess, by this time i was so damn knackered, that i decided to go hotel & try get some sleep. Couldn’t believe it! It sounded like above our room they were moving furniture & were generally very noisy. Then i realised our room was directly below the bar area! If you ever stay here, make sure you don’t have room 002 !! In the end i couldn’t stand it anymore & about 3am i went to reception to tell them we need to change rooms. ( Remember i’ve been awake since Thursday evening & it’s now the early hours of Saturday morning ! ) The chap was very nice about it & i moved to a bigger 3 bed room. Funny thing was, later i found out Andy didn’t even realise i’d left the room & came back to collect my bags later! (Can’t say i appreciated the msg from someone at 8am though…shoulda looked & realised sleep was needed !)
Gig Day : Once up, we wandered off to find the nearby bar to indulge in their apple pie + cream on top (Or as they call it “Slagroom”, which i still find hilarious as i’m English)
Myself & the two Andys then went to another bar ” Cafe Chris”. We were the first in as they were just opening up at 3pm. Apparently the place dates back to 1624.
Later we went to Cafe Gollum again & finally went to a steakhouse for grub. Before going to meet Rob & everyone, i went to check on the early entry time at Paradiso.
Oh yes, need to explain that : My good friend Jan fell on the stairs when we were all at the Garbage show. The venue/management later arranged for him to have guest list places for future gigs. He offered me these,but as i said to him, they are for him. So i asked if maybe he could arrange something with regards to myself & Kristina getting in early as with my condition (brain turmors), this often happens in the UK. Sure enough, Jan sorted it out very quickly with Bram. All i needed to do was go to side door & ask for Rob who is the manager. Rob couldn’t have been more helpful & professional about it all. I explained where we’d like to sit on balcony & he even said i could take a couple more in with me! I don’t abuse the system & by not offering the places to others no ones nose was put out of joint ( ” Hey! Why you chose them instead of me?! “). We arranged to come back about 15mins before doors opened. Outside in the queue i met old friends from Bulgaria ; Venelin, Ned & Kristina (another one). Of course, Benoit was also there 🙂 We then went to Cafe Kooper on Leidseplein to meet up with all the others which included Jim, Diana, Rob, Michel & (a nice surprise) Anne 🙂 Hugs all round, lotsa laughs etc. 6.45 we went back to Paradiso & left the rest boozing away.
Getting closer to the venue, we realised they’d already opened doors! Reason being cos it was raining. How nice of them….wouldn’t happen in the UK 😉 Rob had reserved the seats for us, but they were not quite where we wanted to be. ” No problem! Go where you want “. So we moved along another 7 or so seats as it was a better angle to view from. The venue soon started filling up (was sold out). I sent txt to Andy to say there was one seat next to me if he could get there soon. But they were staying in the Irish bar till queue died down. Of course, they ended up on the top balcony. Around same time i got txt from Benoit saying he was on balcony left side. Didn’t take him that long to realise there was that seat next to me. (Snooze/booze & you lose Andy lol )
Tonight was a special gig celebrating 10 years since they released their debut album “Lucidity”. What better way to celebrate than playing one of THE best venues in the world, the “Church of Rock”, Paradiso, Amsterdam & filming it all for posterity?!! Many fans travelled from all over the world for this one.
After the intro tape, they go straight into “Hands Of Gold” from their latest album “Moonbathers” (I confess i’ve not got the album yet lol). It was a bit of a shock that they had the singer from “Arch Enemy”, Alissa White-Gluz join them on first song of the evening (She later also joined during “The Tragedy of the Commons”). But that was setting us up for an evening with quite a few guests & old band members joining them. The song finished with confetti cannons firing over the stage into the crowd. Already we have plenty of bang for buck 😉 Next it’s ” Suckerpunch” (again off “Moonbathers”. Maybe i should get the album 😉 ). I knew this one after seeing the video back in February…phew 🙂 What ?! Another one from same album? This time “The Glory & The Scum”. Gimmie something i know !! Finally, the big hitter “Get the Devil Out of Me” is aired. Bloody love it. (No coincedence it’s one of my fave Delain songs). The crowd is really into this one 🙂
During “Hurricane” confetti is dropped from the ceiling. Made for a nice effect.
There then followed a very heavy version of “April Rain”. I love the synchronized headbanging from the guitarists at the beginning…
Next up there’s another guest appearance. This time it’s Burton C. Bell from “Fear Factory”. He joins for “Where Is The Blood”. After this, there was an intermission which gave Charlotte time to change her outfit. Upon returning they played a great version of “We Are The Vultures”.
During “Fire with Fire” there was a real cute moment where Charlotte got on her knees in front of Merel. From the angle i was looking from, even on her knees,she almost seemed the same height as Merel ! Funny & cute 🙂
As previously mentioned, Alissa White-Gluz once again joined during “The Tragedy of the Commons”.
After another short intermission the band returned to the stage. Or rather, a “different” band returned ! Old band members,bass,guitar & drums, played “Sleepwalkers Dream”. That was pretty cool 🙂
During “Your Body Is a Battleground”, i’m looking for where the backing vocals are coming from. Then realize they’re playing a video of Marco doing said vocals. I guess they couldn’t get all the guests they wanted tonight.
Another guest appearance was during “See Me in Shadow”, when Liv Kristine joined. There was also the addition of a cellist up at the back of stage.
The main set finished with “Pristine” & included another guest appearance (dunno who he was lol)
Back for the encore & Charlotte has once again changed her outfit. It’s the white one she wore in the “We Are The Others” video (Though it’s only the top half for the super observant 😉 ). A great version of “Mother Machine” was this first encore. I loved the audience participation for “Don’t Let Go”. The whole floor was jumping & shouting “Hey! Hey! Hey!”. Bloody loved it.
Of course, they had to finish with the obvious “We Are The Others”. A great finisher for a great night.
It’s funny, but at the time, i wasn’t as “into” the show as i should have been. A combination of lack of sleep & annoying people affected me big time. But upon reflection, i realise this was a top show. Pryro,smoke,costume changes,guest musicians & quality songs. The crowd was also just great. The fact that they were filming the show will be a great memory of a great night for sure.
Afterwards a bunch of us briefly went around the bars. Of course, i again turned in early in the hope of catching up on sleep 😉
Morning arrived too quickly. We set off for a wander in search of a decent priced breakfast. Mr T. had already scoped out the place “Bagels & Beans”. Nice place & nice staff. Of the 3 different breakfasts, we all chose the “Good Morning” one (no coincidence it was the cheapest!) ” Good Morning breakfast please”. “Good Morning” *smiles* lol You had to be there 😉 I can’t imagine what Mac would say if he saw the ” Power Breakfast” (Ok, i can. Insert inappropriate word). Take the napkin for later…
Afterwards, we split up,with Ady going to some museum/gallery & myself & the two Andys going to more refined areas 😉 ( I obviously jest). Another quick visit to The Old Quarter. Looked like the cat hadn’t moved since yesterday!
Finished the day with chips n mayo & last bar was ” In het Aepjen “, which was close to the bus pick up point. Of course, with us “checking in” to most places, we were stalked by Rob & Kristina as they popped in a few minutes before our departure 😉 Nah, actually it was nice to briefly say goodbye till the next time 🙂
Once on the ferry, i knew i wouldn’t get much/any sleep. So whilst the others rocked out to the house band (lol) i turned in early ! Was it a better nights sleep for me ? Lets just say i’ve never looked forward to being in my own bed !
To sum up the whole experience : “Would i travel via ferry again ?” Nope. Will always be flights/trains from now on. “Would you if it was different travelling companions?” . Again, nope. The journey takes too much time.
Upon reflection, over all, it was a decent enough break. Cool to meet old friends & a decent gig 🙂
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.
It’s always cool when it’s possible to do “2-nighters” at places & this was the first of them (The second being Airbourne). I had hoped i wouldn’t be “alone” over the next days, but it didn’t quite work out for Tess as her sister was over. As is always the case, book early & the hotels etc are cheaper. I stayed at the Premier Inn Nottingham West, which is at the end of the tram line. A great little thing is if you’re going to an event in Nottingham, the tram ticket is only £2 return ! (Just have to show your gig ticket if there are inspectors checking) It worked well for me.
As luck would have it, an old neighbour from 30+ years ago(?) was also doing these gigs, so a nice chance to catch up.
I managed to get the early entry to Rock City & the chap had sorted out a bar stool for me. What surprised me was it wasn’t in the balcony, but under the stairs. Not that it bothered me as it’s still a great view from there. The surprise, especially after Reckless Loves last gig at RC, was they hadn’t sold enough tickets to open the balcony! It’s kinda cool to be in RC & the place is empty
The opening act tonight were ” The Treatment “. I great bunch of lads who have a positive attitude & always put on a high energy show. I’ve seen them live a few times over the years. Their manager is Laurie Mansworth who used to me in the band ” Airrace” (If you’re older you may also remember the ’80s NWOBHM band ” More ” ). It’s cool to see him side stage really getting into the band :
As is always the case, the band get a great reaction from the crowd at Rock city.
Reckless Love are a band that are made for Rock City ! Of the 7 times they’ve played there, i’ve seen 5 of them (Started playing in the Basement & got too big for there). I do find it a little strange that it’s not a bigger audience tonight, especially as it’s one of only two shows in the UK (But saying that, the last couple of times they didn’t open the balcony)
The show starts with ” The Boys Are Back In Town” being played over the PA. It’s then straight into “Animal Attraction”. Oli briefly soaks up the affection from the crowd before they go into ” So Happy I Could Die “…with a huge scream from him at the start :
Next up it’s “Monster”. After that, Oli mentions Pepe & him being a Pretty Boy. Yup, we’re about to get the live debut of ” Pretty Boy Swagger ” 🙂 It was pretty decent.
Then we get the double hitter of ” Beautiful Bomb” & “Badass”. There’s some good audience interaction/clapping during “Badass”.
The rest of the night it’s all about having a good time. The band seem as into it as the audience are. They encore with “We Are The Weekend” & the last song of the night is the classic ” Hot “. A great night out for sure.
Afterwards we go to the The Gooseberry Bush pub where myself & Tim (the old neighbour) have a good catch up & he tells me his woes about recently splitting with his wife.
We eventually say our goodbyes & i take the tram back to my hotel, whilst Tim tries to figure out how to get to his hotel out Stapleford way !
Andy drove us there in my car (i’m not allowed to drive now) so gave it a nice run again. Parked up at Park n Ride. Cheap tram ticket as going to an event (Only £2.00 return). Went to the usual place for food & then to the venue. Was nice to briefly chat with Hana (front of queue as ever & had done the V.I.P. M&G). Hadn’t seen her in ages. Then went had a chat with my mate Gary (Pleased to hear all went well mate 😉 ) Soon enough, we were first people in venue. They didn’t have any bar stools upstairs so had to wait a while for those to arrive. Still managed my usual spot 🙂
First band tonight was Girlschool. I’ve been seeing them live since 1982, with my first gig at Leicester De Montfort hall. In the mid ’80s i traveled to a bunch of places around the UK to see them. Tonight, it’s going to be a short set, 30 minutes or so. Personally, i’d sooner see them switch positions with Fastway & get a longer set. I guess it’s down to “politics”. Whatever, they played a great little set. They kicked off with “Demolition Boys” , from the debut album “Demolition”. Then went into the title track of their second album ” Hit & Run ”
It was quite funny when Kim asked if anyone remembered “Rockstage”. That was a tv show where they broadcast gigs from the Theatre Royal,Nottingham in the early ’80s. Girlschool were featured on the same show as Motorhead which was broadcast in 1981. The general consensus was “…you really are far too young to remember it aren’t ya !? “.
Kim dedicated the song ” Take It Like A Man ” to Fast Eddie as this was the last night that Fastway would be on this tour. Next they played ” Future Flash”. That’s always been one of my all time fave songs of theirs. Enid then gets to sing the oldie ” Watch Your Step “. The show finishes with ” Emergency ” (what else could it be ? 😉
Next up it’s Fastway. Whilst there’s no denying there’s some legendary musicians in the group, it was a band i could never get into back in the day. Tonight i also thought Fast Eddies guitar was too loud. “What?” you’re saying? It can never be loud enough ;-). Or maybe it was more a point of Tobys vocals seemed a wee bit too low in the mix? Either way, i’m sorry to say that everything just seemed to merge into one.
Finally it’s Saxon. What a band & what a career they’ve had all these years ! The one constant during those times (even if there were a few weaker albums) is you know you’re gonna get a great live show ! They always play nice long sets & often change the set lists along the way. ( A good example being, i heard it was very cold in Sheffield & the audience requested ” Frozen Rainbow “…the band played it 🙂 )
I’m not going to list all the songs they played, but you can be sure they covered stuff from all through their career. Interesting choice of intro tape ; ” It’s a long way to the top (if you wanna rock n roll)”. I’ll always associate that with Twisted Sister from back in the day 😉 When intro finished, they brutally hit us with ” Battering Ram ” followed by a nice fast one ” Heavy Metal Thunder “.
Stand out tracks for me tonight were ” See The Light Shining “(change to set list) ,”Strong Arm Of The Law ” & ” Princess Of the Night “.
They played something like 21 (?) songs tonight. Such great value. As a footnote, it’s great to see that Saxon are (yet again) on the rise. Many dates have either sold out or been very close to selling out. Good on ya guys 🙂 Denim & Leather brought us all together…
Don’t think i’ve seen PJ since the Troxy show from back in 2011, so looking forward to this one. Couldn’t believe it, when on the train, my old mate Andy & his missus Nina, were sat along side me! We had a good old catch up. Unfortunately, the train got delayed & it looked like we’d miss our connection in Grantham (7mins to switch). As we came into Grantham, running along another line was the train we needed (it too had been delayed). We knew it would be close as had to go up steps & over to other platform. Literally, as we got on other platform, they shut the doors! Queue loads of angry folks ! This meant we had to wait another hour for next connection. I’d previously arranged to meet Rob & Kristina & told them of delay. We met up in KingsX then went to The Joint in Brixton for food (Another great little place that Rob found). Afterwards, Kristina kindly took my bag back to Robs place whilst we went to venue. The queue was small compared to previous times. Not that it mattered as i was using the “Disabled+companion ticket” option. Due to a small cock up, we were slowed down on entry,but still managed front row seats in balcony. Unfortunately, there was no support act so it was a long wait before PJ came on. Had to make use of the O2 offer of 2 for 1 drinks 🙂 This new PJ show is totally different to previous ones. It’s a “big” show with about 10 musicians on stage. I’m usually on the front row of the stalls,but this time, it’s front row of balcony. It’s pretty cool from this viewpoint actually as can take in the expanse of the show. It eventually (no support act tonight) starts with all the musicians slowly walking onto stage whilst playing “Chain Of Keys”. It’s almost like a funeral march as they snake around the stage to their respective positions. Afterwards, PJ holds her saxophone aloft as she moves to the front of the stage & they then go into “The Ministry Of Defense”. The “backdrop” is a bit strange. It just looks like a bunch of blocks & kind of reminds me of Penrose stairs. (But i doubt that was what they were intending to project). Tonights show is dominated by selections from “The Hope Six Demolition Project”. But we also get cursory glances to “White Chalk” & “Is This Desire”. There were some great moments tonight. I loved the version of “The Words That Maketh Murder”. The hand claps from the guys onstage & their singing in unison was very cool. Loved it when PJ sang the line ” What if i take my problem to the United Nations?” whilst seemingly asking this question to the guys up there & flitting between who she directed it to & getting no response. ( Am i over analyzing it? Or have i already become totally engrossed in tonights performance? 😉 )
Towards the end of the set we got some of the old classics like ” 50ft Queenie” , “Down By The Water” & “To Bring You My Love”. With all the musicians up there, the songs sounded quite different. For instance, during “50ft Queenie” it sounded like a “scream” at one point where the saxophone was played. As is always the case, it’s this song where PJ is the most animated.
“Down By The Water” is started by a single violin. We had no idea what would be played tbh. But once PJ sang the immortal line ” I lost my Heart..” we twigged on & there was rapturous applause. Loved the “swimming” movements from her on that one.
Next up it’s ” To Bring You My Love” & the main set is then finished with ” River Anacostia “. During “River Anacostia”, the various musicians joined PJ at the front singing along acapella. Quite a magical moment.
The encore is an old favourite; a cover of Dylans ” Highway 61 Revisited “.
Tonights show was a BIG show. Could go as far as saying it’s theatrical even. Whilst PJ in the past has never had much interaction between her & the crowd, tonight it’s even less. Just the occasional “Thank You” is all we get. It certainly makes you focus on the music/show. What i still find amazing about Miss Polly Jean Harvey, after all these years, she is still a unique artiste.
Ady picked me up around 4pm. Once in Nottingham, we parked on a side street which was free, but a bit of a walk to venue. Ady went off for a Subway whilst i went to sort out my bar stool in the venue. We went up the back stairs in the bar & she left me a stool there. Seemed silly to have to go back outside, but i guess it’s protocol. Once outside, i bumped into Carl & Lisa. Wasn’t expecting to see them, so was a nice surprise. Had a good old chat 🙂 Once we were let in i went straight up to balcony. My stool had gone! There was a couple on the right side with a stool & a bloke on his own on the left with a stool. Seemed obvious the bloke on the left wasn’t disabled, so i asked him ” Are you disabled?” His reply was ” No”. So i told him he’d took my stool ! He was fine about it. Easy mistake to make 😉
First act was Bernie Marsden (ex Whitesnake). Being honest, i wasn’t looking forward to it! But, i found his banter was funny & he certainly sings a LOT better than Coverdale nowadays 😉 Ended up really enjoying his set as did most of the audience by the looks/sound of things.
It’s quite amazing to think that ” Indiscreet ” was released 30 years ago ! That would make me 20 years old at the time. When i look back to that era now, i think how lucky i was to be experiencing the early years of acts like Metallica, Anthrax, Slayer etc etc Unique times for sure. But i digress…
FM start with the usual intro & go straight into “Digging Up The Dirt”. Then it’s an old classic “I Belong To The Night”. Only two songs in & the whole crowd seems to be behind them. As always, Steve Overlands vocals are spot on. It’s funny how some singers from the same era are sounding rough nowadays & yet Mr Overland is pure quality as ever.
We get a couple more old classics from the album ” Indiscreet”, namely “Let Love Be The Leader”
…..followed by the hit “Frozen Heart”. I always associate “Frozen Heart” with a lass i was seeing back in the day during that era.
There’s good crowd interaction on ” Face To Face ”
They play all the tracks from ” Indiscreet ” tonight & it’s fleshed out by songs from the albums ” Heroes & Villains ” & ” Rockville “. I found it interesting they encored with ” Story Of My Life “. I always thought it “plodded along” tbh. However, i’d imagine a lot of fans like it as they may see it as an “anthem” & something to wave the arms about 😉
The strangest thing of the night for myself though, in a similar vein to what Heart did recently, was they finished the show with a couple of cover songs by Whitesnake (Heart did the same playing Led Zep) ! Ok, it’s obvious it gives them the chance to jam with Bernie & the songs were great,but, i prefer bands to finish with their own songs 😉
Whatever, it was a great night !
I really like ” Bones ” & had never seen ” Band Of Skulls ” before, so thought i’d give it a go. I got totally lucky with my hotel as it only cost me £10 (Yes, a tenner !) Just look at this place for the amazing value i got :
Took a late train to Nottingham as couldn’t check in till 3pm. Chilled in my room using the free wifi. Found out a friend, Diletta, was also here for the gig. She’s a massive fan of Bones 😉 Unfortunately they hadn’t sold enough tickets to open the balcony. So myself & another couple went to my 2nd favourite position, under the stairs ( It’s raised here)
Place was slow to fill up, but eventually there were not many spaces on the main floor.
I’d imagine Bones were new to most of the crowd. I’d previously seen them open for Skunk Anansie & also PVRIS, so knew what to expect. To start off there wasn’t much “movement” amongst the audience, but, they were gradually turned onto the band as their set progressed. I made a few videos 😉
Their short set ( 30mins? ) went by very quickly & they finished with the one two of ” Girls Can’t Play Guitar ” (preceded by telling the crowd about the infamous guy in Camden who said the immortal line “Girls Can’t Play Guitar”) then final song ” Pretty Waste “.
Band Of Skulls i really don’t know much about. First thing i noticed tonight was how their back drop of 3 ecclesiastical looking windows reminded me of a similar thing ” The Mission ” did back in the ’80s ! Move the outside ones closer to the centre & there you have it . By now the main floor was considerably more busy.
They kick off with ” In Love By Default ” & then it seems to be the same setlist most places on this tour with “Light Of The Morning” , ” Himalayan” & ” Bodies” following.
Sometime pretty early on, i was filming a song & got a tap on my shoulder. It was Diletta coming up to see me. She didn’t realise this was the “disabled area” & the chap behind me who i’d been chatting to kinda of tried to make her move. Once he realised we knew each other, he was fine. ( Afterwards when we talked about that brief moment, Diletta said ” It was like he was your personal security !”. Funny & good point 😉 )
Before “Patterns” , Russell mentions how they love playing in Nottingham 😉 This song really starts to get the crowd going during the singback section. They then jump forward to present day with the song “So Good” from the most recent album ” By Default “. Very smooth how they merged from one song to the next.
I knew something interesting would be coming as Matt, the drummer, was given a guitar. So had to film this track. Turned out to be an old song which had been used a few years back on a tv show (A little digging & i found a bunch of their songs were used on tv shows & movie soundtracks over the years). There were some great little vocal harmonies going on between Russell & Emma
The rest of the night it was more high energy songs & i’ve got to say, i really enjoyed the night. The couple near me left early. I assume to beat the swathes of people leaving at once ( She needed a stick, so wise choice i reckon) They finished with ” Asleep At the Wheel ”
Afterwards, briefly had a chap with Diletta & then i went back to my hotel. Oh yeah, before hotel i went in multi storey next door & scanned an app where each time you park there, after 6 scans i think, you get free parking session. Whatcha mean….my car wasn’t there ?
The following morning, before checking out of my fantastic hotel, there was one last piece to be completed here : ” The Grab & Go ” breakfast ! At no extra charge, they have pastries, muffins, croisants, coffee, juice etc. Would love to stay here again….at the right price 😉
Tonight we get songs from the past few albums, starting with old favorites “Follow Me Down ” & ” Since You’re Gone “. As i don’t have the latest album, i didn’t know what to expect from the new stuff. “Oh My God ” is typical TPR with a barrage of drums. By now either the sound is getting better or i’m just getting used to it ! Interestingly, the next song, “Hangman”, is something very different for TPR. It’s nice to see the variety going on in that song. One of the biggest problems tonight are the long silences between songs. It kinda kills things. Blaming it on the jet lag is a cheap get out clause.
