Shirley did a long talk about forgetting to put on her knickers ! As it was already getting on for 5 minutes, i paused it & restarted for the actual track “Girl Don’t Come” (As the file would have split anyway on my camera)
Easily the best show of the tour. Not just the gig,but, the whole day surrounding it, spent with great friends 🙂
A great tour start with time in the pub with all the usual suspects. The show was way better than i expected it would be. A great night was had by all. Over & out. (I might update later. I’m not very well right now)
The doors were due to open earlier than i’d ever noticed before & my journey wasn’t very good due to traffic. Got to multi storey & was gonna do my usual thing where you pre pay the parking (so when you leave, you don’t have to stand in the queue to just pay), but, in the words of the guy on the desk ; ” I don’t know what i’m doing ! “. Eventually gave up as time was getting towards 5.30. I was *amazed* to see only 2 people outside the venue! I had my suspicions & sure enough, once inside, the balcony was closed. So straight to the position under the stairs it was. The first band, ” The Men That Will Not Be Blamed For Nothing” were different. But if i’m truthful, they didn’t do a lot for me.
Funniest thing was after their set, i realised a chap stood next to me was someone i knew…even though we’d not seen each other before. That was well funny. Fortunately by the time Killing Joke were due on stage, the place had filled out very well. They received a heroes welcome. Interestingly, Jaz said tonight was the 15th time they’d played Rock City. To my shame, i’d never seen any of those previous gigs ;-( It was a top gig & everything i expected it would be. KJ are still so unique after all thse years.
My old mate Ady was doing a mini “Delain roadtrip”, seeing shows in Birmingham, Manchester & London, so it made sense for him to join me on the London date. Once in London, Ady popped off to visit FOPP, whilst i went straight to the venue. Got there about 4ish & was surprised how many people were already queued up ! Supposedly, about 30 were doing the VIP meet n greet, so the O2 priority entrance was very important for me on this one. (Incidentally, O2 customers *should* be able to take up to 3 guests with them, at **ALL** O2 venues. However, at this venue, despite being contacted by AMG about it, they still only allow +1 guest !! There really needs to be something in writing about the amount of guests O2 customers can take in….& i’m sure that AMG will be contacting Islington Academy again soon 😉 ). I didn’t manage to help Jim + Diana getting in, but my +1 ended up being a nice lass called Olga who i met in the queue 🙂 (Again, so ironic that they didn’t even check anyone’s phones to confirm they were on O2 !!)
Well, luckily, we managed to get on second row, so i was very happy with that ! First up it was “Courtesans”. I’d previously seen them in a small club in Stamford, so was nice to see them on a bigger stage. I enjoyed their set. It was short but sweet & i’m sure they made an impression on many in there tonight. I’m also thinking they might have confused some people haha 🙂
Next it was “The Gentle Storm”. I had never seen them before & they were bloody great. They seemed genuinely surprised by the crowds reaction, which was well deserved. I’d like to see them again sometime.
So to the main act, Delain. The show was totally sold out & packed silly. I’m so pleased i put the effort in to secure my position on the 2nd row 😉 They kicked off with ” Go Away”. Apparently, they had decided to make big changes to the set list, so, anyone who’d seen the other UK dates, was in for a treat ! I was surprised “Get The Devil Out Of Me” appeared so early in the set. We got a bunch of classic songs & what really struck me about tonights performance was how everything really flowed. I think making Merel a full time member was an inspired move.They all seem to gel so well & it’s great seeing smiles all around. You could tell it wasn’t just us, the audience, really enjoying things 🙂 I don’t know if some of the “moves” were choreographed or if they have just become part of the show after touring a while, but, it just worked so well. Oh yeah, Charlotte seems to totally ooze confidence. She seemed to really get off on the fact that the audience followed her lead…& maybe even got a bit carried away with the audience chants of “Hey ! Hey! Hey! ” at various points in the show.But hey, you’ve worked hard for it, so enjoy it !
I felt like the band had stepped up a level tonight.We got one new song ” Turn The Lights Out ” which will be on the album coming out in 2016. It sounded fine 🙂
Two or three more songs & they finished the main set with a stonking version of “Not Enough”. But obviously, we’re not gonna let them finish there! Loads of screams & clapping then the intro to “Mother Machine” starts up. This is a great encore song as after the “intro” the main song hits like a battering ram. Of course, the show finishes with the classic “We Are The Others “, a beautiful song.
So all in all, a great nights entertainment. These are the kind of nights i live for. As i said, i think Delain have stepped up a notch & tonight was certainly the best I’ve seen them (a couple of mates also agreed about that). 2016 will be an interesting year for them & i look forward to the next album/tour.
Another last minute gig….i hate staying in 😉 Used the tram park & ride & it worked a treat ; £3.50 all day to park. Went for usual beer n burger at Wethers, then had a look in FOPP. Again i was first person at venue, but it guarantees the position i wanna be at in the room (If i stayed any longer in the city, i’d end up spending money lol). Surprisingly , the balcony wasn’t open, so i went next best place under the stairs. First band was “The Sultans Of Ping”. I only knew of them from their minor hit “Where’s Me Jumper” back in the day. Cannot say i’d missed much tbh . Next it was “Brix & The Extricated”. I was never a fan of “The Fall”, so again, cannot say this set did much for me. Oh, apparently it was the 30 year anniversary to the day since Brix first played at Rock City.
Next it’s “The Wedding Present”. It’s quite funny to me that i’d never seen them live before until this year & now i see them a second time within a couple of weeks! I absolutely love the bass sound they have. They got a decent reaction, but, not as good as in London.
Finally it’s “Echo & The Bunnymen”. I still find it strange that i also never saw them “back in the day”. I’ve only seen them once before, at Reading Festival back in ’98. What a different “look” old Macca had that day lol. I digress….Tonight, typically, there’s loads of dry ice (Are we at a Sisters gig? ) & basically it’s like watching silhouettes up there ! 
The good things about tonight : His singing is still fantastic, it’s a nicely balanced set, his singing is still fantastic, the crowd seem to love it, his singing is still fantastic 🙂 The not so good was, the lighting was rubbish, after every song Macca would go to his little table & either have a drink or a quick fag (or both), his interaction with the crowd consisted of ” Ta” or “Sound! “. 
But despite that, i still enjoyed the Bunnymen as the quality of the sounds has stood the test of time & his singing is still fantastic 😉
This was a last minute decision to go, thanks to my mate Scott who i bumped into at Michael Monroe gig in Sheffield a few days earlier. Thanks mate 😉 Also took Andy & Ady with me. I’d forgot how much i dislike the drive via Withern (where Ady lives) due to crap roads ! The first band on were “The Corvids”. A local band who seem to have their routes in old school punkish sounds. They did a decent job of warming up the small crowd. (And even got some hot, eh Andrew ? 😉 ) So to the Amorettes. This would be the 3rd time for me to see them & finally their own headline set. The crowd had swelled nicely before they hit the stage, so was expecting a decent reaction. After an intro tape, it was straight into “Give em Hell”. These girls are full on old school rock n roll. I just love their sound. Kinda reminds me off Airbourne….but a lot more pleasing on the eye haha. I was very impressed with the audience sing a long during ” Hot And Heavy” ; Grimsby, you rocked !
I was a bit later than usual leaving Boston & when i arrived, the first band ” Ruby & the Knights” were already on. The vocalist seemed to like a theatrical sort of performance, judging by her mask & spending so much time on the main floor on her knees 😉 They went down well with the crowd. I thought they were ok as an opener. Next up was ” Cortus “. Again, totally new to my ears. They had a decent sound & were pretty heavy. For myself, the real two standouts here were, 1. the drummer : she’s solid & fun with it 2. the guitarist. Damn could he shred. He’s a young chap, but is already playing fantastic. I’m sure he has a good future ahead of him, if he wants it (wether it’s in this band or not though, could be debatable as i see he’s recently moved away to Leeds). So, ” The Raven Age ” : They’ve managed to get a few decent support slots recently & you can tell everything is flowing very well on the live set. There’s some nice harmony guitars in there at times ( I’m a sucker for twin harmonies) & also some heads down full on rockin out. But strangely, it all left me a bit cold. Cannot put my finger on it, but, it just didn’t really connect with me. Finally it’s Skarlett Riot. They’re always such fun. I’ve never seen a bad show by them. Everyone gives 100%. We got a couple of new songs plus all the usual “classics”. Tonight’s event was well worth the trip. Good value at £8 ( + about £15 petrol to drive there n back). They had a decent turn out for a Sunday night & was told there were about 40 advance & another 40 or so paying on the door. Nice one ! Because it was new too me & i really enjoyed them & can see the potential, the band of the night for me were Cortus 🙂