Left early as i wanted to be sure of getting front row. I’m not over keen on this venue tbh. We went for a quick pint at the nearby Wetherspoons. There’s a new footbridge to it, which is very close to the venue. I left Chris there supping away 😉 On my way back, i bumped into Mr Danny Vaughn coming over the footbridge. Said hello/had a brief chat. Back at the venue 2 other people had arrived. I had a feeling it wouldn’t be a busy night. First band were ok. Next it was Bad Touch , who i’ve seen open for loads of bands. They’re good at what they do & have the feel of a classic rock band. Of course, Tyketto was what everyone was here for. A nice varied set list covering a lot of the back catalogue (Even one off “Shine”) & basically a quality show. It wasn’t a huge turnout, but it didn’t deter the band from giving their all. It was the last show of the tour & “probably the last show of the year”. I still love how they said the audience was quicker to pick up the clap along before the “Last Sunset”…than London ! 😉
P.S. My mate Chris was a little worse for wear afterwards & had trouble finding the car 😉
An early start on the train to London, to meet Rob. He drives us to the festival (Thanks mate). Weather is fantastic ! We get our wristbands ; VIP ones i won via Saxon FB page, & i ask for it to not be too tight ( Rob says “He suffers from bad circulation!”) The reason for not being tight is i’m only going for the Saturday & Rob & Ady will do both days….so i can take it off easy & Ady can use it tomorrow 😉 (Not that i’d told him…i’m just good like that 😉 ) Have a quick look around the festival site. It seems a very nice size. First band we see are No Hot Ashes. I’d seen them before & my opinion hasn’t changed 😉 Then it’s Toseland. They go down pretty well, but leave me a little cold as i find it rather formulated & have seen it all before. (sorry). Next it’s FM. Simply quality. You know what you’re gonna get. Then it’s the mighty Saxon. Such consummate pros. Easily the best band of the day for me so far. Then it’s B.O.C. It’s the 3rd time i’ve seen them & i still just don’t get them. I suggest to Rob we go to the other stage for Anathema. Great choice. It felt so much better than last night in Sheffield & the audience seemed more into it. I made a right schoolboy error though as my camera battery died 🙁 So from then onwards, no video, just a couple of photos. Back to the main stage for Scorpions. Great set list. Make it Real, The Zoo, Coast to Coast! Then some real oldies jam “Top of the Bill/ Steamrock Fever/Speedys Coming/Catch Your Train” It then dipped a bit. The whistling song !! Thank god they brought it back up with Blackout , Rock you like a Hurricane etc ! Over all, a great day. Oh yeah, forgot, we had some great burgers & sweet potato fries. Expensive, but well worth it 😉
Took a while to get out the car park, but, as Rob knows his way around Maidstone, we went a different way to the other cars & cut off some journey time. By now i was truly knackered & was dozing off in the car. As i said, i think i could have fallen asleep standing up i was that tired. Hell, i even managed to sleep in the same room as a heavy snorer 😉
P.S. On Sunday morning Rob made some Bacon & Egg butties. I really shouldn’t have stayed as i got to the train station with literally 1 minute to spare before my train left ! That could have been a very expensive butty ! Also, all afternoon, i had the most evil eggy farts 😉
I picked up Cat 30mins later than planned (or was it ? 😉 ) & off to Sheffield we go. Park up at Meadowhall Interchange & take the tram into the city. Once there we go exchange tickets for wristbands. Interestingly, this was happening in the City Hall. I’d never stood on that stage before, so had to take a photo from up there. I told Cat i’d seen Metallica in here twice & it seemed to blow her mind 😉 After grub, we go into the Ballroom. It’s not over busy, but the front row is already took. Then Cat gets a msg from Daniel that we have passes waiting for us ! Very nice thank you. Once back, our luck gets even better as a couple decide to leave & we get front row! Perfect. I just love the songs of Anathema, they’re so moving. I think the lighting in here is pretty rubbish tbh. I got the feeling that Vincent wasn’t over impressed with tonights crowd (pretty sure he said something off mic 😉 ). Still, i enjoyed the show as i always do with them. Afterwards, we went for a quick drink. Cat wanted to meet Daniel to thank him,but, we were running out of time as the last tram was at 11.45. Once at Cathedral stop, it’s listed there’s a later tram. We now know which pub Daniel is in, so go for a walk. Soon find him & thank him etc. I tell him i’m going to Ramblin Man festival tomorrow as i’d won tickets. He didn’t realise Scorpions were still on the go….& then took the piss about the “whistling song ” 😉 He also offered me guest tickets for Ramblin Man ! What a great guy 🙂 (I didn’t take up the offer, but it was a back up plan if needed 😉 ) Anyway, time was getting on, so we went back to the tram stop. Well, it seemed the info on the board was wrong & we’d missed the last tram (11.45). So had to get a taxi back. Was expecting it to be really expensive, but it cost around £10. Got back to Boston around 2.45am & i was gonna get up at 6.30 ready for my train to London….
I met up with Jim & we had a curry at the Wetherspoons. We then queued for a few hours. When is the O2 priority queue not the O2 priority queue ? lol. Shouldn’t judge, but there were a couple of right piss heads. Was amazed that security let one in when he smashed a bottle (after he’d already told him to calm down & stay off the road numerous times) Doubted we’d get front row & we didn’t. Hung at the first barrier back on the right. Sunflower Dead were pretty boring generic stuff. Snot were better & their cover of ” Hit the Lights” was very good. There was a long wait before Korn came on, seemed to be technical problems on the left side. As soon as they were on, the place was like a war zone. I’ve been in that position before, but never experienced a crowd like that. It was crazy good 🙂 Hardly worth me **attempting** to film anything cos getting a battering most of the time. Really enjoyed Korns show,but, i think i preferred it when they played with Slipknot earlier in the year. But cannot argue with the setlist 🙂 Had a shit awful drive home. Could see the sheet lightning in the distance & once on the A1, all the way to Stevenage, the skies just opened. Couldn’t see a thing & was down to 20mph. Was half expecting Noah to go by in his Ark! But whatever, it was all worth it 🙂
The squealing girlie cracks me up…but it was mental down there 😉
A free open air show with Republica & Hugh Cornwall only 50 minutes away ? Obviously, it HAD to be done 🙂 I met up with Barry, went to the pub, caught up, then went to the barrier. Earlier in the week, Saffron had said they’d be doing meet n greets, so i thought it was about time i said hello. I spoke with security as there was no info about M&Gs. The guy was very helpful & friendly. He went off to find out for me. Came back with another chap, who said that after the show a M&G would be at the merch desk. He also said ” I’ve not told you this,but, they’re sat outside the hotel over there having a drink 😉 ” . I’ve always been “low key” & don’t like intruding ,(Barry, what was i saying about lack of meeting Garbage even after so many shows ? 😉 ) so we decided to hold that front row spot & wait till afterwards. Weather was fantastic, nice size stage & day already going great. First up were ” Terrington St Clements High”. They were young & i’m sure being on that stage was quite daunting. But as they went along, their confidence grew.Quite a funny coincidence that a song by The Zutons,that they covered, was played over the PA before their set lol. Their own songs were pretty decent as well. Respect to them for getting up there & giving it a go! Next up was “Blurred Vision”. We were expecting maybe a Blur covers band? Nope, it was basically pub rock by some old geezers. Whilst they seemed to go down well, they just left me cold (Both Baz & myself agreed we preferred Terrington St Clements!) Next up, the legendary Hugh Cornwall. Pretty tight band & his solo stuff was pretty damn rocking. But, like everyone i guess, i was waiting for the Stranglers songs. Didn’t disappoint as there were a few old classics. Seemed a few peeps left after his set & some hard core Republica fans slotted in to my left (I’d later hear Saffy say they’d helped her on the journey from London, which took 6 hours, 3 of which were in Dartford tunnel!) Finally, it was Republica headlining. The usual intro tape started things off (well, i assume it’s usual as they used it when i saw them recently at “Under the Bridge” in London). The party certainly got started. The set included a bunch of NEW songs,which all sound very promising. Of course, the classics were all there (Though i was disappointed that “Holly” was not in tonights set). Their show ran over time & i think they’d not planned to come back on stage,but, the compare got them to come back & they finished with “Drop Dead Gorgeous” . Great finish. The M&G did happen, but only Saffy was there. It was all rather rushed,but, was still great to say hi after all those years . Roll on the release on the album/ep & a proper tour !
My first time seeing a gig in the Red Room. It reminded me of “The Rig” venue. So basically, unless you’re on the front row of this super tiny place (capacity about 100!), it’s a rubbish gig venue! Kobra & The Lotus were great though. For sure i will go see them again in the future.
Had a great time at this festival with Rob last year,so, it was pretty much a given we’d do it again this year. ( Myself & Andy had traveled down the previous night so we could go see Republica. Ronald also came over so already i could see who were the real drinkers gonna be this weekend 😉 )
Saturday we also met up with Cat before heading into town. Again, the wristband exchange was pretty smooth, even though we got there a bit later than 2014. First band we all saw was The Armorettes. They were just “ok”. A rather over used formula to the songs & they soon got a bit boring tbh. Rob & Ronald were the first to leave 😉
Poor old Andy was suffering from the start. Had an injury on his foot & it seemed to get progressively worse as the day went on. Even going to the pub didn’t really help ! 🙂
I really enjoyed the Love Zombies. I like quirky stuff like that. Ginger was pretty cool, especially as i’d not managed to get to any of the “Songs n Words” shows. We went to try see Black Spiders but Electric Ballroom was (seemingly) way to busy for a short arse like myself to be able to see anything. We might have gone back to the pub again haha. Eureka Machines at the VERY tiny/intimate Cuban was just fantastic. Easily my band of the day. I’d hoped to see Heavens Basement, but i kinda realised it would be crazy busy putting it in the Underworld. Needless to say, when we went there, the queue was going round the venue ! (Only good thing was a happened to bump into Nina as she was in the queue). So decided to go back to Proud to watch Richie Ramone & get a good spot for Michael Monroe. Andy had had enough & went into town ! I didn’t see Cat/Rob/Ronald till after everything finished.
Pvris, We Are The Ocean, Lower Than Atlantis, While She Sleeps , Architects.
A cool day out. Traveled up on the train. My mate Nomis picked us up & we dropped off our bags at his place. Took a bus into town & straight to the pub 🙂 The ticket/wristband exchange was the best I’ve ever encountered. Very smooth & quick.Various venues around Leeds were used, but, we were mostly at the main stage,which was open air, at Millenium Square. It was pretty much a day of “new music” for me. Was especially looking forward to PVRIS & they didn’t disappoint. ( Thanks to my niece,Alice, who introduced me to them. Also, nice to briefly see you at the festival!) Saw WSS & Architects in the O2 Academy. There was also an after-show party in the Leeds arena, thought it was pretty crap ! Still, i got to check out the venue
Ah, last minute gigs eh? On Saturday i was feeling bored & needed a fix (a gig to those who don’t know me!). So dropped a message to Cat to see if she fancied going to this. ( We’d already planned to see them at Slam Dunk festival the following week,but, i thought would also be cool to see them in an intimate pub! ) Straight away she was up for it ! That’s what i like to see. What’s that? You think you’re getting addicted to going to gigs Cat ? 😉
Come Sunday,as usual, i was going out for lunch with my mum & as i was leaving the house, my phone rang. It was Kristina. “Hey, guess where we are?” Me “huh?”(it was a bad connection to start). Kristina ” We’re in Cambridge & i saw you’re coming over here later!” Haha you couldn’t have made it up. Talk about coincidence. So we arranged to meet Kristina & Rob in Cambridge. They also decided to go to the gig then 😉 We met up in a (different) pub, then went to the gig.
It was pretty quiet to start with & tbh the support acts were pretty naff. All i can say about We are The Ocean is they are just a quality act. Man can that guy sing ! So it was a great day. Really nice to bump into Kristina & Rob like that!
