I got home quite late after my trip to Amsterdam. The next day,as usual, i went round my mums for lunch. Come 2.50pm i was on the train to Nottingham. It was delayed slightly due to COWS getting on the line! Checked into Roomzzz & chilled a while. As this is a seated venue tonight, i decided to wait a good while before going to the RCH. Btw, i was very lucky to get a seat on the front row ! However, i was very surprised to seen the stage had vari lights (or something similar to them) all along the front of the stage. The size/height of them obscured my view when sitting down (In fact, it wasn’t much better when stood up lol. For sure i’d be standing up for this show 😉 )
The opening band, ” Mustang ” were from France. They started with a nice instrumental number. After which, the lead singer told us they are French & sing in French !
Oh deary me ! 🙁 Whilst i didn’t understand much, they had an “upbeat” sort of sound & it wasn’t as bad as what i was expecting. I did think they were a strange act to have as openers. Whatever, i was there for Blondie 🙂
The lights went down & the screens showed images of a swarm of bees, complete with appropriate sound. I briefly thought of when i recently saw the reunion show of “Voice Of The Beehive” & the connection between the two bands (Blondies latest album is called “Polinator” ;-)) The band ambled onto the stage….the way the bassist was walking reminded me of Ozzy Osbourne, as he seemed a bit jittery ! They start the show with one of their early classics “One Way Or Another”. Just about all the audience were up on their feet dancing & singing along. It was nice to see security didn’t try to stop this 🙂 (A memory came back to me of seeing Siouxie & The Banshees in this same venue back in 1985, where the security were being dickheads by not letting the audience stand up & dance. Siouxie was not happy seeing this & it ended up with the bassist throwing his bass down & jumping into the crowd to stop security! Siouxie followed this with the words “Bring me the head of a bouncer man”. Sorry, i digress..) Next up we get another old hit ” Hangin On The Telephone”. This stuff takes me back to my teens. Love it !
We then get a few songs from “Pollinator”, firstly ” My Monster” (I must confess that i don’t have that album. Debbie asks us all if we’re having a fun night. Cue the next song “Fun” 🙂 The big hit song “Call Me” is next. Another newbie, “Gravity”, is followed by “Rapture”. Back when i was a kid, i hated this song ! It was nothing like the old school punk/pop stuff they started their career with. However, over the years, i’ve become to appreciate it. I guess at the time, i didn’t understand the whole thing of bands moving forward & trying different things. I just wanted the old Blondie back ! This song & “The Tide Is High”, pretty much stopped me from following the band. Nowadays, id say they were ahead of their time 😉 A couple more new songs (Well, new to me lol) & then we get the come back hit of “Maria”. then its back in time, for one of my favourites “Picture This”. A nice amount of crowd partcipation is with this old classic.
“Atomic” is sheer class. They finish the set with “Heart Of Glass”, another of my all time favourite pop songs. The encore is “Union City Blue”. Once again, i’m transported back to my youth.
Tonights show finishes with “Dreaming”. Man the countless hours i used to play “Eat To The Beat” album. Overall, it was a great night out. I still love Blondie 🙂 P.S. “The Tide Is High” was on the set list, but they skipped it. Tonights entertainment finished around 10.30pm. Had a brief walk to my hotel & once my head hit the pillows, i was out like a light 🙂 I’ve wrote this in my hotel room,which i’ve not done before (Maybe i should consider doing it again so i don’t end up with backlogs of gigs to write up?) Soon be taking my train back to Bostonia. Tomorrow i’m back down London for the rescheduled Marmozets gig. No rest for the wicked…
On Saturday the 4th of November Jorge was due to arrive.
Whilst still at The Hilton, in the morning, Andy went off for a wander. I think he’d planned to visit a couple of museums. Of course, he had to ask Urethra at reception for directions (Any excuse eh mate ? 😉 ) As i didn’t have a great nights sleep the previous night, i decided to stay there a bit longer 😉 (Hey, at least Andy can joke about the snoring lol). Later Andy came back, we had some rubbish coffee & then left to go check into the hotel i’d booked for me & Jorge.It was very close & as we’d passed it the previous day, no trouble to find it. As the room wasn’t ready yet,i stayed in reception whilst Andy went off again. Apparently, he went to Moco Museum to check out the Banksy and Roy Lichtenstein exhibition…& i’m sure that he would be going via various bars 😉 Once the room was ready, i went up & was quite surprised how good it was.
Whilst this hotel was nowhere near as “plush” as the Hilton, it served it’s purpose & was good value for money (also added bonus of being closer to Melkweg etc). I decided to just chill there until Jorge arrived. Soon enough he was here & i went down to meet him. Jorge also seemed quite impressed with the room.
Eventually we went out for a wander & arranged to meet Andy near The Bulldog on Leidseplein, to try find a place to have a meal together. We walked up & down the street & eventually decided to go in the Sherpa Nepelese restaurant.(We’d been there before on a previous trip, so knew it was good). We were lucky to get a table as it was very busy. I think everyone enjoyed the meal there. Once we’d finished, we decided to have a walk to the Red light District. Jorge had only previously visited there with female company, so he was keen to visit again. We told him we’d show him around the “Meat & 2 veg” section for a laugh 😉 By the time we got down that end of the city, it started to piss it down. So we decided to go have a beer at “The Old Quarter”. (That’s a place we’ve stayed at a few times over the years. We stopped staying there when there was a change of management & the cost wasn’t as good value as previous times. Not only that, but they stopped doing the evening meal which we loved. It was some kind of Dutch Stew & was gorgeous!). It was good to get out of the rain ! After numerous txts from them, Kitti & Benoit came to the Old Quarter. Was nice seeing Kitti again as hadn’t seen her for a long time. Sorry,but not sorry, to say it, but, Benoit was being a bit of a dickhead. (I wasn’t the only one who noticed it!) As we’d been there a while already, we decided to go visit another bar, just up the road. It’s called “The International”. I stayed a night there years back as The Old Quarter was sold out. Had a couple of drinks & then decided to head “home”. As it was still raining, we walked to central station & took a tram back to our respective hotels.
Gig Day 5-11-17
Jorge & myself had breakfast in the hotel.It was quite nice.(Andy was at his hotel & went to Bagels & Beans) Later Andy came to the hotel & i took him up to our room. Think he thought the room was ok. We had a brief little game of “indoor mini basketball” ! We all then left for more wandering around.As we were going past Melkweg, we saw the tour bus was there so i had to take a photo or Andy & Jorge next to it. As we walked along various streets i saw a fuck off big bird sat on a car. It didn’t give a dam.(See what i did there? 😉 ) Eventually, we stopped off at “Rooie Neli’s” & had beers. Walking along another street we saw a couple of interesting things. The 2nd photo is of Jorge “Checking out the competition” 😉 Our next stop was “Cafe Kalkhoven”. I think we all might have had food there. I remember Andy having some kind of beef patte with a bun, followed by apple pie complete with slagroom 🙂 I’d prearranged with Henning that i’d phone him when we got to the venue as we wanted to see the soundcheck etc. All 3 of us managed to do it.We were walked through & went up on the end of the side balcony. A great viewpoint.
It was interesting to see how they had the stage set up. What was that little drum set all about? The screens looked cool as they depicted images from back in the ’90s. I really should have worked out straight away what they were gonna do, but i was a bit slow if i’m honest.
Something i STILL cant get my head around is the fact that Sandra never seems to do soundchecks with the guys* (The only time I’ve know that to happen is if they’re doing a show for TV OR first night of a tour)
* So if anyone was outside the venue & thought they heard Sandra singing, it wasn’t her! It was a tape of her vocals & the guys played along to that.
After soundcheck finished, Henning came to have a chat with us. As i’m writing this, Andy reminded me that when Henning came up to us, he said that we “….looked like a scene from the Muppets “! (If you’ve seen The Muppets, he’s referring to the old geezers up in the balcony who would always berate Kermit etc) I had to ask the age old obvious question ” When do you think you’ll come back to play a show in the UK?” 😉 Whilst he didn’t confirm anything, after what he told me, there is now more hope that it could happen 😉 I think he asked what i thought of the new/old album. Well, as it was only released in Germany (NOT a smart move by the record label) i didn’t have much time before the gig to listen to it. ( I also had other gigs before GA, so wasn’t home enough to listen !). I thought a couple of old songs sounded totally different, but at the time, i couldn’t decide if it was a good thing or not. I also asked if the idea of the new(old) album was potentially gonna make them try playing in other markets (Hence the previous answer about touring 😉 ) There was so much more i would have liked to have know about the album, but we didn’t have time to talk for very long. Oh yeah, i also mentioned to him that even though i’d got a photo pass i was a bit paranoid that i might get shut down by security (Like last time when i filmed at this venue). He then kindly said he’d go have a word with the venue manager, to make sure nothing like that would happen. Thank you Henning, it was most appreciated. Also thanks to the venue manager (Sorry, i can’t remember her name) We left Melkweg to go have food. Outside we bumped into Pezi. Was nice seeing her again. Had a brief chat, then went our separate ways. (I think Pezi went to meet Kitti?).
When came back later, going through queue to get in early, i almost lost a pass as wasn’t stuck very well on my jacket. Fortunately Jorge spotted it. Holding it towards me he said “Erm, i think you’ll be needing this!”
Once inside the foyer, there was a female member of security. I asked her to let is in the main hall, but she wouldn’t let us in ! Ended up having to phone Henning (which i didn’t want to do). When he came security bitch wouldn’t let him walk us through even with him having his AAA laminate !! I could see Henning was getting annoyed with her & i felt really bad for putting him in this situation. What is it with these jumped up power hungry security dicks? In the end someone phoned the venue manager. She came rushing down the corridor ” What’s the problem?”. As she took us through, she grabbed a seat for me & took us up to balcony. (Yet again, huge thanks to Henning & the venue manager,whos name i’ve forgot,sorry, for helping us out).
Once doors were open, it soon got a bit busy. During the course of the evening, many of my old friends came in. Some came up to the balcony to say hello & others stayed downstairs. The opening band were “Alex Mofa Gang”. I’d never heard or seen them before. They were quite a decent opening act. Even though they sang in German, they had a good sound. (Andy liked them so much that later he bought a t-shirt 😉 ) There was a cool moment where the singer did a crowd surf with a difference…he managed to stand on some kind of a mat & the audience carried him along
So,nice warm up & next it’s the main course 🙂
The lights go down & Dennis is the first one to get on stage. He sits down at the small drum kit & starts playing a familiar drum beat. Stude walks on next, closely followed by Henning. It’s immediately obvious that Henning has a problem with his guitar & he walks off stage whilst Dennis & Stude continue to jam the intro(along with a tape of Sandras vocal) of the opening of “Maria”. When Sandra appears on stage,Henning is still sorting out the problem with his guitar. Tbh, the start is a bit of a mess ! They take a little while to get into the groove with things ( Hmm, not the best start that I’ve seen…) During this opening, there’s very little lighting on the stage. Only the “boards” behind them with the old images are really lit up. I’m wondering how Sandra will sound tonight as they cancelled/rescheduled a couple of gigs earlier on the tour. During “Maria” she seemed to hold back with her vocals (Probably a wise thing if the cancellations were connected to that 😉 ). After that, someone in the crowd shouts out “Lords Of the Boards!” C’mon ! as if they’d play that song so early !?! Sandra then kinda cracks me up by saying “..no it’s not Lords Of The Boards…it’s quite similar to that…” They then play “Rain” ! Hmm, now i’m really confused! Rain doesn’t sound anything like LOTB ! (Neither the original or the 2017 version sound like LOTB)
We then get the first cover song of the night. It’s Eminems “Lose Yourself”. It’s pretty much a straight cover version. I like Eminems version, so it’s interesting hearing GA cover it. (I think there were a few confused faces down in the crowd during that one).
Next up it’s most definitely a crowd pleaser, namely “You Can’t Stop Me”. The band are now really getting into their stride. At the end of YCSM, Henning extends the outro with a little doodle,then goes into the classic opening riff of “Quietly”. Queue huge cheers from the crowd. Tonight, i can only describe “Quietly” as a strange version! To me, it sounded like Sandra couldn’t make up her mind whether to sing it high or low (Again, could it be to vocal problems still ?)
Next we get the new version of “Crossing The Deadline”. I quite like the new opening riff that Henning came up with. The song, in general, compared to the original version, is quite different at the beginning. Still sounds good,but i prefer the original as it had more balls to it 😉
By now, we’re probably about half way through the main set. Another crowd pleaser is next; the incomparable “Open Your eyes”! This gets a load of the crowd po-going down on the floor. It’s great to see everyone having so much fun down there (And yes, i wish i could be down amongst it… 🙁 )
Then we get the new version of “Suzie”. On the album, i reckon this one is probably the most different to the original version. I love what they’ve done with it. Easily the best new old song. Sandra sounds amazing when she really belts it out. It comes over great live as well. After that they play the new version of “Never Born”. Whilst it’s good, i prefer the original version. I really like their cover version of “Precious”.
Before “Pretty In Scarlet”, Sandra spotted a little kid down the front. He was lifted up on stage & watched most of the song. Then he got what was probably his best experience of his lifetime : Dennis let him have a go at playing drums ! It was so sweet & cute to see that. The main set finished with the pop of “Sunday Lover”. If you’re in the crowd downstairs & not bopping away to this, you need to check your pulse, as you might be dead ! 😉
The encore was something i’d wanted to see since the last time i saw them. Over the years, the guys have a jam song they played at the gigs (minus Sandra). When i saw them in Barcelona, they had a new jam called “Lez”. I always much preferred the original “Trompeter” jam as it had so much more swing to it. So, seeing them jam “Trompeter” tonight was a fantastic moment…& a hark back to the old days 😉
They then did something out of the ordinary. One of the guys started to play “Aint Got Time” (it’s not on the set list). Sandra said “Should we try it?”. After a quick false start, they almost found their way to do it, but Stude threw his hands up in the air & stopped it. Sandra blamed it on Stude “You’ve got altzeimer!”. But as Dennis said, they did have a try at doing it (Even though they hadn’t rehearsed it). Respect to them all for trying.
Henning starts playing a short riff (was it the start of Lose Yourself again ?) maybe checking if the guitars in tune? Whilst he’s doing that, over the other side, Stude grabs one of the cymbals(complete with stand) & hands it to the audience. Hey, even a cymbal gets to crowd surf tonight 🙂 Sandra asks if there are any drummers in the audience, but no one came forward.She then says this is “Big In Japan”. Again, it’s great to look down at the audience & see everyone jumping around like crazy. One lucky soul even got the chance to sing a verse when Sandra pointed the microphone to him.
We already know which song they’re gonna finish with, the song that pretty much launched their career, all those years back “Lords Of the Boards”. Of course, i had to film this one !
Again, great seeing everyone enjoying themselves. When the song finished, Stude trashed the bass drum with his bass, Sandra knocked down some cymbals (I often wonder what Dennis is thinking when this happens 😉 ) & for sure, everyone on stage had had a great time. Sandra then says to the crowd “Thank you so much for all coming out tonight”. Then she spotted me & screamed ” Simon ! Siiimon !” She then said ” cmon Simon. C’mon on stage. We need to have a photo with you….Simon..Simon is the one & only British fan, from i don’t know..20years…. Simon is here tonight”. As i was tentatively going down the steps, past a few of my friends, Sandra said something like ” *Simon is a real fighter * “…”Thank you so much cos you’re a real fighter”. As this is happening, the crowd then start chanting “Simon! Simon! Simon!”. What she said was all very emotional for me & kinda bizarre to hear the crowd chanting my name. It’s a moment i’ll never forget. Whilst i was being lifted up to the stage by Dennis, Stude went crowd surfing. Henning asked “Where’s Stude? We need to have the family photo”. He then notices that he’s at the back of the hall! . Sandra says “C’mon lets get the photo”. I pass my camera to Stilli (i think?).
** If you don’t know me & are reading this, you’re probably wondering what Sandra is referring to when she says Simon is a real fighter. Well, the brief explanation is that early 2016 i had a seizure & was later diagnosed with having brain tumors. They said i’ve probably got 2 years left to live. I couldn’t believe it. So i had to endure multiple hospital visits to have both radio & chemotherapy. Whilst it’s not curable, i’ve carried on as much as i physically can, with my passion of still going to gigs.**
Dennis gets the young lad to join in the photo as well. What a fantastic way to finish the night. After the photo is took, i have a brief moment with Sandra. As we hugged & she gave me peck on the cheek, we both had tears running down our faces. For myself, it was a moment of reality. I suddenly realised there’s a possibility of this not happening again (seeing Guanos). I got very overcome by my emotions. It’s quite ironic when i think about it. I mean, such a unique super happy moment for me, switched to being low in a blink of the eye.
When i got my camera back, i took a few quick snaps of the band, the crowd & that little lad crowd surfing. Eventually got off the stage & went back up to the balcony. I was probably blubbing all the way! Had some chats with my mates, struggled to get my flag untied & then we went back down to main floor. I think at this time, Rob, Kristina & Anne went to meet Ronald & Vinnie at a bar. After that we went to the merchandise place to see who, from the band, would come out to hang with everyone.
I bought a T-shirt. Had chats with Henning, Dennis & Stude. Again, there was so much i would have liked to asked them, but my mind was all over the place. Then photos were took etc. I think the photo with Dennis clearly shows how emotional it had all been for me. Unfortunately, a bit later, this great experience came tumbling down. One person started being a total dickhead around me (again) & as much as i hate to say it, i got really wound up by his actions. A couple of my friends could see that i was getting pissed off with him & if it wasn’t for Jorge getting between us, i would have probably punched him to the ground. I’d had enough of it all. So i thought “Fuck it! Lets get out of here & go join Rob & the others”. When we stepped out of the Melkweg, it was a horrible rainy night (Kinda how i felt in my mind at the time). Greg led the way, using his phone as a sat nav. Typically, it took us the long way there. Once there, sat down at a table with Rob,Kristina, Ronald, Vinnie etc, said quick hellos. But in all honesty, i was feeling pretty down. With a combination of the highs & lows of the day, i probably shouldn’t have gone there. I must apologise to my TRUE friends who were there, as i wasn’t being very sociable. A bit later,Jorge & a few others arrived at the Cave & took another table. After a while, i decided it best that i leave & go back to the hotel. Me & Andy said our goodbyes to everyone…. & as we we doing that “the annoying one” came over & kept trying to kiss me. I had to dodge that & push him away. So, yeah, what was a great day was ruined for me because of his actions.
*Now i’m pretty sure some of you reading this may be thinking “Simon sounds like he hates Benoit”. Hate is a pretty strong word. I wouldn’t use that to describe our “friendship”. I think “annoying” would be more suitable. Truth be told, i kinda feel sorry for him. I think he hasn’t got many friends & he is super sensitive when he’s around people (especially women) & the slightest little thing that he doesn’t like he has a hissy fit. Hell, we’ve even talked privately about that stuff (BEFORE this gig in Amsterdam) in the hope i could help him with his love/hate scenarios with some people. I guess he’ll never learn though.
I will also say that he has since apologised to me about his stupid behaviour. So i appreciate that he finally did that.
When me & Andy left the Cave, apparently, he carried on being a dick with someone else !
Later that night (or was it the following day?) Jorge told me that when they were leaving the Cave, he booked a taxi & offered Pezi/Kitti a free ride to their hotel (It was still raining). He wanted to make sure they got back safely & didn’t have to walk in the rain. Very kind & chivalrous of him to do that. But guess what? Benoit had a hissy fit about it ! Seriously, he needs to grow up. Jorge said they could share his taxi, nothing more,nothing less.
Yet beno couldn’t understand it. He has since called Jorge some childish nasty names (In a private GA forum).
As far as i’m concerned, he also needs to apologise to Jorge.
So, summing up, it was a weekend of highs & lows. Great seeing Guano Apes again & also cool to see some of my old friends who i’d not seen for a while.
I truly hope that Guanos make it back to the UK, before i pass away. (I even briefly considered paying for it to happen using my pensions i’d cashed in. But then when thinking about it more seriously, i thought it wasn’t a wise thing to do, for a couple of obvious reasons)
My friend Julia pretty much summed it up about the last photo : ” Simon that’s amazing, I am so happy to hear this. You deserve it more than anyone else in this world. Hope you had an amazing trip xx “
Originally, i planned to go see Guano Apes in Berlin & Leipzig. Then travel to Amsterdam & have “a day off” on Saturday, before the GA show at Melkweg on Sunday. Was gonna do that with Marc, but, even though he was initially interested in doing Berlin/Leipzig, he lost interest. I didn’t fancy doing the shows on my own,partly because of my illness & partly because i’m not as confident doing stuff out of the UK nowadays (This is coming from a guy who made multiple flights & train rides to see all the “final” GA shows back in 2005). Oh another thing, due to my condition, i cannot get any “holiday” insurance. So in the end, i had to cut it back & just go to GA in Amsterdam. However, my local mate Andy (G) kinda came to the rescue. He’d booked 3 nights hotel in Amsterdam whilst i’d only booked 2 nights (Sharing with Jorge). Andy suggested i fly out with him & i could share his hotel room on the first night (+at Gatwick as well). He’s a good mate for sure. As i’d waited so long for Marc to decide, flight prices were going up & i really needed to get on with things. So i took up Andys offer & booked train tix & flights to Gatwick.
This whole trip started after Curry Night on Thursday 2nd November. Went staight to Boston train station to travel to Gatwick airport.Was a smooth journey, with no hickups along the way.Soon got checked in & once in the room had a good, if short, nights sleep. No snoring either 😉 The flight went well & we quickly got into Amsterdam. Bought a 3 day travel card as Andys hotel was quite far away. I fancied walking it as it wasn’t too far from the area i know & it’s always good to have a packup plan if trams have any problems. As we walked along Damrak, i decided i need to start the day with some chips & mayonaise ! (Didn’t have any on last trip to the Dam, so had to have em this time!) We walked the route we’ve done many a time & soon got to Leidesplein. As we were there, thought we’d quicky go to Melkweg. (Backtracking a bit… before we travelled over to Amsterdam, Andy had mentioned that “Wolf Alice” were playing at Melkweg on Friday. I immediately thought “Hmm that would add to the trip”….but i wondered if i’d be knackered already & didn’t wanna wear myself out on the first day, which could potentially ruin the whole weekend for me. So decided to make up my mind once there). We then carried on to find my hotel. Once again, it was in the pefect position for Paradiso/Melkweg/ Rijksmuseum etc. Then carried on to find the hotel Andy had booked. Having not been there before, it took us a while to find it. Funniest thing was we actually walked right past the place & didn’t realise it ! When we doubled back, i said ” Andy, see that big sign that says Hilton?” was funny at the time. We soon got checked into the hotel by a lass that Andy took a shine to. Didn’t quite catch her name, but sounded like “Urethra”. Hence forth that was her name 😉 Whilst we were in our room, there were some chaps outside cleaning the windows! I also noticed, down below, a boat connected to the hotel (i assume) Hilton Marina .
I decided to stay in the hotel for a while, to recharge my batteries, whilst Andy went out for a while. (Any excuse eh mate ? ;-)) I think Andy came back just over an hour later. We then went or our usual pilgrimage to the various bars etc. Mr T. wasn’t with us this time, but he’d sorted out Andy with his infamous stickers on the the map 🙂 First place we had a beer was Cafe Hoppe. Later we went to Tomaz Restaurant for some grub. It was busy, but managed to get a table. Had a good old chat with the waitress & i said something like “When i think of a pie, i imagine it to be some pastry with a filling”. What she recommended , was actually a tart, but they called it a pie! Apparently, she’d been saying this to the management for a couple of years, but they wouldn’t change it to what it really was . She even suggested i should review the place & mention about how people visiting expect a pie (as i previously described) So, that’s where my comment of “When is a pie not a pie? When it’s a tart!” came from 😉 After filling ourselves, we went for another wander & somehow we ended up back at the Melkweg 😉 We decided that as we were here, we might as well go see Wolf Alice 🙂 It wasn’t sold out, so getting tickets on the door was a doddle. Maybe it was because we got there early, but the place wasn’t very busy. Managed to find a nice spot on right side of balcony & we stayed there all night.
Tonights gig was good, but not great. I couldn’t put my finger on it,but, i kinda felt that something was missing. Andy seemed to enjoy it, so that was good to see.
Originally, i’d planned to go see Placebo @ Brixton & then a couple of days later see Marmozets also in London. It seemed pointless & not cost effective to go back n forth to Boston a couple of times, so i was gonna stay at Hotel Rob for 3 days. I was umming & arring about if i should go see Metallica between the 2 shows or not. I don’t really like the O2 Arena as it’s just too ‘kin big ! In the end, i decided that as Metallica were playing “in the round” (i.e. Middle of the floor) i’d give it a punt. There were not many tickets still available, but thought it might be ok as it’s in the round.
Myself & Kristina made our way to the O2. Rob was gonna join later when he’d finished work.As we came up out of the tube, the station had a couple of signs which were quite cool :
I knew my seat would be in the corner & reasonably high up, but what a didn’t realise was that as it was an access point below. What i thought would be 16 rows up, ended up with having just one row in front of me ! It was a great view point.(Just two seats to the left & it would have been a rubbish view) For a while, there were some empty seats directly in front of me. I just hoped no “big” people would sit there. (When i say big, i mean tall 😉 ) I was quite surprised no one came to those seats during “Kvelertak”. Then i started thinking “They’re probably on the piss & will come sit there totally drunk”. Once again, i had another bit of luck : A couple of guys came to those seats. Whilst i don’t think they were drunk, one of them was so big (I mean fat now lol) he struggled to fit in the seat ! After sitting there a couple of minutes, they both got up & walked off….& never came back ! Hows that for luck? I’ve now got a perfect view point 🙂 It was interesting to see the set up for the cameras that were down below. Seem like a mini TV studio !
I thought to myself “This is just too good a position to not try filming a lot of the show”. So i had a good go at it 😉
Things start with the old intro & they go straight into the first 2 songs off the latest album “Hardwired To Self Destruct”, namely “Hardwired” & “Atlas Arise”. After those, James says “Metallica feels very welcomed & loved by the London Metallica family ! So tonight, let’s take it to another level huh? We’re gonna play new songs, but now… old stuff !” They play the classic “Seek & Destroy”. There’s some great crowd interaction on the “whoa-o whoa-o whoa-o” parts. Damn, we’re only 3 songs in & it’s just an amazing night already (Btw, i think Hardwired is a great album !).
(Please note, whilst the audio from my camera is rather good, a friend synced up the soundboard audio to “Seek & Destroy”)
James then quietly teases us ” More old stuff?” Hell yeah we’ll have that ! So next up is the super heavy “Leper Messiah”
Staying with the classic “Master Of Puppets” album, we then get my fave song from that album,”Fade To Black”.
James mentions that the Sunday show set the highest attendance at the O2 ever & asks us “I hope everybody can hear everything all right? What about you way up there?” *queue huge cheers* “London ! Are you alive? You know if you wanna live forever, first you must die”! I then notice there’s what looks like 4 boxes on the stage. We then get a couple more from the “Hardwired” album “Now That We’re Dead” & “Confusion”. During “Now That..” all the guys get drumsticks & start playing the said boxes.(On closer inspection, they seem to have 4 drum pads on them) That’s certainly different.
Next we get what’s probably my 2nd fave Metallica song ; “For Whom The Bell Tolls”. It’s heavy as fuck. Bloody love it 😉
Next another new one “Halo On Fire”. That’s followed by Rob & Kirk having a bit of fun jamming.They do parts of “Phantom Of The Opera Jam” (Which got off to a false start as Kirk had only learnt/jammed it earlier that day) “Ace Of Spades” (much better 😉 )
“Before we go any further…I’ve Got Something To Say”. A Cool version of “Last Caress” which goes into the early song “Creeping Death”. During “Creepin..” there were a couple of pissed up lads near me & they noticed i was filming the song. They got all gobby & totally out of time attempting to sing a long or maybe trying to ruin the sound of my recording? So there you go guys, your 10 seconds of fame, now fuck off ! (It’s a funny coincidence that after the song, James says how everyone wants to be famous nowadays 😉 ) He then dedicates “Moth Into Flame” to Amy Winehouse. During this song, a whole load of drones came out & were hovering/circling above the band/stage. (After the gig, my mate Rob, who was on the other side of the arena, said one of them went haywire & crashed into the crowd ! )
After Moths, James seemed to talk to the crowd for quite a long time (Maybe there were technical problems? I dunno). One of the questions he asked was “How many people here tonight, is it your first Metallica experience?”. I was amazed at how many newbies lifted their hands. “It doesn’t mater what took you so long…it really doesn’t….you’re here now!” He followed that with “How many here have seen us one, twice, a hundred times?” *Loads oh raised hands* He also said “Technically, i haven’t really see us so i cant raise my hand”. Nice & humble self-deprecation 😉 This is probably the longest time I’ve ever seen James talk to the crowd. He talks with someone who’s pregnant & then to a couple of kiddies. It’s quite funny hows he’s going on. It must have over 4 mins of chatter! Finally, he asks the question ” London, do you like your music heavy ?!? Metallica gives you heavy !” They then chug along with “Sad But True”.
Pretty much all the way through this, the boxes hanging from the lighting truss are going up & down. Oops! just realised i forgot to mention those earlier ! Basically the boxes sometimes have images projected onto them & they also have lights on them. It’s a cool idea & i think it works really well. Now where was i ? Oh yeah, thats it, they finish the song with James being the last one on stage making his guitar scream…
Soon it’s encore time. There were a couple of small guitar mess ups as “One” started up, but it still was good. They went straight into “Master Of Puppets” after that. I Love the classic old Metallica 🙂 (It’s hard to believe that when i saw them on the Puppets tour at Sheffield city hall, back in ’86, there were not many people there)
Next, we’re in for a real treat : the live debut of “Spit Out The Bone”
It’s great that they’re changing up the setlists at different venues. I wish more bands would do this.
They all leave the stage for a short time. Kirk is the first one back & he starts the intro to “Nothing Else Matters”. James then comes up & joins in with the harmony guitars. Cracking stuff. Once it ends, it then meanders into the last song of the night “Enter Sandman”. Fuckin brilliant. Metallica at the top of their game.
Even though i’m not a fan of huge venues,tonight, somehow it didn’t feel as big as it actually was. I loved every aspect of the show. I’d probably even say it was in my top 3 gigs I’ve seen this year. I think something that really helped was that they were playing in the round. In theory, wherever you were sat, you’d get a good view. After it all finished, i met up with Rob & Kristina for the journey back to “Hotel Rob”. The following day i decided to come back home to Boston (seeing as the other gig i was meant to be seeing had got cancelled, there was no point in staying down London another day/night)
I’d arranged to meet my mate Neil at the venue. He was going to have the free companion/helper ticket tonight. He got there just in the nick of time as doors were about to open. We went straight to Neils fave position on the front row 😉 The support band tonight were called “Husky Loops”. Can’t say that i enjoyed them though lol.
As was documented before this gig, Placebo had to cancel/reschedule a couple of gigs due to Brian Molko having a problem with his throat. So dunno what to expect tonight. Generally speaking, i think he did a pretty good job tonight,considering the circumstances. However, from the off, tonight i just felt something was missing & i expected more of the “Hits” to be played. Overall, it was a decent night out, but i’ve certainly seen them do better shows than tonight.
My train got into Leeds at around 15.30. Nom & Liz picked me up (i was staying at their place tonight) & on the way there, Nom stopped off at Brudenell so we could have a quick look at the new “Community room”. As we were parking up, i noticed Becca was just going into the venue. Once we were inside, saw that Becca was doing some kind of interview & one of the guys from Marmozets was goofing around behind the camera…i guess trying to put her off 🙂
This place is an extension to the Brudenell. It was only completed recently. Yet strangely, the floor already feels sticky ! It’s a decent size room. Perfectly suited for Marmozets. After a while, we continued our journey to Noms place. Always amazes me how he gets his Jeep into such a narrow driveway ! We have a bit of a catch up & then decide to go over to The Original Oak pub for some grub. Whilst it’s only a short walk,it’s raining quite a bit. (How different the weather was last time i was here…sunny day & even sat outside ! ) Eventually we decide to take a cab to the venue. There’s not much of a queue. I’d arranged to get a seat & it all went smoothly.
However, after a while a couple of people in wheelchairs came in & we had to move down a step (That’s not a problem). I did feel sorry for those behind me as even though they were slightly higher than me, i doubt they got a very good view of the stage. The room did take a while to get busy (incidentally, there was another gig in the other room at Brudenell, namely, “Sham 69” ).
Marmozets started their show with the new song “Play” (like they did in Hull a few days earlier). Next up was “Move,Shake,Hide “. Thinking about it, just realised they played same set as in Hull. So it was a 13 song set, which included 5 new songs “Play”, “Suffocation”, “Meant To Be”, “Major System Error” & “Habits”. The rest of the songs were the old classics. I won’t get in-depth with this write-up as it was all pretty much the same as the show in Hull. Though i will say, i prefered the sound in Hull. Also, of the 3 recent shows i’ve been to, Sheffield had the loudest crowd to me.
Nom seemed to have liked his first experience of seeing Marmozets, whilst Liz wasn’t really that impressed. After the gig we hung around for a while. Nom met a lot of his mates & was chatting away for a while. I noticed a chap nearby had got a copy of the setlist so asked if i could take a photo.
I noticed a couple of Marmozets came out & Nom said “Do you want to get photos with them?”. It’s strange as i felt very “stand-off-ish”. In fact, Nom said “I’ve never seen you so shy!” Haha. Well we went over & got a couple of photos. Both goofy & straight photos 😉
As Becca walked away, she said to me “aww you’re so sweet”. Unsure if she thought i was Noms son or something…i mean, i do look young haha , no offence Nom! Chatting with Jack, I found out what the plans are for next year…did someone mention Rock City ? Or maybe even Brixton Academy ? Lets see how 2018 goes for them 😉
We eventually got a taxi back to Noms place. Must confess, i was pretty tired by now. So it was pretty much straight to bed for me ! Following day Nom gave me a lift to the train station. Everything was running on time until i got nearer to Grantham. I was thinking “I hope i don’t miss my connection again !”. Made sure i was near the exit when we pulled in to Grantham. Literally had to leg it down the platform, over the footbridge, then onto the other platform. The guard was ready to close the doors & i just made it ! Phew ! If i wasn’t tired before, i most certainly was now ! I just had to endure the “people” on the train journey who were going to Skeggy 😉 Once back in Bostonia i trudged back over the other side of town where my home is. Once inside i went straight to bed for a while !
Overall, it was a great time away. Nice to see Nom & Liz again. They’re true rock n rollers 🙂
P.S. Another thing about tonights show ; i did record a couple of the new songs, but won’t upload them. Why? Because when i uploaded the new stuff from Sheffield gig, i got a “copyright strike”. I really should have realised i shouldn’t have upped songs that are yet to be released. More importantly, for me, is if i get more copyright strikes Youtube will close my account 🙁 I’ve got over a thousand video clips on YT & if they were took down, this blog page wouldn’t be half as good as it is without the clips.
Andy drove us up to Hull. We parked up in the city. Had a quick walk through the shopping centre, then went to Wetherspoons for grub (Yeah, just for a change 😉 )
As we were finding a table, a couple of dickheads were kicking off. Ah, such nice clientele 😉 After grub, we made our way to the Welly Club. walking along, in front of us we saw the road was blocked off by police. Aparently, there was some nutter up on a roof throwing tiles off said roof. Ah what a welcome to Hull ! A slight diversion & we were at the club. Got there earlier than expected & as it was cold, we went into the pub across the street (Cheap drinks in Banks Harbour ;-))
I’d been told by an old friend that the Welly Club is “a bit dingy & stage lighting is poor”, so was wondering how the place would be. I’d previously arranged for early entry & getting a seat at the Welly. As we walked over to the venue, there were a couple of security guys walking the line. I had a word with them, told them i’d arranged early entry etc…then he said “Are you Simon? “. That was cool as it showed the manager had made security aware i was coming. We were walked through to the gig room.
Got a nice spot on the right side, raised area. Was a bit close to the PA, so wondered how my camera would cope with the volume.
The room soon got quite busy (though i don’t think it was sold out).
Really enjoyed the support act tonight. They nicely warmed up the audience for the main event : The Marmozets 🙂
Tonight they switched around a few songs (when compared to the recent Sheffield Plug gig) & added more NEW songs from the forthcoming album “Knowing What You Know Now”. They kicked off with the new song “Play”. Only the 2nd time i’ve heard it in the live environment, but already loving it. It has Marmozets classic stamped all over it. Next we get a crowd pleaser from the debut album,namely, “Move, Shake,Hide”. Just two songs in & everyone is giving it their all…both on & off stage !
As they start “Is It Horrible”, Becca says to the crowd ” Thank god we’re all alive & all here! Amen to that…this next song is called Is It Horrible”
During the course of the evening, both Becca & Sam couldn’t resist going into the audience.
We then get the live premiere of a new song ” Suffocation “. This is already a special night.
Next song, “Captivate You”, Becca totally sings her heat out. This is just beautiful. There’s plenty of crowd participation. So many smiles in the room & everyone singing out loud.
Next we get another live premiere “Meant To Be”. Sounding good still. This is closely followed by another classic “Born Young And Free”
Yet another new song “Major System Error” (which they also played in Sheffield). Then the classic “Hit The Wave”. They really are spoiling us tonight as we get yet another new song “Habits”. The night is almost over. But it couldn’t be over without a couple more classics. “Back To You” & “Why Do You Hate Me” are just amazing when they’re played live (well, all their songs are actually !)
Tonights gig was well worth the long drive from Boston (Thanks again to Andy for driving). I’d definitely visit this venue again.
I just worked out that over the course of two gigs (Sheffield+Hull) i’ve seen six songs from the forthcoming album.
I wonder how they’ll mix things up later in the tour ? On Saturday i’m going up to Leeds. Then next Wednesday i’m off down London.
What a cracking band both live & studio. Marmozets certainly are one of the best up & coming acts in the UK. They give their heart & soul everytime they play.
I just bloody love them 🙂
When i ordered my ticket for the show, i requested access to the disabled area downstairs. The complimentary ticket would be for Rob. Anyway, i got an email saying there were more requests for wheechair spaces downstairs & would i change to balcony seating to accomodate those peoople.Of course, I agreed, no problem.
Had a smooth journey down to London. Headed straight to Hotel Rob. When i arrived, he was just preparing some pasta. As i’d not had anything to eat, i took him up on the offer of pasta & mushrooms 🙂
I’d previously asked Rob if he’d got a “Radioactive” sampler CD that i recently found. Included on it was a track listed as Shirley Manson, which was actually Angelfish. There was also a track by “Duke” (no relation to Garbage lol) & most bizarrely a track by Traci Lords ! Don’t think her music career was as suck-sess-ful as her previous one 😉 As Rob collects all stuff related to Garbage, i gave him the CD.
Tonight, for a change, Kristina was also joining us for the gig. We got to venue a matter of minutes before doors would open (tubes seemed slow today).Went to box office to get comp ticket & change my downstairs for balcony ticket….then the chap said we could go downstairs! As Kristina had bought a balcony ticket, we opted for balcony.
Strangest thing i’ve seen happened next : they let the O2 priority people in first. Usually it’s the disabled peeps who go in first. It didn’t matter though as we were quickly in & got seats on front row of balcony.I like the balcony at the Forum.
I’d not heard anything by the support acts.First up were “Sons Of Texas”. Never heard of them before, but they put on a good show.The crowd seemed to like them. Wish i’d filmed a clip actually.
Next up was “LTNT”. They were pretty awful ! Also, blokes wearing nightdresses is NOT a new thing. it was done back in the ’80s. I think it would have been better if they were the fist act & Sons Of Texas had the middle slot. Whatever…
After struggling to get through LTNT, it seemed ages before Seether came on stage !
Seether opened with “Stoke the Fire”, which is the first song,from their latest album “Poison The Parish”. I’ve not got the latest album, so anything they play off that tonight, will all be new to me. The next song was a real oldie, dating back to 2004. It was “Gasoline” which was on the “Disclaimer 2” album. I quickly noticed that the lighting was pretty poor tonight. Once again, the band were back lit & there were no follow spots. Seems this is happening more & more nowadays 🙁
As with the last time i saw Seether, there’s very little audience interaction between Saun Morgan & the crowd. I suppose he prefers to put his head down & get on with things. But that’s not to say the audience weren’t getting into it, they most certainly were. There were many times i looked downat the audience & they were moshing away & also some great sing a longs.
Tonights show was a pretty balanced affair of old & new songs. From the album “Isolate & Medicate” we got “Words as Weapons”, “My Disaster” & “Nobody Praying for Me”
Stand out moments for me were mostly the older classics. Namely, “Country Song”, “Broken”, “Fake It” & “Remedy”
All in all, it was a decent night out. You know what you’re gonna get with Seether, It’s always a good time with great songs. It’s real. Love it.
The previous night i was in Nottingham to see Papa Roach. I took a train from Nottingham to London which departed at 07.30 & arrived about 09.15. Quickly on the tube to make my way to “Hotel Rob”, over at Stratford. Rob & Kristina had only been home a few hours after their latest holiday. Had a chat with Rob, gave him my Max & Igor ticket ( Can’t do it now as the following day i have an appointment with my Oncologist & couldn’t get back in time). Eventually Kristina woke up. Was suffering from jet lag after the long trip home. Had a bit of a natter & then made my way back into the city. Was gonna have a wander around Camden, but it was already too busy for my liking, so i went straight to The Forum in Kentish Town. It was an early start today. First band “Bis” were due on at 1.30. I went to the box office to confirm everything, then decided to go for a quick beer. Didn’t make it though, as i bumped into Eddie. We had a quick chat & he realised he’d got a bottle of Corona in his bag. Obviously, he wouldn’t be able to take that in the venue. So, he gave it to me & i necked it pretty quickly 🙂 As we were stood there, who should come walking towards us from the venue ? Tracey & Missy ! Perfect timing 🙂 (We didn’t get a chance for a natter at the Lexington show as had to dash off quickly for a train)
I asked if we could get some photos now, just in case it got busy after the show. Tracey said “Great idea !”. Thanks to Eddie for taking the photos & also to the random person walking by who took the group photo….& thanks for not running off with my camera 😉 Tracey also took a couple of selfies on her mobile phone. Oh yeah, whilst chatting to Tracey, i told her how much i loved hearing “Playing House” live @ The Lexington. She then quietly said to me ” We’re going to play it again tonight”. That was it : my day made already 🙂
Soon enough, the girls were on their way back to the hotel so they could chill/rest up for a bit before their show later on. By now doors were open so myself & Eddie decided to go in. Got our passes sorted & we could go either upstairs or downstairs. As expected, the balcony was pretty much empty. So i quickly went downstairs to check out the merchandise again. Eddie was there & was handing over some badges he’d had made up. He even gave me a few for a small donation. Cheers mate. I quickly went back upstairs to take my spot on the balcony.
The first band on were “Bis”. The venue was pretty empty as it was early in the day. Didn’t know what to expect of them. Back in the day, i bought their single “Euro Disco” . I dunno if it was a “hit” per say , but i loved the track. Liked the quirky disco beat sounds. Today, i didn’t think much to the sound, but they were ok.
Next up it was “Salad”. They were a band that totally passed me by all those years ago. Tbh, can’t even remember them. There was still only a small audience in the room, but there were certainly a couple of people who loved the band. Didn’t really do anything for me though.
Yet again, a name i remember from back in the day. But as far as i’m aware, i never saw them live or bought any or their records. Tbh, i soon got tired of them today !
MILES & ERICA
Ah finally something i really do know ! I went to many Wonder Stuff shows around the UK back in the ’80s. They were/are one of my fave “jump around” kind of bands. Miles is a great lyricist & i pretty much loved most of the Wonder Stuff catalogue. A funny coincidence is that when VOTB first got back together, back in 2003, they were opening for The Wonder Stuff. At that time, Woody couldn’t do the shows so they had Tom Fenner on drums. All due respect to Tom, but, it just wasn’t quite right without Woody. A nice memory i have of that tour was seeing Miles sat at the back of Hammersmith odeon, on the main floor, watching VOTB soundchecking. He later praised VOTB saying something like ” I’d forgot how many great songs they had”. But i digress…
I’d already seen Miles & Erika do a solo show & really enjoyed it. So i knew this one should be a good one. I have a lot of respect for Milo. He does things how he wants to. An example of that was, today/tonight, he said they were gonna play a bunch of songs from the latest album & we’d have to wait for the Stuffies songs. It was a good show. In some ways, i even think that Miles & Erica doing their own stuff , is as strong as a Stuffies gig. Yes, it’s totally different, but it’s very nice.I got a clip of a new one, but i’m uploading a Stuffies song here 🙂
I’d considered going to one of the warm up dates that Crazyhead played before Indie Daze. Again, back in the day i loved em. But what eventually stopped me from going to any warm up, was the locations. They all seemed to be a bit far out of the towns & as i can no longer drive, i didn’t fancy a late night walk in territory that i don’t know (I’m also adverse to using taxis as i’m a tight bugger!) So i dipped out & decided to see them at Indie Daze. The last time i saw them was back in ’99 when they toured with The Mission & All About Eve. Previous to that, it was The Duke Of Wellington pub in Lincoln (’93). I was looking forward to tonights show. Unfortunately, i messed up though. The previous night i’d used my camera at Papa Roach in Rock City & pretty much drained the battery. The other battery i had, seemed to have not held its charge very well. I only managed to capture a partial amount of one song of Crazyhead.
Fortunately, i had a mini charger that i was using for my phone, so i ended up charging the battery as much as i could before VOTB came on. I enjoyed Crazyheads set, but i felt it seemed too loud & lacked definition.
Apollo 440 : Didn’t enjoy them at all. Even “Stop the Rock” or whatever it’s called, didn’t do anything for me. Maybe i was losing my attention as it had already been a long day & i was just willing that VOTB to get up there? Who knows…
During the next interval, Robert spotted they’d placed VOTBs set list on the mixing desk. I leaned over the balcony & got a photo of it 😉 Was interesting to see how they were gonna shake it up a bit. Especially surprising was the position of “..Barbarian..” in the set.
After a while, the familiar intro started playing & they went straight into “Beat Of Love”. Next we got “Trust Me”. This was followed by the song where Tracey relates to the city they’re playing in today. It may be “Just A City”, but we all know how much she loves the place 😉
They then go up a gear & we get a nice version of “Just Like You”. I notice a balloon flying around down there. This was something that was Eddies idea : He brought a bunch of balloons to hand out to people in the crowd & thus every so often during the show, you’d see balloons flying around 🙂
Next it’s the slow,but beautiful, “Man In the Moon”. I love how they placed “Look At Me” next to “What You Have Is Enough”. As previously said, Tracey was way ahead of this time about how people are so narcissistic nowadays. Facebook is a prime example of this… Then on the flipside, “What You Have Is Enough” reaffirms this as well 🙂
Oh yeah ,Tracey gives a shout out to April from Australia, before they play “What You Have Is Enough”
Next up is my favourite song on this tour, namely “Playing House”. Missy mentions how some people have travelled very far for these shows, you know who you are guys 😉
“Adonis Blue” is as beautiful a song as ever, then we get the shock (well,it would have been if i’d not seen the setlist lol) of “Barbarian” NOT being the encore ! A strange place for it to be in the set, but it still works well. Once again, things are brought down a level with “Sorrow Floats”.
They finish the set with all the major hits, “Dont Call Me Baby” , “I Walk The Earth”, “I Say Nothing” & the last song of “Monsters & Angels”.
What a great show yet again ! I’m not bothered about seeing “House Of Love”, so i make my way downstairs. Get chatting with some of the bees,both new & old. Then i remember i need to collect the Indie Daze poster that i’d won. Went over to merch & collected it. Went back to the others & nobody seemed to know where VOTB guys would be going for a meet up. Initially it was gonna be at The Bull & Gate pub but ended up being in the upstairs bar of the Forum…much better 🙂
It soon got quite busy up there. Was great to see so many happy faces after everyone had seen VOTB. I had a little chat with Dotty, who came over for the shows back in ’03, but i don’t think she really recognized me. Woody asked me how i was. I told him i’m fine & enjoyed the show. He then said “I thought you looked frail at the Lexington”. I suppose as we’d not seen each other for so long & i’ve gone through both radio & chemo therapy, maybe my appearance to many is shocking to how i was before. Whatever, it was really nice to see him again back where he belongs 🙂
I took a few candid snaps, had a nice chat with Missy & then bid my farewells to everyone. By now, i was getting pretty tired & had to travel over to Stratford.
All in all, the whole Beehive experience was a hell of a lot of fun. Great to reconnect not only with the band, but also some of the old school Beehive fans & then some who i’d not met before. This is an experience i’ll remember forever !
Once my train arrived in Nottingham, i made my way to the hotel via The Roebuck Inn 🙂 Upon checking in, the receptionist said to me ” Ah, that’s a name i remember. You’ve stayed with us a few times haven’t you?”. I confirmed this & told her i’ve a bunch of bookings coming up & could she make sure my room is at the end of a corridor, away from the lifts. I told her that Emma,the manager, had agreed to this after i had a bad nights sleep due to a herd of elephants walking by. She smiled knowingly 😉 (The “herd of elephants” was in fact a very noisy bunch of women,i assume on a hen night 😉 ) I then spent most of the afternoon in my room.
Doors were at 6.30, so went down to rock city about 6.15. Spoke to security about getting a barstool & all went fine. There was already somone in “MY” spot (lol) so i had to move a little to the left. Pretty sure there had been a M&G earlier & that’s how my fave position got took. After a while, my Nottingham friends Jason & Kirsty joined me. Had a bit of a catch up & prepared for the opening act. Tonights show is sold out. It looks very packed on the main floor.
The support act, ” Ho99o9 , were pretty terrible. It seemed most of the audience didn’t like them. The singer (I use that term very lightly lol) seemed to take offence as someone in the crowd voiced his opinion of them. I couldn’t believe it when he went down to the barrier & took a couple of punches at said audience member. I think that security were caught off guard as they couldn’t believe what they were seeing. But they soon swamped him (the band member) & pushed him back to the stage. The perpetrator is on the right in this photo :
Personally, i think their set should have been cut short & he should have been kicked out of the venue due to what he did. I mean, if the tables were turned, the audience member for sure would have been ejected. He needs to understand that being up there, not everyone (anyone?) is going to like what they do & there will be certain knocks along they way. His shouldn’t be punching an audience member.I won’t say anymore. This incident even made the local paper :
http://www.nottinghampost.com/news/local-news/man-rock-city-punched-member-594308 Finally it was time for Papa Roach. The intro music plays then there’s an announcement saying ” Attention This is a serious announcement. Full participation is required. Now put your middle fingers & repeat after me ,FUCK PAPA ROACH ! FUCK PAPA ROACH ! YOU MUTHA FUCKERZ !”. The audience duly complies 🙂
The band kick off with a new one, which is also the title of the latest album, namely, “Croocked Teeth”. There’s plenty of audience interaction with fist pumping the air claping & sing a alongs. Bloody love it
Next it’s an old classic “Getting Away With Murder”. I soon realise that the lighting is a bit of a pain as they are using a lot of lights which are pointing out towards the crowd. This seems to be the norm nowadys. Hardly any bands use follow spots at the back of the room unless it’s in a huge arena.
Next song is “Between Angels & Insects”. About half way through, Jacoby gets the crowd to part. Will it be a “circle pit” or a “wall of death” or just everyone going crazy??
You guessed it; the latter 🙂
Tonight there is a good balance of new & old songs. The next new one is “Born For Greatness”. Pretty much all of the floor gets bouncing along to this. There’s also some great vocals from the crowd. Everyone together & having a bloody great time. A chap goes to the pit/barrier & films it all. Jacoby says “You guys are insane!”
A couple more older songs follow. The audience sings along to “She Loves Me Not”. Then another classic “Scars”. That’s followed by another new song “Periscope”. Seems to go down well. Jacoby then tells the crowd they’ve been a band since 1993…also, “Some of you fuckerz weren’t even born then ” LOL He then asks if “Everybody wants to get rowdy”. Next it’s something unexpected; a great cover of Blurs “Song 2”
We get a couple more new songs ; “Traumatic” & “American Dreams” & it’s soon encore time.
What a way to finish the night ! We get “None Of The Above”(new song), then two old classics which are part of Papa Roachs DNA ; “Dead Cell” & “Last Resort”
Wow! What a night !
I quickly say my goodbys to Jason & Kirsty, then make the long journey to my hotel….ok it wasn’t really that far ! In fact it was next door to Rock City 🙂
As they had the usual club night on after the gig, it meant i could get a bit more sleep. That was needed. Especially as the following day i was travelling down to London for “Indie Daze” all dayer !
They start the show with one of their early classics “One Way Or Another”. Just about all the audience were up on their feet dancing & singing along. It was nice to see security didn’t try to stop this 🙂 (A memory came back to me of seeing Siouxie & The Banshees in this same venue back in 1985, where the security were being dickheads by not letting the audience stand up & dance. Siouxie was not happy seeing this & it ended up with the bassist throwing his bass down & jumping into the crowd to stop security! Siouxie followed this with the words “Bring me the head of a bouncer man”. Sorry, i digress..) Next up we get another old hit ” Hangin On The Telephone”. This stuff takes me back to my teens. Love it !
The encore is “Union City Blue”. Once again, i’m transported back to my youth.
Tonights entertainment finished around 10.30pm. Had a brief walk to my hotel & once my head hit the pillows, i was out like a light 🙂 I’ve wrote this in my hotel room,which i’ve not done before (Maybe i should consider doing it again so i don’t end up with backlogs of gigs to write up?) Soon be taking my train back to Bostonia. Tomorrow i’m back down London for the rescheduled Marmozets gig. No rest for the wicked…
