The day before this gig i’d had a “fun” day…NOT! Thought my bloods were ok to proceed with next round of chemo, but they phoned & said they weren’t. Ended up waiting in Pilgrim for results & having the chemo. Once that was done, a chap took the canular out & said i could leave. What ?
Why is it that i always seem to have to think for others ? I tell him that usually when i leave i take a whole bunch of drugs with me ! “Oh, i’ll look into that”. The drugs are sorted & again i get the prefilled needles. Same again, i have to remind them to give me a sharps box! I’m so pissed off with everything at this time. Even unsure if i should go to the gig tomorrow.
After seeing Josh posting that they might play some new songs at this gig, i thought i shouldn’t miss it. Could be an interesting night….even though i didn’t feel quite right.
Once again, i took an early train to London. It was quite misty/murky for a while, then the sun burned it away. Again, at Grantham, my train was cancelled (Hull trains seem to have some serious problems!) As i’d already experienced this a couple of weeks ago, i knew what to expect lol. Not only that, i knew exactly which screen to check out that showed how busy the carriages were….don’t think many were aware of that 😉
Arriving in London, i headed straight to Hotel Rob. Today, Kristina was off work, so it was gonna be a nice relaxed day. Dropped bag off, had a catch up & then we went into the city. As per, visited FOPP. Kristina got the latest Amaranthe album & i got a bargain with the latest AVATAR only costing £5 ! (I’ve got to say, i enjoyed them when they opened for Halestorm. Pretty entertaining band). Next went to the other usual haunt, “The Montagu Pyke” & had some food. Arranged to meet Rob a bit later & then headed towards Camden.Once there, straight to the Ice Warf. Jim & Paul were already there 😉 Had a natter & drinks then decided to walk to the Forum. It had been a while since walking that route, so seemed longer than it was . Got there in perfect time though. The support act “Jamie Lenman”, i didn’t enjoy. Just a bit boring & repetitive. Sat next to me was an old geezer. We had a good chat & we seemed to be on the same page. He was/is a sound engineer, so straight away he said the sound was bad 😉
Tonight’s Marmozets gig wasn’t quite as good as i was expecting. Something just didn’t seem quite right up there. (Maybe something to do with Joshys recent mental issues? Whatever, i hope he gets well soon & the band get back to being super tight again) Don’t get me wrong, they were still great, but i was hoping for at least a couple of new songs (After Joshy said they might play some new songs). The one new song they DID play was quite cool. A typical Marmozets song. I think it should have been on the last album 😉
I also think that after the previous day when i had all sorts of problems, i wasn’t quite in the right frame of mind. It happens sometimes.
Another thing was that i dropped my camera during the show. As the lighting wasn’t very good, i didn’t know if that drop had messed up the camera or not. I did film a couple of songs, but certainly not up to my usual standards.
Overall, i think the highlight of tonight was that they played “Cry”, which i don’t think they’ve done for quite some time.
Gotta say, it was a wise choice to make up the pull out bed earlier in the day, as once back at Hotel Rob, i was out like a light 🙂
The earliest train out of Boston on a Sunday, leaves at 12.13.Today, when i changed trains at Grantham, there was a 2 hour wait for the connecting train. So there was nothing for it, i had to go to The Tollemarshe Inn for my lunch 😉 I was surprised it wasn’t very busy, especially as it was around 13.15
After i’d had my grub, took a slow walk back to the station. Train was due to leave for Sheffield at 15.09 & arrive at 16.34 Everything ran on time. As i got closer to Sheffield i noticed more snow in the fields. Once i got to Sheffield, i went straight to my hotel. Today i was trying out the Novotel on Arundel Gate. It’s quite close to The Leadmill & a bargain at £54. It was a nice quality room, but there was something i’d not experienced before : As i walked into the room,on the right hand side, there was a toilet (yeah nothing new lol) but not only that, there was another door in front before getting into the main room! Very “different”! (Actually, having the 2 doors probably helped so didn’t hear people walking by 😉 ) Also, another thing i’d never seen before was a table that could “swing round” to a different position. (Looking at the photo, the lighter coloured desk on top, swings round , away from the wall towards where i took the photo from! Very different!)
As it was cold & wet outside , i stayed in my room till about 15mins before doors were due to open. Once at the Leadmill, there was a reasonable sized queue & i went to the front of it to have a word with security. There were also a couple more peeps who had disabilities & were waiting on the security to let us in. Once inside, on the left, there was a turnstile to pass through & the numpty security chap told me to go stand there! Why did he tell me to go there, when the other disabled customers were to the right of it ?!? A few seconds later, the other security chap came in & said “You don’t need to wait there mate” So yeah, that other security chap was a big numpty 🙂
There used to be a raised area at the back in this venue. But a few days before the gig i had an email saying it wasn’t available as it had got “broken”. Yeah right, course it had… The stools we were given were rubbish. Way too low. It didn’t really help when some tall ignorant fucker stood directly in front of me (I say ignorant because he looked & saw me sat down, but still stood in front of me).
I sat down through all of Queen Zees set, just wishing they’d get it over with.
The show was sold out, so not hardly any room in the place. In fact, there was a point when someone in front of me kept stepping further back towards me & stood on my feet! A quick push from me sorted that out. Of the 4 shows i saw, this was easily the one i least enjoyed.
One thing i have learnt over the last couple of years is some venues are great with looking after people with disabilities whist others are just useless.
Untill you’ve seen it “from the other side”, you don’t realise what a difference it can make to either enjoying the show or not.
I won’t say much else about this gig except that it was the same set list as the other nights. The band went down a storm & from what little i could see, they seemed to enjoy it.
I did try taking a couple of photos/video clips, but it’s hard work to hold a camera above you for very long.
When i left the venue it was a bit sleety outside. Good thing my hotel was as close as it was 😉
The following day, as i was walking on the icy paths to the train station, i couldn’t help thinking ” I really hope they play the O2 Academy main room next time”.
I left Hotel Rob reasonably early & was surprised just how busy the tubes were. I hate it when they’re so rammed as this day. Good thing i gave myself enough time to get to St Pancras for my train up to Nottingham 😉 Even though i had already booked a hotel in Nottingham, my mate Andy T. was going to drive to Notts & meet me & then drive back to Bostonia after the gig. When my train got into Nottingham, i had a quick look in FOPP, before going to my hotel (Premier Inn, round the corner from Rescue rooms & only cost £31). Once checked in, i went to the Gooseberry Bush for some food. As it was Curry Club night/day, i decided to have the obvious 😉 Couldn’t believe the size of the poppadoms though ! They were literally same size as the curry bowl ! (They’re usually much bigger than this)
After having food, i went back to my hotel & waited for Andy to arrive. As he’d come pretty much after he’d finished work, he went & had a crappy Burger King. When we got to the venue, there was only a small queue (which surprised me really, considering it was sold out). I went to the side door & had a word with security, explained i needed a stool (They’ve still got GREAT ones!) & that Andy was my carer/companion. We hung around for a few minutes as the soundcheck was taking a bit longer than expected. One of the security chaps went to find a stool & put it up in the balcony for me to go to. Once inside, another security guy brought a couple more stools up, so Andy decided to sit on one of them 🙂 That was excellent service tonight. I wish it could be the same always ! (I still don’t get it why Rock City threw away all the old seats/bar stools as the new seats are pretty useless if you want to actually SEE anything from the balcony! Fortunately, i know another good position where these new seats are viable to use )
So, once again, it’s “Queen Zee” opening. Both of us don’t really like their sound etc. I think we were talking more about the bra that the singer (male) was wearing !
We had the perfect position on the balcony to see everything. (After the rubbish experience in Cambridge, i couldn’t wait to see them at a venue with a balcony!)
Marmozets set starts with “New Religion” & then it’s a great 1-2 of “Habits” & “Is It Horrible?”.
I love hearing Wills bass intro to “Like A Battery”, it’s so deep & heavy. At the end of the song Sam says to the crowd “You guys are fuckin awesome”. Then someone in the crowd shouts ” We love you!” Becca reply’s with “Guess what? We love you too….newsflash !”. She then says “Are you ready for a Move,Shake,Hide sort of situation? Show me what you’ve got Nottingham !” Queue huge cheers from the crowd & lots of bouncing around on the floor. Next up we get another classic Marmozets song, “Weird & Wonderful”. Again, it goes down a storm. Towards the end of the song, at the “…I can see it in your right mind,Ever thought to wonder you’re not typical..” part, Becca lets the audience finish with the “…You’re weird and wonderful…” part & she says “Yeah you are !”. One of my favourite new songs is “Insomnia”. To me, it sounds like a messed up (in a good way) lullaby. Good to hear the crowd singing along to it as well. No messing around they go straight into “Meant To Be”. During the middle part, Sam shouts out ” Let’s see you Nottingham ! C’mon Let’s have it! “. Crowd is already going crazy & a small circle pit happens. During “Particle” it’s just the same. A great high energy crowd tonight.
As the intro to “Play” starts, Sam says “..try to get over here…” (to the crowd)
Before “Suffocation” Sam asks Joshy if he “can get the crowd going a bit more?”. Josh leaves his drum kit & wanders down to the front of the stage. He then puts his finger to his mouth, trying to make the crowd be quiet. He then throws his arms in the air to make em all cheer. He does this for both sides & then of course it’s a group effort. Becca then notices some one in the crowd & asks if she’d like to get on stage to have a photo with the crowd! Never seen that happen before. The lass gets up & the photos are took 🙂 Song goes down well & is finished with Josh doing a little drum solo (whilst the guys are tuning up). Becca asks the audience ” Do you believe you were born young & free & you can do whatever the fuck you wanna do? Good on ya !” Yep , it’s time for a rousing version of “Born Young & Free” 🙂
Afterwards, Sam says that Nottingham is the first crowd to have NOT crowd surfed yet. This gets drowned out by loads of the crowd wanting to hear “Vibetech” haha. He then says “Why the fuck is everyone shouting for Vibetech?”. Becca then says, “How about if when we come back next time, we’ll play it then?”. It’s a done deal as far as i’m concerned….but i reckon it will be Rock City next time they come back 🙂
So, during “Lost in Translation”, the security have to work a bit harder as there were so many people crowd surfing. There were only 2 of them (security) but they did a great job of getting the surfers over the barrier etc.
“Lost in Translation” is really cool live. Another new one follows, namely “Run With The Rhythm”. We’re getting close to the end of the show now…
“Why Do You Hate Me” is as ferocious as ever. Bloody love it.
Sam then says “When you go to gigs…the people who look after you , are fucking awesome…Becca, i want to get a picture with these” (He’s talking about the 2 security guys) So up they get & that’s a photo took with the security & all the band…shame they never posted that one. (Here’s a rubbish screen cap 😉 )
The funny thing after that was Sam then said “Ok, we got a picture with them, but lets make em fucking work now !” Absolute classic haha
Before “Major System Error”, Becca says “This is one of my personal favourite songs we’ve ever wrote…& it’s ok to like your own stuff…there’s nowt wrong with it at all!” . It’s really cool to hear the crowd sing the first lines on their own. I guess that means it’s a thumbs up for for the newest album.
What song could they finish with ? Yeah, you guessed it, the beautiful “Captivate You”. Loads of people got up on others shoulders & sang their hearts out.
This was most certainly a great night out !
We wait around for a couple of minutes so the majority of the crowd can get out of the venue. When we walked down the stairs, who should be coming up them,but Sam. I said to him it was another great show,thanks.
Once outside, it was raining a bit. Andy took a tram to go get his car, whilst i went into my hotel to grab my bag & checkout. We’d arranged to meet close by, but there was a little confusion which street he’d parked on 😉 Once we’d found each other we were soon off back to Bostonia. Unfortunately, the weather got worse as it pissed it down! Some parts of the road back had massive puddles, which couldn’t be avoided. I know it was hard work for Andy to drive in these conditions (he doesn’t drive much at night nowadays), so much respect to him for coping with it & getting us home safely. Can’t remember what time we got back home, but i was straight to bed once there ! Once again, thanks Andy for driving.
The following day was a “day off” from the travelling, which i most certainly appreciated. The only downer of the Saturday was that i was told my sister had gone back into hospital 🙁
I took my train down to London around midday. Only took about an hour. Today, it felt like “The Gods Of Rock” were with me all the way ! Why ? Well because it seemed that every tube/bus i took down there, id get to whatever station & didn’t have to wait at all for any transport ; it was always there ! A very smooth journey to “Hotel Rob”. Of course, i’d pre-booked my stay 😉
Kristina had took the day off work, so she was there to greet me once i arrived. We had a bit of a natter & i mentioned how my old friend Kevin (from USA) was in town & he wanted to meet us & go see Marmozets. But of course it was sold out 🙁 I ‘d happened to see someone was selling a couple of tickets on the event page which was on Facebook. I sent him the link, but he couldn’t work out how to use it. Kristina then got her laptop out to try see if the tix were still available. There was one left! So she contacted the lass to see about purchasing it. As she was doing that, i got a msg from Kevin saying he’d contacted her & would meet her at the venue to by the ticket. Job done !
After a while myself & Kristina went into the city to have some food & meet up with Kevin. As the venue was so close to Montague Pyke, we just had to go there 😉 Once there, i sent a msg to Kevin & he said he’d be there soon. After about an hour waiting, i wondered if he’d got lost. I jokingly said to Kristina “He’s probably gone to the wrong place & ended up in Shepherds Bush or something !”.
When Kevin did arrive, he said “It took a bit longer that i thought it would, as i was coming from Shepherds Bush”. Kristina & myself just looked at each other & cracked up laughing! You couldn’t have made it up! Of course, Kevin was wondering what we were laughing about, so we explained 🙂
After a catch up we made our way to the area where ULU venue is. Nearby, we met Rob at….you guessed it, a PUB 😉 We all had a natter for a while before we made our way to ULU. Tonight Rob wasn’t seeing Marmozets as he chose to see Alien Ant Farm instead.
As is the norm nowadays, i’d prearranged to have a seat in the balcony. Having never been to this venue before, i didn’t know what to expect. I managed to get on the front row so had a great view of everything. There was something like plexiglass running along the front of the balcony. I wondered how my camera would cope trying to take photos etc. (Oh yes, talking about the balcony, Kristina had a stalls/standing ticket & i tried emailing the venue to see if she could change it for a balcony ticket. But they never replied 🙁 Even more stranger; the ticket Kevin had was supposedly a balcony ticket,yet security wouldn’t let him go up to the balcony! Go figure…But i think in the end, as they managed to get front row downstairs, they both enjoyed it more than they would in the balcony)
Tonight the opening band was “Queen Zee”. Never have liked them! So was wishing for Marmozets to get on stage 😉
Once again, the Marmozets played the same set. There was a lot of energy in that room. As much as i don’t like to say it, i thought the audience tonight were the loudest & best of the 4 shows i was seeing on this tour. (I’ve often thought that London audiences don’t rock as much as audiences in other parts of the UK ! Why? Well because they’re “spoilt”. I mean, if a band is gonna play a one off show, chances are it will be London & nowhere else! I suppose it’s down to which band is playing, but i think London audiences can be a bit blasé)
Tonight i saw something which I’ve never seen before. As the band started playing “Run With The Rhythm” a few people towards the back of the main floor, sat down & started rowing! Then a bunch more did the same ! Dunno why they did it as it’s nothing to do with the song being played, but was both bizarre & hilarious to see ! (I’ll probably upload the clip when i get a chance to)
When the show had finished, i went downstairs to meet Kevin & Kristina. We didn’t hang around long. Outside we said our goodbyes as Kevin was taking a different tube than we were.
Once again, the tubes were always there as we got to them! When we got to Stratford, whilst walking down the stairs to get out, i got a tap on my shoulder & it was Rob! Talk about perfect timing lol
I’ve been to The Junction a few times over the years, but was unsure if there were any raised viewing platforms or not. I know that when i saw Voice Of The Beehive there in ’91 there was something higher at the back as i filmed it, but nowadays i don’t know. So i went not having a clue what to expect!
Obviously in the past i drove there, but now i have to take the train.The journey seemed to take so damn long Boston>Grantham/CHANGE/Grantham>Ely /CHANGE> Ely>Cambridge. Took around 3 hours, but seemed longer). When i arrived in Cambridge i went straight to my hotel, which was very close to the station. For an Accor hotel, it seemed a strange set up for checking in. It looked like a bar with no check in desk! I had a nice room, which was at the end of corridor (so wouldn’t hear people walking to/from the lifts). Even though the hotel was virtually next to the train station, couldn’t hear the trains.
As i’m going to see Saxon at the Corn Exchange on 24th, i thought i’d walk the route from hotel to Corn Exchange so i know exactly where to go (again, it’s totally different to driving!). The online maps said walking time would be 23 minutes, i did it in 17mins 😉 Along the way i passed a Wetherspoons pub “The Regal” (took 15 mins), which i visited on my way back 🙂
After grub at The Regal, i walked back to the Junction. There was just one solitary chap queuing. I had a quick chat with him & made sure he remembered me. After the experience in Nottingham where that silly bitch thought i was jumping the queue, i thought it might be wise to mention it to said chap, so he wouldn’t think i’m jumping the queue when i come back 😉 So i walked back to the hotel & relaxed for a while.
Later when i got back to The Junction, there was only a small queue, which surprised me. When doors opened i explained i’d arranged to have a stool/seat.
What they gave me was pretty strange. Hard to describe, but nearest thing i can equate it to would be an upside down skittle ! Yes, it wasn’t much cop lol
This stool was placed on the periphery of the venue & of course, someone stood directly in front of me, so view of the stage was pretty rubbish. Wasn’t impressed by the support act. Just waiting for Marmozets to hit the stage. Won’t say much about this one. They played a decent set including the older classics & a few more from the latest album (It was the same set list on all 4 shows i saw). I just wish i could have SEEN more…this venue is no good for people with disabilities.
After the gig was over, i hung around for a while as wanted to try get the band sign some photos from a previous gig. Whilst waiting, a couple of kids commented on the hoody i was wearing (PVRIS) had a short chat with them & i think due to that, i missed seeing most of the band as they weren’t out for very long ! However, i did still manage to get a quick photo with Josh before i went back to hotel. (Thanks to the chap that took the photo) The following day, i had a scrummy breakfast before travelling down to London to see The Marmozets again…
Saturday was a day/night of hanging around Leeds, up pubs, buying pyjamas!, a curry with Nomis & then a guided tour of various boozers.
Sunday myself & Cat set off for the festival hoping to catch Babymetals set, but unfortunately we missed them by a few minutes.Whilst walking around the site we bumped into Jason & Kristy 🙂 .We made sure we were in a prime position for Marmozets, down the front on the left 😉 Typically, Marmozets were just excellent as always.
After their set, Rob & Kristina found us…again they know where to be lol. ( “Always on the left side” )
We all then hung at the BBC Introducing Stage, where we saw ; Area 52, Crosa Rosa, Ducking Punches etc.
I hadn’t seen Royal Blood before, so was looking forward to their set. They had great sound & it was a very solid performance. In fact, it was way better than i expected it would be.I still have my doubts about how much is live though… I’ve got to see them do their own headline show now 😉
I was expecting the crowd to go mental for Bring Me The Horizon,but, it just got silly really. Yeah, it’s kinda nice to see the pits etc,but, do any of these kids actually watch/listen to ANY of the show? BMTH also had the honour of having the worst sound of the day. It was just a mess. Hell, even Oliver commented from onstage about it. When it gets to the point that it’s just not enjoyable on any level, might as well leave, so we did ! Went & saw a couple of songs by Ghost then back again to main stage for Metallica.
Now don’t get me wrong, i love Metallica,have done since the beginning, they always can be relied upon for a great gig. But the venue/crowd can make a big difference. I’m not a fan of festivals, pretty much hate them tbh. Not just because of the weather, but the crowd. Nowadays they attract so many chavs. Today was one of those days. There’s always so many idiots just geting pissed up & not interested in watching the bands. Even though Metallica started the set with some classics, Fuel, Bellz, Blackened, King, i just couldn’t fully get into it because of the dickheads near me. Eventually i warmed to things & started to enjoy it (as much as i could given the situation). There’s no denying it was a great set list, maybe one of the best set lists ever, with many of the old classics including “Frayed Ends Of Sanity” (which i don’t think had been played before in the UK?), but still, it’s nowhere near as good as seeing them indoors.
All in all a good weekend spent with various friends. But i’m still in no rush to go to any festivals next year…
I was really surprised that they played in the smaller room, but, was still nice to see them in there. The lighting was pretty rubbish though. The performance was everything i was expecting it would be , with Becca going a bit crazy up there. What a fantastic band they are !
Just a bit boring & repetitive. Sat next to me was an old geezer. We had a good chat & we seemed to be on the same page. He was/is a sound engineer, so straight away he said the sound was bad 😉
I did film a couple of songs, but certainly not up to my usual standards.
