It’s always cool when it’s possible to do “2-nighters” at places & this was the first of them (The second being Airbourne). I had hoped i wouldn’t be “alone” over the next days, but it didn’t quite work out for Tess as her sister was over. As is always the case, book early & the hotels etc are cheaper. I stayed at the Premier Inn Nottingham West, which is at the end of the tram line. A great little thing is if you’re going to an event in Nottingham, the tram ticket is only £2 return ! (Just have to show your gig ticket if there are inspectors checking) It worked well for me.
As luck would have it, an old neighbour from 30+ years ago(?) was also doing these gigs, so a nice chance to catch up.
I managed to get the early entry to Rock City & the chap had sorted out a bar stool for me. What surprised me was it wasn’t in the balcony, but under the stairs. Not that it bothered me as it’s still a great view from there. The surprise, especially after Reckless Loves last gig at RC, was they hadn’t sold enough tickets to open the balcony! It’s kinda cool to be in RC & the place is empty
The opening act tonight were ” The Treatment “. I great bunch of lads who have a positive attitude & always put on a high energy show. I’ve seen them live a few times over the years. Their manager is Laurie Mansworth who used to me in the band ” Airrace” (If you’re older you may also remember the ’80s NWOBHM band ” More ” ). It’s cool to see him side stage really getting into the band :
As is always the case, the band get a great reaction from the crowd at Rock city.
Reckless Love are a band that are made for Rock City ! Of the 7 times they’ve played there, i’ve seen 5 of them (Started playing in the Basement & got too big for there). I do find it a little strange that it’s not a bigger audience tonight, especially as it’s one of only two shows in the UK (But saying that, the last couple of times they didn’t open the balcony)
The show starts with ” The Boys Are Back In Town” being played over the PA. It’s then straight into “Animal Attraction”. Oli briefly soaks up the affection from the crowd before they go into ” So Happy I Could Die “…with a huge scream from him at the start :
Next up it’s “Monster”. After that, Oli mentions Pepe & him being a Pretty Boy. Yup, we’re about to get the live debut of ” Pretty Boy Swagger ” 🙂 It was pretty decent.
Then we get the double hitter of ” Beautiful Bomb” & “Badass”. There’s some good audience interaction/clapping during “Badass”.
The rest of the night it’s all about having a good time. The band seem as into it as the audience are. They encore with “We Are The Weekend” & the last song of the night is the classic ” Hot “. A great night out for sure.
Afterwards we go to the The Gooseberry Bush pub where myself & Tim (the old neighbour) have a good catch up & he tells me his woes about recently splitting with his wife.
We eventually say our goodbyes & i take the tram back to my hotel, whilst Tim tries to figure out how to get to his hotel out Stapleford way !
