The previous night i should have been seeing Royal Republic at Koko in London. I decided to skip it as was already getting a bit tired after the few shows i’d seen in a row. Gave my Royals ticket to my mate Rob.This way i could relax a bit more before the next gig.
As my sister had been admitted to hospital,i was initially unsure if i should go to this gig or not. In the end, i decided to go in the hope that it would take my mind off how my sister was & cheer me up a bit. Got to Nottingham a bit later than usual, but still had time to check in my hotel, go out for food & then relax a bit back at hotel.
I won’t bother going into depth about this gig, but can surely say it was “just what the doctor ordered” ! The venue was rammed & everyone seemed to be having a great time. Ok, there a couple of sound issues here n there, but nothing enough to ruin the show.
There were some real funny moments from Justin (as always).
They played a lot of the old classic Darkness songs & it was a really long set.(Probably getting on for 20 songs). It still puts a smile on my face when they play “Christmas Time (Don’t let the Bells End)”…we even got fake snow showering down into the crowd. It was cool when they jammed snippets of “Immigrant Song”,”Sweet child Of Mine” (with the crowd doing i fine job of singing) & “Thunderstruck”. The show finished with “I Believe In A Thing Called Love”. Yup, a great night out !
So the morning after that “wonderful” (sarcasm) experience in London, i took an early train back up to my spiritual home of rock n roll; namely, Rock City, Nottingham. Once there, checked into my usual hotel & chilled for a while. I briefly tried to reflect on last night, but couldn’t as it was such a shitty experience ! So draw a line under last night & move on. At least today, even before it starts, i know the Airboure always put on a good show, so i know it will lift my spirits 🙂 It’s a sold out show, so i’m sure it’s gonna be a great night.
Everything ran smooth with regards to entry & getting a seat on the balcony. The way it should always be 😉
I’d never heard of the opening act “Wild”. Didn’t really do a great lot for me tbh.
I was quite interested to see what “Phil Campbell & The Bastard Sons” would be like. It was everything i was expecting 😉 It’s quite amazing to see the “change of look” of Phil Campbell since he joined Motorhead back in the 80s. I’m sure Lemmy would be proud of the impression he had on him over the years.
They played a pretty short set tonight & of course, it had to include a couple of Motorhead songs, namely “Born to Raise Hell” & finished with “Ace Of Spades”. Whilst it was a decent set, i doubt i’d go see them headline anywhere.
So now the real fun starts….Airbourne. I’ve never seen a bad show by them & you can always rely on Joel to put on a show & do some “silly” things along the way (Will never forget when he climbed up the rigging to the top at Download festival 😉 )
There’s a short intro tape before they hit the stage & show us they’re “Ready To Rock” 😉 Next up it’s “I’m Going To Hell For This”
At the end of the song, Joel shows his appreciation for Rock city, by saying ” Nottingham Rock City ! No matter where we go in the world, THIS is the best gig ever ! “. That’s something i’d agree with 🙂
We then get a song from their debut album “Too Much, Too Young, Too Fast”. It’s kind hard to believe that it was released over 10 years ago ! ( What a great debut “Running Wild” was ! They set the bar high & have continued to release more albums of the same quality over the years)
Next, it’s a couple of songs from the last album they released (“Breakin’ Outta Hell”) “Down On You” & “Rivalry”. Before “Rivaly” Joel tells us all : “I know it’s a midweek show & I know you’re going to work, or university tomorrow…but you know what? There is no fuckin tomorrow ! You’re LIVIN RIGHT NOW ! You could always go to work with a hangover or you might not show up. Fuck the boss man “!
As an aside,”Breakin Otta Hell” was released back in 2016 & they’ve been touring it for about 18months. They certainly do work hard to entertain the masses on a global scale.
During “Girls In Black”, Joel does his usual thing of coming out into the audience, carrying on playing & culminating with him smashing the can of lager on his head until it squirts all over everyone. Great showmanship !
We next get “Bottom Of The Well”, closely followed by “Breakin Out Of hell”. Both full on typical rock n roll songs.
Before “It’s All For Rock N Roll” Joel says that Motorhead will live forever. As i’m writing this, it’s just been announced that Fast Eddie Clark has died. So that means all of the “Classic” Motorhead members have left this earth. Let’s hope they’re up there jamming together. Joel dedicates the song to Lemmy & also Malcolm Young. During the song, a flight case is wheeled onto the stage & on the side of it it says “Lemmys Bar”. Joel then pours out 4 Lemmys (JD & coke) for the band members. He also shares his with the front row of the crowd.
The main set finishes with ” Stand Up For Rock N Roll”. Then over the PA we hear the sound of an aeroplane or a “Bomber” a la Motorhead 😉 This is accompanied by an air raid siren being wound on the stage. I also notice a guy down in the press pit who’s holding up a drone & waving it over the crowd. I assume he’s got a GoPro attached to it & is filming it. (Interesting & different use for a Drone eh?) After the siren finishes, the band are back on stage & proceed with “Live It Up”. During the song Joel throws some beers into the crowd. A mate had said when he saw them in London, he couldn’t work it out he he pretty much threw them with nothing coming out during flight.I suppose there must be a knack to it. But tonight, pretty much every one he threw out spilled a bit ! Maybe he was a little over excited at being in Nottingham & it being the last night of the UK tour ? 😉
The night ends with a rousing version of “Runnin Wild”.
Tonight has been fantastic. Really enjoyed the show. Also, most certainly made up after the shitty time in London 😉
The following day, i travelled on to Birmingham to see PVRIS. For this show i’d chose to have the M&G ticket option.I’d had a plan to do something a bit unique & special for my niece as she couldn’t be there. Unfortunately, i’d not had any email to say what time the M&G would be happening etc. I always like to have full info about the schedules etc, so this one i didn’t feel so comfortable about it. After the shitty experience in London a couple of days back, i really wondered how this one would go. In the end, i didn’t need to worry about it as the day/night in Brum just got better & better……
This was a bit of a strange one. To start off, It was an interesting, if mismatched line up. I’d never seen so many disabled people at a RC gig. I got chatting with a couple & we both agreed that after all the years that RC has been here, it’s amazing they’ve not got a better way in for people in wheelchairs (They have two members of security who carry the person up the steps at the back of the venue). We also had similar stories about how sometimes the security just don’t follow the instructions that we have been given about entry. If you’re not aware, the general idea is that disabled customers should pre-book saying what requirements are needed for them for the show. They should take priority entry & get seats (if required) & be in the venue before the mad rush of everyone piling in. It just doesn’t work that way very often nowadays. There must have been about 12+ people who needed seats tonight & they only placed TWO on the balcony! I went to the bar & said more seats are needed. The reply was “We’ve used them all” That was complete bullshit as i’ve seen the stacks of seats previous time i’ve been there. They managed to find me a smaller stool, but, i’m sure there were a lot of unhappy coustomers that night. Another thing about tonight was how early the doors were : 5.30pm ! I’m sure that caught out a lot of people with such an early start (Hello Ady 😉 ) They really do need to inform the punters when there’s such an early start. Why such an early start ? Because the crappy student night seems to be more important than the gigs nowadays ! (The only way they can get 3 acts to play/finish before 10pm, is have a ridiculously early start time)
I thought that this gig would be very busy, but it wasn’t the case : They didn’t sell enough tickets to open the balcony ! I suppose it’s best to have a full downstairs than a half empty floor & balcony though 😉 So, to the gig/bands :
First up was Faster Pussycat. The first time i saw them was the legendary night when they opened for Guns N Roses at this venue back in 1987. They were great back then. The last time i’d seen them was at Yardbirds in Grimsby, about 7 years ago. Tonight at RC, i didn’t have a clue as to if there were any of the original members on this stage tonight! If it was Taime on vocals, then he’s lost a lot of weight since i last saw him. As for the bands show, to me, it just felt like they were just going through the motions. There was no spark or excitement up there. I was a bit dissapointed.
Next up it was “The Answer”. They are a genuine “back to the roots” bluesy rock n roll sort of band. They always deliver a great show. Of the multiple times i’ve seen them over the years, i didn’t see a single bad gig by them. On top of that, they are very nice people to talk with. They were easily the highlight of the night for me 🙂
Finally it’s time for Mr Big. I’ve never been that much of a fan of theirs tbh. Saw them at the height of their fame at RC back in 1992. Think i only saw them one more time after that till tonight. They started their set with ” Daddy, Brother, Lover, Little Boy” ( aka Drill Song ;-))
Played a lot of the old classic era songs. But one the guitar/bass solos started i just got bored of it tbh. I think my comment on the night pretty much summed it it ” Too much guitar wankery” 🙂 Whilst some people love that sort of stuff, i’m just not into it at all.
I guess that overall, it was a decent night out, with different bands that played totally different styles of music & good value for money. Band of the night for me was most certainly The Answer. Afterwards, i arranged to meet Ady at the pub. We had a good catch up & i put him straight about a lot of stuff that he wasn’t aware of (about my condition) . I don’t think we’d had a proper chat since seeing Delain in Amsterdam…
There was a little drizzle as i walked to the train station. Nothing too much. The trains ran fine & was soon at Nottingham. First stop was Argos as needed to collect a couple of things i couldn’t get in Boston. Then checked into Roomzzz hotel. “You’ve been here before haven’t you? So i don’t need to go over everything with you again?” She was correct 🙂 I got a nice room, almost at end of corridor (The best place as you won’t get people walking by late at night 😉 ) I relaxed for a while, then made my way into town to get food.(Yeah, my usual place lol). Walking back to hotel,as i went past Rock City, i saw a chap queuing who i recognized, so stopped & had a catch up with him. (The funny thing about us knowing each other was that i often saw him at various gigs. I think it was at Wolf Alice Leeds 3-16 that we started chatting. I said something like “Ive seen you at a few gigs & recognise your face”. Coulda knocked me down with a feather when he said he was also from Boston! Small world !) After our chat, i went back to the hotel to relax a bit more. As is the usual preocedure nowadys, i went back to RC about 15 mins before doors, talked with security about having a prearranged seat in balcony, then whilst waiting, had another chat with Nige B. Soon got in, at my fave spot on balcony.
First act tonight were “Superfood”. Can’t say they did anything for me. Second act was a band from New York, called “Sunflower Bean”. They were pretty decent. I enjoyed their set. They also got a good reaction from the crowd. Apparently, they’ll be coming back to Nottingham soon & will be playing The Rescue Rooms. Need to check out their album.
There was a pretty quick turnaround before Wolf Alice came on. I noticed the floor was absolutely rammed. The lights went down & Wolf Alice slowly walked onto the stage. From the off, the crowd was very loud. Pretty sure tonights set list was the same as in Amsterdam. Second song in ” Yk Foo ” really livened things up. Already, there were a couple of mosh pits down there. When they played the familiar opening riff of ” You’re A Germ”, the room just goes crazy! It went to another level. You could also see that Ellie was really enjoying herself. THIS is the Wolf Alice i’ve come to love. “You’re Loves Whore” is fantastic.
The more i think about it, i realise that the Melkweg show was nowhere near as good as Rock City. It had been bugging me that i felt something was “missing” at Melkweg but couldn’t put my finger on it. I now realized the thing that was missing, was the great Rock City crowd 😉 Don’t get me wrong, Melkweg was great night out, but Rock City was another level up 🙂 Tonight’s setlist was similar to the other shows i’ve seen on this tour. I think they just made slight changes as to where the songs were in the set. The night ended with the double wammy of “Blush” & “Giant Peach”.
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 !
Originally i fancied the idea of doing a few dates on the tour. But because i had to wait around to see if i had any hospital appointments etc, i had to hold back. Unfortunately, a couple of shows sold out & it didn’t make sense to do what was available. In the long run, it was probably for the better as i’d got a dry cough a few days before the show & i wouldn’t have hacked it. Damn it bugs me sometimes that “my mind says yes, but my body says no”. Whatever…
Got to Notts mid afternoon & checked into Rooomzz. Then just chilled as doors were not till 7pm tonight. Later i met up with a mate & we went for a quick drink. I’d arranged it so he could get in early with me. About 15mins before doors, we go to check everything is set up correct. The same dickhead security guy was there as the TPR gig …” i’ve arranged for a bar stool & early entry..”. Him ” You need to contact the venue manager about that !” Typical confrontational attitude from him ! Me “I’ve already done that…” He shuts the door. He’s about as much use as a chocolate tea pot ! Undetered, i once again phone management. I get a very courteous reply & he says he’ll come down soon to take us in. Got up on balcony & a bar stool was no problem.
Right now, Anthrax are in a very good position. They’d took their time before a proper Euro tour & released a great new album. Announcing they were going to play all of their classic album “Among The Living” was another factor to the interest this tour is generating. Most of the venues seem to be selling out & they totally deserve it.
The first act was “The Raven Age”. I’ve seen them before & wasn’t really impressed tbh. Whilst there’s no denying their hearts are in it & they try to put on a show, i just don’t see anything different or unique about them & a bunch of similar small bands nowadays. Sorry. I think their strongest song is the last one they played tonight.
Pre-Anthrax a bunch of classic songs are played over the PA. It seemed like everyone was singing the chorus to “Run To The Hills”. The vibe in the room has gone up a lot.
The brief intro “Impaled” has a solemn & mournful sound to it. Almost like a funeral march. But tonight will be anything but that! It’s a celebration of all things Anthrax. Going straight into “A.I.R.” they set their agenda for the evening. It’s heavy as hell & the crowd is into it straight away.
“We are the warm up band for Anthrax by the way. We have no name, but we go by the name of something close to the band…whatever” (Scott is kinda laughing as Joey says this) “Hey, how ya all doing?” *cheers from crowd*. “This one is Medusa!”. An absolute classic to my ears. We’re then brought up to date with “Blood Eagle Wings” from the latest album “For All Kings”. This is such a huge ,huge song ! Probably the most epic song they’ve ever wrote. In the live arena things go to another level. I bloody love this song (no pun intended). There’s the usual crowd interaction as “Be All, End All” starts up. It feels like everyone in the place is singing the guitar/vocal part ” Woah-Woah-Woah” ( & how someone near me sounds so out of tune/time on this i have no clue lol). The main set finishes with “Breathing Lightning”. It’s another typical “Anthrax riff” sounding song.
During the interval, the stage set is changed around somewhat. There are now various raised areas on the stage. It just fits perfectly – a big show in a small(ish) room.
Lights go down again & the classic Blues Brothers intro starts up, going straight into “Among the Living”. Tonight they’re playing the full album, though not in the same sequence as the release. It’s like being transported back in time, yet the songs are still as vibrant today as they were back then.
I look down on the main floor during “Caught in a Mosh” & cannot help wishing i was in amongst it all. Looks like hella fun down there. It’s great to hear these old songs played tonight. During “I Am the Law” i remember seeing them at this very venue & i was on the main floor. It was pretty crazy down there ( As an aside, i also saw them in Leicester & Sheffield back in ’87. The covered “Living After Midnight” at both of those shows & Rock City got “Sabbath Bloody Sabbath”)
It’s pretty cool to hear these next few songs ,which i think have not been played much over the years : “A Skeleton in the Closet, Efilnikufesin (N.F.L.), A.D.I. / Horror of It All”.
Charlie teases us by playing the drum intro to “Indians” a few times. The audience forms a circle pit & once again it’s like being in 1987 ! Classic stuff.
The show finishes with “Imitation of Life”. But of course, that cannot be all we’re getting ! They finally come back for another encore & truly finish with ” Antisocial” (A cover of the song by French band “Trust”).
What a night ! Just quality abound. THIS was the Anthrax tour we’ve been needing for years. I think they are now at their peak (but would love for them to prove me wrong).
It’s amazing when i think about seeing them open for Metallica around the UK back n ’86 & how their career has ebbed & flowed over the years. Truly an amazing live band.
I quickly say goodbye to my mate & then walk the long distance (lol) to my hotel next door 🙂 For whatever reason i don’t know, but, i had an awful nights sleep. Maybe it was the buzz of the gig or just some rubbish going around my head (there’s been a lot of that recently). Following morning i go down for the “Grab & Go” breakfast quite early & take it back to my room. When i finally decide to check out & take an earlier train than previously planned, i go for seconds at the “Grab & Go” 😉
Been really looking forward to this one as it’s a one-off UK gig where they will play ” Fishing For Luckies ” (I suspect it’s also being taken as a warm up for the Japanese shows coming up where they will do the same). It was a bit touch & go if i’d make it as earlier in the week i got my MRI results & for a second time, my brain tumor had grown. Fortunately, i didn’t have to restart my chemo this day (as they wanted) & we agreed to restart next week.
As ever, i took the train to Nottingham. Only this time i was meeting a friend from London who’d never been to Rock City before. We both stayed at same hotel “Rooomzzz” which is right next door to Rock City. Once again, it was early doors @RC. After numerous phone calls, i was hoping tonight would be some what better than the Pretty Reckless debacle of getting in ! We turned up about 20mins early & all ran smooth. Only slight downer was the balcony wasn’t open. But i still got my bar stool under the stairs.
First band tonight is “The Main Grains “. I’ve not seen them before & all i know about them is that Danny McCormack is the main guy ! Obviously, with his Wildhearts past, i’m expecting something interesting. Tonight, Danny is playing the show sat on a seat (In case you didn’t know, in 2016 he suffered an aneurysm & further complications meant he had to have his leg amputated at the knee). He does look as though he feels at home up there. They kick off with “Unscrewed”, which is also the first song on their debut album “Don’t Believe Everything You Think”(or is it an EP as only 7 songs & clocks in around 20mins). Straight away there’s a good vibe in the room. They continue with “Happy Round Here”. This really has a Wildhearts kinda sound to it. Very upbeat. Next we get “Spend Your Money”. This has a lovely deep bass intro to it. The song’s maybe a bit basic, but it rocks nicely.
“I’d Rather Be In California” is another “happy” sounding song. Again, a very Wildhearts kinda vibe to it.
A couple of drum hits & a familiar sounding guitar riff & they’re playing a cover of The Undertones”Teenage Kicks”. (Gosh that takes me back to my youth! Think i got a 7″ on green vinyl back in the day. Or was it “Jimmy Jimmy” i got ? Old age…). I think they played about 4 more songs after that. It was great to see Danny with a big smile up there. Overall, a great start to tonights proceedings.
Next it’s “Massive Wagons “. Again, a band i don’t think i’ve seen before. I loved the intro they used : “Rock And Roll Preacher” by Slade. Actually, as the night went along, it dawned on me that Baz sounded a lot like Noddy Holder with his vocal style. The band have been around a few years & i’m surprised i’ve somehow missed them. Over all, to me, they have a great classic British rock sound. I’d like to see them again. They dedicated a song to Rick Parfitt,namely, “Back To The Stack” :
So to the headliners, The Wildhearts. This was a pretty last minute gig,tagged on after the rescheduled Manchester gig. It will be a special one as they’re playing “Fishing For Luckies”. I suspect they’re also treating Rock City as a “warm-up” for the Japan shows where they’re playing FFL. When the lights went down the fantastic crowd/family started singing & it was marvelous. Before even hitting the stage,the Wildhearts totally owned Rock City . “Inglorious” really kicked things off nicely. After that, the familiar intro to “Sick of Drugs” had the crowd sounding even louder & Gingers smiles getting bigger. It must be such a rush to have an audience “woah-whoah-ing” like that.
Before “Schizophonic” Ginger thanks everyone for coming down to this special show. He says how it’s “..great to play an album 20 years after you made it & it’s fucking wierd”.
He also says he “…can’t believe it that both Danny McCormack & me are still alive!”. Again, its bloody brilliant how the audience sing along with the guitar at the beginning.
This is such a fuckin great night already ! There’s quite a few fun, or funny moments, moments during the show. It’s cool when Ginger mentions that “…some people think that Dunc got treated badly in Manchester. So throw some money up on stage for him ! ” He quickly realises what he’s let himself in for & says “Notes! Paper money” as a barrage of coins hit the stage ! So funny 🙂 (According to what Dunc has since posted online, he got £17.50)
Another fun moment was after “Soul Searching on the Planet Earth (Different Kind of Love)”. Ginger said something like “…we did something yesterday which was really fuckin freaky so we’re gonna try it again tonight. We want you all to click your fingers “. That was an interesting way to start the next song “Do the Channel Bop”.
We get another 3 or so songs before it’s encore time.
A chair being brought onstage signals the return of Danny McCormack. He stays there for the rest of the night.
First encore song is the ever powerful crowd pleaser ” Suckerpunch”. Unfortunately it seems that Dannys equipment isn’t quite set up as he’d like. It’s till “My Baby Is a Headfuck” that it’s sorted out. A great version of the song is played & the audience seems so loud shouting “Headfuck.Headfuck…” Love it 🙂
For “Geordie in Wonderland” C.J. gets the crowd waving their arms & everyone joins in singing. This is the definition of a community spirit for a band. Everyone sings at the top of their voices (& sometimes are louder than the band!). The last songs of the night are “I Wanna Go Where the People Go” , “29 x the Pain” & the quirky little thing which Rich sings ; “Duck Song”. It’s lovely to see Mr Poole & C.J. hug Danny afterwards. Ginger makes sure everyone stays to pose for a photo or two by Trudi before leaving.
A fantastic night with smiles all around. My only small dissapointment was that i didn’t manage to get an event T-shirt as they’d all sold out.
I’d been looking forward to this one for a while. Not only the gig, but a chance to spend a little time with someone. Unfortunately, the latter plans fell apart.”The System” seems to do that sometimes. Can be so frustrating… So anyway, i decided to not go too early as i’d only end up spending money around Nottingham!
I was very curious how the support act “The Cruel Knives” would be. If you’re not aware, they are a new band formed by a couple of the guys from “Heavens Basement” (what a great band they were) namely ; Sid Glover & Rob Ellershaw . The band is completed by Tom Harris & Al Junior. They’ve obviously got some good connections in the business as they are now opening for The Pretty Reckless all around the UK/Europe.
Upon arrival at Rock City, i noticed they hadn’t posted the times for the night. Also, they’d not put out the barriers. Immediately, i thought something wasn’t quite right.
There wasn’t a queuing system, it was a mess. Some people had paid extra to be VIPs. What they were supposed to get for that was EARLY ENTRY + a poster. (Ah yes, i remember doing VIP for TPR which included a photo with the band…which didn’t happen. But hey they’ve got your money & when you try arguing , well it’s pointless…).
So, as there was no info being given out, there were quite a few punters who were not impressed. From a personal point of view it was getting really hard for me to stand outside for so long. I eventually had to sit on the steps. But the biggest annoyance was one of the RC security guys! When one of the VIPs tried asking him a question, he said something like ” Calm down !”. Erm no mate, YOU are the one that needs to calm down & LISTEN to the people who have paid to see the show. He was basically a bully. Totally ignorant & showed no compassion what so ever. The problem was that the band were very slow with soundcheck so doors just kept getting pushed back. I understand if security are not getting good info, they are in an awkward place. But as an example of how differently some security deal with this, later on, the HEAD of security came out & said something like “….they’ve told us they’re going to be a while…”. He then said “….i interpret that as it will be a long time….”. He was calm & collected as he told this message, unlike the arrogant twat from earlier on. Good vs bad eh? I won’t even bother mentioning about the whole early entry & bar stool for disabled people like myself & the others….
The only good thing(s) to come of the delays was i saw an old mate who i’d not seen since around the time of my seizure & also got chatting to a couple who’d traveled from Mablethorpe area. (Hello if you’re reading this !) When we finally got in, i helped them by showing where to go & also got them a bar stool.
I got my fave spot on balcony so was reasonably happy.
So first up it’s “The Cruel Knives” . First song everything just seemed too loud & had a poor mix (maybe they didn’t get a line check due to TPR taking so long?). As they went along, it did improve. It’s good to see that Sid hasn’t changed & is still the show-off in the band 🙂 (That’s meant in a nice way. He knows when the cameras are on him & hes a fantastic guitarist). I was unsure if it really was Rob Ellershaw up there ! The new “Liam Gallagher” hair style totally threw me 🙂 Hearing everything for the first time is always hard to take in. Overall, i thought there were some good songs & it’s all very upbeat. There’s potential as, to me, they don’t sound like most of the typical young bands. It’s more solid rock. I wanna see them again.
The sound of “Hells Bells” & various other classics are played over the PA before The Pretty Reckless take to the stage. The guys just casually walk on & start playing, then Taylor comes on. The screams from the girls in the crowd are very loud ! As ever, Ms Momsen is sassy wearing her long leather coat. I don’t care what anyone says, this really is the Taylor Momsen show. Tonight we get songs from the past few albums, starting with old favorites “Follow Me Down ” & ” Since You’re Gone “. As i don’t have the latest album, i didn’t know what to expect from the new stuff. “Oh My God ” is typical TPR with a barrage of drums. By now either the sound is getting better or i’m just getting used to it ! Interestingly, the next song, “Hangman”, is something very different for TPR. It’s nice to see the variety going on in that song. One of the biggest problems tonight are the long silences between songs. It kinda kills things. Blaming it on the jet lag is a cheap get out clause.
Ah cant beat a bit of classic TPR! Great vocals from rock city crowd 🙂
Tonights show features a bunch of songs from the latest album “Who You Selling For “. There are way too many silences between songs. A few problems with equipment ( “….my mic stand keeps falling over….hired gear haha…”) & a general lack of flow. Jet lag eh ?! I don’t think they reached their stride tbh.
Towards the end of the set they play ” Living In The Storm” & that was the most animated we saw Taylor tonight.
Of course, all that buggering about & delayed doors has the knock on effect because there’s a curfew of 10pm tonight. Yep, you guessed it, the club/disco is from then. So a few songs must have been dropped from their set. Even though their set was officially over, the crowd kept shouting for an encore. When the house lights went up, there were certainly a few “Boos” in the crowd. I hope they bring their game next time so we don’t feel so cheated….
It still puts a smile on my face when they play “Christmas Time (Don’t let the Bells End)”…we even got fake snow showering down into the crowd. 
It was cool when they jammed snippets of “Immigrant Song”,”Sweet child Of Mine” (with the crowd doing i fine job of singing) & “Thunderstruck”. The show finished with “I Believe In A Thing Called Love”. Yup, a great night out !
