Skunk Anansie – Page 2 – Gig Addiction

Skunk Anansie , Albert hall, Manchester, 4-2-16

My journey got off to a bad start when my first train was cancelled in Sheffield ! But transferred to another train (company) it worked out ok. Got to the venue early afternoon & said hello to the band as they arrived. Met a couple of cool guys from the Netherlands who had drove over for the UK dates. Queued for a couple of hours to ensure those front row positions. Didn’t know anything about the support act “Bones” & i wasn’t gonna find out anything tonight as they didn’t manage to get to the gig in time! Even though nothing was announced,to say they wouldn’t be there, i’d already worked it out as the drum skin uses on “Tear The Place Up” was onstage. So we knew the first song of the night already 😉

So, tonight is the first night of the tour. They can often be a time of many small errors during the show & tonight will be no exception. TTPU is a great song to start the show with. No messin, head on & full rockin. There’s no lettin up for the next songs “I Believed In You”, “That Sinking Feeling “, ” Because Of You”. skin was quick to stage dive early in the show..

Tonights show is a decent mix from various albums & obviously, the songs from Anarchytecture are being pushed a lot. Incidentally, i LOVE the album. It has different sounds/styles & i really think this is the album they shoulda made last time to “move forward”. Typically, skin came out into the crowd during “Weak”.

I have so much respect for her that she does this seemingly without fear.

Somewhere during the show skin totally forgot the lyrics to one song. I think if she’d not mentioned it later, she would have got away with it as well (no, actually, she DID get away with it lol). The main set is finished with the classic “Charlie Big Potato”. That’s my fave Skunk song.

To come back with an encore of “100 Ways To be A Good Girl” was just great. Yet another old classic.In fact, the whole encore was perfection (song wise) The show finished with “Little Baby Swastikka” along with the biggest balls up of the night! Anyone who’s seen this performed live before, will be aware of the lighting when skin comes down the front of the stage. I dunno if it was a new lighting guy or what,but, when skin said “Red light” firstly there was just WHITE lights! She then said ” that’s not a red light”. Which was hilarious 😉 The night ended with a few mates in the bar next to the venue. Overall, a great start to the tour. Damn, i had missed seeing Skunks live !

Skunk Anansie, @ Hackney empire, London, 25-3-14

Cannot remember how i got to the venue,but, it certainly wasn’t as easy as i expected it would be ! I arrived at back of venue & saw Silvia & Beastie there. Said hello, then went off to find Rob at nearby boozer. Once in the venue, saw my old mate Ian & a few other Skunk regulars. Had a bit of a chat with Ace before things kicked off.

Skunk Anansie, @ Cadogan hall, London 15-4-13

A very special unplugged gig,which was filmed for a DVD.

Skunk Anansie , Beware Of Darkness, @ Manchester Academy , 22-3-13

Travelling to this one, there was quite a bit of snow around. I traveled on the train, so that was a great choice. Must confess, i didn’t fancy the idea of standing around outside in the cold, so i arranged to get in early on (Thanks Cass 😉 )

As i had a standard ticket & didn’t want to get kicked out, Stumpy gave me a pass. Oh i also had the offer of upgrading my accommodation from the Travelodge to the Malmaison hotel as someone wasn’t gonna use their room that night. As my Travelodge was much closer to the venue, i decided to stay there.

Once doors opened, the place soon filled up. Again, the opening act was “Beware Of Darkness” Of course, everyone was waiting for Skunk though 🙂 Manc academy can get a bit rough down the front & tonight was no exception. As ever, the Skunks were great. Sometimes i just love my life 🙂 Skin showed off her levitating skills 😉

Skunk Anansie , Beware Of Darkness, Wolverhampton Wulfrun Hall ,21-3-13

When i came out of the gig, it was chucking it down with snow. So pleased i’d decided to use the trains on these last few gigs 😉

Skunk Anansie , Beware Of Darkness, O2 Academy, Leeds, 20-3-13

Typically, i was the first person at the venue 😉 Had a chat with “Beastie” whilst waiting. For ages no one joined the queue, then, a right bundle of energy turned up : ” Is the gig still on? Where is everyone?” . I said ” i’d imagine most peeps are in the pub” lol. I told her i’d seen the tour already & we’re in for a good show. We had a good laugh whilst waiting for others to arrive. After i’d told her i’m staying in Leeds, she asked if i fancied going for a drink afterwards…of course ! 🙂 The gig was another good one. During the show, skin said something to me & Lorah seemed impressed 🙂 My stand out memories of AFTER the gig was the last bar we were in, pretty much at closing time, Lorah brought pints over…then went back to the bar & got a couple more! So we both had 2 pints on the go. Then, we couldn’t find my hotel….once there, we had a few more beers 😉 A bloody good day/night for sure !