Blog: Nottingham

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Crazy scenes of ROCKING MADNESS last night in Nottingham, from which I have just returned, sweaty, knackered, but happy.

I got there half an hour later than planned as half of the London Transport system is currently CLOSED and also it was National Walk Really Slowly And Annoying Five Abreast DAY in town and I missed my preferred train. As it happens it didn't really matter as Tom and Tim were still rattling down the M1 with the BASS AMP that everyone was using, so i had a gentle pint with my colleague Mr Machine and Sam The Promoter and remarked upon the unusual FACT that pretty much ALL the venues that I've played in that have lovely proper real BEER-style BEER are in Nottingham, the other being The Maze. Anyway, colleagues arrived, chat was had, soundcheck was undertaken, and then it was HO! for CHIPS. Emma couldn't make it and thus her civilising influence was also absent, and we resorted to the CHIPS - OPEN - fiends we always were.

We went round the corner to The Fish Market, a proper looking chip shop that didn't sell fish (they looked surprised when people asked) or indeed anything that needed much frying, but DID do a roaring trade in WRAPS. Wraps! There were about 500 YOUTHS in the queue in front of us who got so excited about them that Tim got caught up in the madness and bought one himself. It took about half an hour to get served (NB this is true), as they had a RUBBISH system of Meal Creation which seemed to involve one bloke making millions of WRAPS. The chips were nice though.

GRUB consumed we fell to discussing THE TOUR, and oh what a mighty load of THORT we had viz locations, routing, driving, merchandise, stock management and accomodation. By the end of it i was quite worn out and relieved to retire to the venue upstairs where we found BLOODY LOADS of lovely people. It was GRATE, although a bit nerve-wracking. Things were running slightly late so as soon as Julian Donkey-Boy had finished we had to RACE for the stage, get set up, and play. And this is what we played:

Better Things To Do

The Lesson Of The Smiths

Hey Hey 16K

Quality Of Life Enhancement Device

Leave My Brother Alone

You Will Be Hearing From My Solicitor

The Gay Train

Easily Impressed

Billy Jones Is Dead

No, thine eyes do not deceive you, that IS an encore there, because it went BLOODY AMAZINGLY WELL. Whoo! Right from the OFF there was dancing, and as things got going there was LOTS of dancing, it was ACE. Usually when Emma's not there i don't DANCE as much as it feels a bit daft when you're the only one, but with other people at it i think we may have DRIVEN OURSELVES to lurid heights of BUSTIN' SOME MOVES. I got so excited by how much fun I was having that I forgot the words to "Hey Hey 16k" (as Frankie said, it's not like we play it that often), there were cheers AGANE when I announced "QOLED" and "Leave My Brother Alone" was just MENTAL. I was SO CLOSE to saying "Hey! You sing it!" as it felt like EVERYONE was joining in. All four of us were LURCHING ABOUT in the nearest we get to synchronised dance moves and got so carried away that, towards the end of "The Gay Train" me and Mr Machine enacted the ROCK CLASSIC: Leaning into each other and ROCKING OUT!

Oh, it was a whole lot of fun. "Easily Impressed" got a huge and beautiful "OI!" and when we came back on to do "Billy Jones Is Dead" the room was aglow with MUTUAL LOVE. It was ACE! Afterwards he had a bit of a RUSH on t-shirts and then we settled in to drinking BEER. We're doing new Band Questionnaires as part of the new look website, with the most hotly debated question being "What are your top 6 records that you bought within a year of them being released?" and we discussed this heavily, stopping only to break off to thank and often HUG some of the many many LOVELY people who had come to see us. I have said it already I know, but it was a LOVELY night made lovelier by the people who came - and it happened in Nottingham! Who'd've predicted THAT?

We watched Dressy Bessy, who were ACE in that American Band In England way that makes you want to GRIN and say "Oh shucks, YOU GUYS!" a lot, and then headed home into the night to drop Tim off at his home and me at Tom's. We had a cup of tea and watched 27 minutes of an old "Doctor Who" (a record for us in these situations), before retiring. I woke at 8am this morning and couldn't get back to sleep as i was TOO EXCITED about what a GRATE gig it had been.

So, now for a bath and a kip before heading out on the Midland Mainline again tomorrow for Sheffield University in the afternoon and The Victory in Leicester in the evening. ROCK-A-HOOLA baby!

posted 30/4/2006 by MJ Hibbett

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Comments:

superb gig, sirs! I'm proudly wearing my t-shirt today and it fits like a dream.

I think it was the most smile-inducing performance I've seen since Darren Hayman a couple of months ago, i.e. you're in VERY good company.
posted 30/4/2006 by Tom

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