Cambridge Junction, Cambridge gig – 4th July 2013
Your humble siteowner asked Geoff for this gig soooo nicely a few months back that I’d like to think the plea played its part in it all coming together. Did the band survive its night in the Stowmarket Travelodge? Over to you for the reviews.
✉ Letters Sent (30)
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(13 years ago by Dave Jones)
Chris The Siteowner
Well, I’ll be first. That. Was. A. Corker. Unlike some of the assembled masses who get to almost every gig (respect!), I only manage one or two a year and so I’m hardly in a position to rate this against other gigs …but the band really seemed to be on fire. The set list gave the impression of having been chosen to maximise the noise, and Nigel put his heart and soul into the performance. And just when I didn’t think I could get any more excited, quite unexpectedly they played my all-time favourite song, “Surging Out Of Convalescence”, for only about the 8th or 9th time ever. That I did not expect. One of the best gigs I’ve been to for years.
Great to meet so many people who pop into this site from time to time too, including Exxo, Mr Galbraith and Cawseetiger amongst others.
4 July 2013
twistedkitemike
I’m sure you’ve noted down the set-list, Chris. But to save you the bother……..
Evening Sun
Whit Week
Yipps
Fred T
Light Tunnel
Convalescence
Korfball
Dean F
Clocked On
Squabfest
Bob T
Vitas G
Bogus Official
NSD
Bad Loser
Look Dad
Bob W
DPAK
Bad Wools
Slipknot
Time Flies By
JDOG
AOR
……………………………
Chatteris
Holiday in Cambodia
Trump(ing)ton
My scribbles were minimal, it was very dark in the hall.
I agree, Chris, a cracking effort (judged against a few more in my case). It obviously suits them doing double-headers, because the first night gets them in shape. Bit like a round of golf two days on the bounce. The second round finds your swing in the groove with some nice rhythm.
Mike…………………………………………………………….
4 July 2013
99%
One of the best HMHB sets I have seen in years and I have been to a fair few gigs over the last few years.
Highlights for me – Fred Titmus, Korfball, Dean Friedman, 99%, Bad Loser, Look Dad, DPAK, Bad Wools, Time Flies By, JDOG, AOR and a truly wonderful encore. Always wanted to see Holiday In Cambodia for myself and it was the best cover version of that song I have ever heard.
5 July 2013
Peter Gandy
Completely agree – fantastic from start to finish with great sound quality for once. I didn’t see all of the support band’s set (Model Village?); I got in just as the drummer had his accident at work. I had a mate who used to bemoan the fact that when Terry Woods joined the Pogues they played, “hey nonny nonny shit”, and while the same description could be used for some of the set, I enjoyed it.
The main set was as good as I’ve ever seen, although I’m always disappointed not to hear Garage People, possibly because of the variations on the lyrics. There were no ad libs that I noticed, the Marilyn Monroe line was sung with no comment and there was no remark about £3-10 being a lot of money in those days or reference to Metal Machine Music. It was the third time I’d seen them cover Holiday in Cambodia and the best.
Chapeau to whoever came on the lilac Harry Quinn. It was the first bike I noticed among the hundreds parked outside.
5 July 2013
cawseetiger
2 HMHB gigs in 2 nights and bloody hell what a corker at the Junction. Stowmarket was good but the band seemed to crank up the level with Nigel really going for it.
It must have been the most ferocious encore I’ve seen from any band with the cover of Holiday in Cambodia on a par with the original and the without taking much breath Nigels launch into Trump(ing)ton Riots was brilliant.
Other highlights were National Shite Day…Squabfest, Bob Todd and DPAK, that said I’ve waited since 1985 to see my 1st ever Biscuit gig and I don’t think I could have been any luckier with what I saw and heard over the 2 nights. Good to meet up with Chris (site owner) again and a couple of ‘twitters’ too.
Ta
5 July 2013
Chris The Siteowner
Peter – I’m guessing the lilac Harry Quinn will have been Brumbiscuit’s. Folks were taking photographs of it as I went in.
5 July 2013
EMERGING FROM GORSE
An immense performance, and I’m not just referring to myself in the moshpit. Truly an outstanding gig and a magnificent set list. Managed to persuade 6 HMHB virgins to come see what all the fuss was about and they were suitably impressed, enough so in most cases to want to repeat the experience sometime in the near future.
Junction hat-tricks racked up for Fred Titmus, Squabble Fest, Light At The End Of The Tunnel, Vitas Gerulaitis, Trumpton Riots, Bob Wilson, Vatican Broadside, JDOG and, of course, Chatteris. Nothing from Godcore unfortunately, but you can’t have everything.
Only minor quibble was that it took a fair few songs for the moshpit to really get going, though it was mental by the end. I was still sweat-soaked an hour after the finish and I’m almost totally hoarse this morning…..definitely the signs of a tremendous night.
5 July 2013
Chris The Siteowner
Gig review by @bengwy: The mighty Half Man Half Biscuit, Cambridge Junction, 4/7/2013
5 July 2013
BenGWY
Thanks for the link Chris! Can’t believe I forgot they did Surging!
5 July 2013
MURF
I’ve been a fan for over 25 years (27 maybe?) but waited til last night to lose my live cherry. From the comments above it seems like I a picked a good one.
I thought it was a corker of a crowd pleaser, really building as the set progressed. The encore was near perfect (for this fen boy who remembers The Dead Kennedys song being a feature at youth club ‘discos’ and always loved the Trumpton Riots above all).
See you all again for my next HMHB gig in 2040.
5 July 2013
BrumBiscuit
Because 24HGP has been lacking of late – so no Pringles sweepstake, we had a £10 bet on the first song. I chose WTESGD, so keenly collected my winnings amid cries of “fix”. The Flying Pig benefit event might postpone the developers for a while longer. Ken & Karl and ladyfriend walked past and Ken blithely sailed through my mate’s greeting in a world of his own.
It was a great gig with a superb setlist. The sound quality, however, varied depending on where you stood.
Roll on Brum…
5 July 2013
Peter Gandy
Superb bike Brumbiscuit. I’d been keeping a watch on ebay for a Harry Quinn frame to buy and get shotblasted and sprayed, but decided that I couldn’t be arsed to spend the time building it up so I bought a soulless new bike instead – with 105 not even ultegra. What components have you got on it? Campy Record? I didn’t want to look too closely and have people think I was a potential bike thief.
5 July 2013
BrumBiscuit
Campagnolo was too dear, so it’s Shimano RX100 and a stronglight crankset. I’m saving up to go the whole Campy hog, but retro kit costs serious money, as you probably know.
5 July 2013
alan
First HMHB gig for me and thoroughly enjoyed it. Great to hear Bob Wilson, Surging Out of Convalescence and Squabble Fest. Obviously there were some songs not played I would have loved to hear, but such is always the case when a band has such a large high quality back catalogue.
Also loved the sneaky chucking in of “A Country Practice” over the PA before the support started, “the center court antics of Henri Laconte” added to it made me giggle.
In a non gig tangent I was passing through St Neots on my way from Oxford (playing Our Tune naturally) and happened to notice a road called “Akkerman Street” – I wonder if one of the town planners was a HMHB fan?
5 July 2013
Chris The Siteowner
6 July 2013
NOT ROGER GREEN
(Originally published on Gez’s hmhb.co.uk site)
Noting the band’s Addhire van in the Travelodge car park, Tony and I were off and away down the A14 from Stowmarket fairly early in the morning. Looking back, maybe we should have taken the trouble to seek out Peely’s grave. That is for next time. Turning our noses up at Bury St Edmunds, we called in at Newmarket. We were fed and watered at The Street Cafe, before walking a quick circuit round the town. We paused briefly to look at the price board at the National Horseracing Museum and then went to the shopping mall, or plaza, however they term it. All the familiar names were in there. I’m afraid that town centres are all becoming the same. We moved on to Cambridge and took a brisk walk around the city. We bumped into Geoff and Steve taking lunch, and then wandered into a University Press bookshop for a sit down and a talk about Hegel, whose writings were prevalent. I thought he was a tennis player.
In the Cambridge News, the gig appeared in the listings under the heading “Other Music”. It was either that or “Art”, “Classical”, “Folk/Country”, “Jazz”, “Stage” or “Misc”. This will provide a useful reference point for the future. Next time someone asks me what kind of music HMHB play, I will simply say “Other Music”. That should do.
Outside the venue later on, we met Carl, his girlfriend, and Ken. There was no particular gossip. I raised the prospects of a new CD in the forthcoming. I was told, “Don’t hold your breath.”
The Probe Plus empire had not been able to provide a support band tonight. So it was down to Model Village to open up the evening. I think their front man said they were from Grays. And he explained that they were down by two members. One was at a Parents Evening, and the other was on holiday in Cromer. I bet the Rolling Stones never had that kind of problem. Nevertheless they did their best, including a spectacular on-stage fall, while swapping instruments. If anything, there was a little bit too much of that. One of the songs was about Mark E Smith, supposedly based on Hip Priest, and appeared to be titled “You Are Appreciated”. Quirky but not life-changing.
When HMHB came on stage, the intro music had even Tony baffled. Anybody got any clues about that one? “Anglesey Abbey. Not bad.” announced Nigel before When The Evening Sun Goes Down. Following on-stage chat at the Stowmarket gig, he confirmed that they had visited Little Wilbraham, to let the locals know what the residents of Great Wilbraham had been saying about them. They had also intended to call in at Grantchester, but decided against it. Towards the end of Fred Titmus, Nigel put his foot up on the amp and beckoned Ken to join him, a la The Clash. No such luck. “Anybody here from Bradfield Combust?” asked Nigel. Ken was the first man in Wallasey to use a pedestrian crossing. “A bag of kettle crisps to anyone who can name the next tune,” he said before they played Bogus Official. I can’t remember the last time they played that, and I can’t be bothered looking it up. There was a brief burst of “Sandy Gall is coming to town.” After Bad Losers On Yahoo Chess there was a sly point of the finger in Neil’s direction. Nigel played a fair chunk of Black Sabbath’s Beyond The Walls Of Sleep, and he told us that Dukla Prague was actually written by Tony Iommi. In addition, “Peter Shilton’s brother in law has never yawned.” At one point, while Ken was tuning up, Nigel said to Neil, “Let’s do the Joy Division one” and they gave us the opening bars of Digital. The mosh pit was warming to the occasion, to such an extent that the security staff started to pay attention. But I’m not quite sure what they were prepared to do. My city/town theory was put to the sword tonight. I had always thought that the smaller towns brought out the best of HMHB, but Cambridge was by far the best of these two “legs”. There was far less of the urgent pointing up and down to the sound desk. But then again it all sounds good to me.
When The Evening Sun Goes Down
Whit Week Malarkey
My Baby Got The Yipps
Fuckin’ ‘Ell It’s Fred Titmus
The Light At The End Of The Tunnel
Surging Out Of Convalescence
Joy In Leeuwarden
The Bastard Son Of Dean Friedman
Turned Up Clocked On Laid Off
Running Order Squabble Fest
99% Of Gargoyles Look Like Bob Todd
Outbreak Of Vitas Gerulaitis
Bogus Official
National Shite Day
Bad Losers On Yahoo Chess
Look Dad No Tunes
Bob Wilson Anchorman
All I Want For Christmas Is A Dukla Prague Away Kit
Rock ‘N’ Roll Is Full Of Bad Wools
Vatican Broadside
Time Flies By When You’re The Driver Of A Train
Joy Division Oven Gloves
Everything’s AOR
And in the encore
For What Is Chatteris?
Holiday In Cambodia
Trumpton Riots
And off we went to The Flying Pig to compare notes with Gomez, Daz, Howie, Nigel/Charles and Neil from Sheffield (currently). I had not spoken with Neil before, and he updated me with the sad state of affairs with The Boardwalk. Apparently it is currently standing there doing nothing. Happy days from the many gigs that HMHB played there. The Flying Pig flies a CAMRA Pub Of The Year banner. Pity that we were all kicked out at 11.00. Still, rules are rules, even when you are dealing with a load of thirsty post-gig customers. Ten hours later when I was breakfasting at The Earl Of Derby where it was great to bump into Pat, one of many people to help me out with a lift after a gig. Pat had got me to the village where I was staying, after the Roadwater gig. He was saying how a lot of the gigs were distinctly “northern” which means he can’t always get there from London. At least this year they are doing a little bit about that. So now there seems to be a bit of a gap, unless something is announced in the meantime. Three months to Birmingham and Brighton. How will we cope?
6 July 2013
CHARLES EXFORD
‘Surging’ is sometimes my favourite too Chris, and is frequently in my top five. It’s also a great song for suddenly getting a bit of a moshpit to surge forth out of nowhere two thirds of the way through the song, and for getting a few other blokes at the back of the gig thinking ‘they’re having a good time, I’m going to join them’. It all seemed to take off spectacularly thereafter, and even more so after ‘Dean Friedman’.
This is why, despite both nights already beginning to blur in my memory, I noticed that ‘Surging’ appears too early on Roger’s setlist. Took me a while to work out that he’s just missed off the first four songs (see Mike’s effort). Otherwise great work from Mr. Green though. (Fixed, thanks – Ed)
Great to meet everyone again. Including those with their Crossley & Blackwell t-shirts and their Jarg Harry Quinns who haven’t read the cover of Achtung Bono. Not that I’m naming names.
6 July 2013
BrumBiscuit
(Looks in vain for his Achtung Bono CD…)
6 July 2013
CHARLES EXFORD
In case anyone’s wondering, this conversation came about before the Cambridge gig when admiring Brumbiscuit’s jarg Lilac Harry Quinn – he thought I was really called ‘Charles’ (and I was not-quite-as-gobsmacked to discover he isn’t called ‘Brum’).
This is where yer downloads and MP3s fall short – you can’t fully appreciate ‘Letters Sent’ or without the CD inlay. Nor ‘When the Evening Sun goes Down’ for that matter.
Can you read this using your zoom or Control+ ?
The CD inlay letters are all scans of actual piss-take missives written by Nigel and printed in the Wirral Globe, and I think a couple in the Liverpool Echo. I’ve been told that the rash of correspondence was prompted by a bit of friendly rivalry with his mate Charlie, to see who could get most printed. Charlie was formerly of the Ford Estate – hence Nigel’s made-up character name Charles Ex-Ford (the Ford by the way is probably the hardest estate in B’head, whereas Exford’s nearby Oxton is the poshest bit).
Nigel’s had others published since then too. He proudly showed me a great one snipped out of the paper, purporting to be from ‘Bernard Sumner’ complaining about a horse which, during a cold snap, had been allowed to freeze into a horse-shaped block of ice on a nearby Wirral field. I saw another one he’d written from a certain ‘Joel Garner’, but I can’t remember what it was about. He’s not had so many slip through the editor’s net in recent years though. His hand-writing is rather distinctive.
I think I first posted on the HMHB email list as “Charles Exford” within a few days of getting the CD in 2005. The pompous tone just seemed to fit me, and anyway it would be confusing if someone writing as much nonsense as I do about the band used his real name – you’d get people complaining that “Nigel’s talking shit about Nigel talking about his lyrics there”. It just wouldn’t work. I tend to clarify this on here about every 2 or 3 years. More often than that would be tedious. In other news ‘Third Rate Les’ isn’t a Leslie at all…He’s actually a Lesley*!
Nigel S.
*Not really. What’s happened to Peter lately I wonder? Not posted much or seen at a gig for a while.
6 July 2013
Bobby SVARC
“I Think your all ****** in the head” (C) CG :-)
6 July 2013
Schoon
First gig after being a fan since before the Gods etc.10 year old son’s second gig ever.
Best gig I’ve ever been to, let down by the bald singer singing 3 minutes 21 instead of 3 minutes 17 during rarifobw.
It’s this lack of attention to detail that stops hmhb from being the next grumblweeds.
7 July 2013
Schoon
He also got the words to Cambodia wrong.
7 July 2013
Alan
@ Schoon
Ah, so it was your son who dashed my expectations of being the youngest person at the gig! Less than half my age too, good work there. Hope he isn’t repeating the naughty words!
7 July 2013
Alan
And when I say “isn’t” I really mean I hope he was shouting along to Fred Titmus as loudly as the rest of us.
7 July 2013
Patrick Widdess
My review on Slate The Disco: http://slatethedisco.com/2013/07/live-review-half-man-half-biscuit/
8 July 2013
Dave Jones
Fantastic, the only word I can use, absolutely bloody fantastic, alright that’s three words, but the boys were top of their game. It was the perfect venue for the perfect band, and the crowd made it, bubbling, boiling and frantic. Best gig I’ve been to in years, simply fantastic. Dave (the only bloke there wearing a Slayer T-shirt) Jones.
9 July 2013
The low drone of the treadmill
Thursday was my first live HMHB experience, so I’ve nothing to compare it to, but judged in isolation it was absolutely cracking. Bengwy’s review linked above refers to them ‘just crank[ing] ’em out, one after another’, which is spot on. About half an hour in, a guy in the, erm, boisterous centre of the crowd said wryly, ‘we should calm down for a bit’, to which I replied, ‘we’ll calm down when they play a shit one’. No such animal.
Difficult to pick out one song as a highlight, but if you held a gun to my head I’d go for Everything’s AOR.
9 July 2013
Chris The Siteowner
10 July 2013
Exxo
Thanks Chris. I was particularly hoping someone would YouTube this epic to see if it really was as brilliant – at both gigs – as I’ve been telling people it was. And it seems like it was. Long time since I can remember one of their songs having such a giant leap forwards in live delivery.
(Ed’s note: Stowmarket version here)
11 July 2013
Dave Jones
Huge thanks Chris for the links, fantastic! Well done Andy!
11 July 2013