Ritz, Manchester gig – 28th November 2014
Back at the Ritz – and indeed back in Manchester – for the first time in three years. Last gig of the year and talk of the fifth Biscuit playing. There was plenty to be looking forward to…
Back at the Ritz – and indeed back in Manchester – for the first time in three years. Last gig of the year and talk of the fifth Biscuit playing. There was plenty to be looking forward to…
✉ Letters Sent (39)
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(12 years ago by Dr Desperate)
Chrispat
Splendid gig!! 6 tunes from the new record (westward, bane, old age, hornbeam, Adam and Gwatkin), NY’s After the Goldrush as cover, Victoria parping on 2 numbers, the Tiger Feet gag again, loads of Dukla home & away, fine middle aged moshpit…….and after all that singing, time for a pint!
29 November 2014
Chris The Siteowner
Wow, Westward Ho, Midge Ure and Cresta? Nobody can have any voice left.
29 November 2014
This leaden paul
I’m just home now and, just as CtSO opines, have no voice to speak of.
(No 24GP this evening; in DPAK, it took about ’15 million hours to get the words right’…)
A shoutout to Annabel Tiffin, and also (more seriously) Phillip Hughes.
“Joshers out mogging” fills you with joy.
A Crass joke.
29 November 2014
TAYLO
Great gig and Loop thoroughly enjoyed playing.
29 November 2014
EXXO
Bit special that. 6 off the new record, incl. 4 debutants, amazing that he nailed the words to Constance, for which Neil’s lead guitar solo was a highlight of the night, and overall I can only recall one fluffed line in 6 new songs (Frank Ifield line), Adam Boyle brilliant, wished we’d had glasses to clink – Adam Boyle is a glass-clinking song if I ever I heard one – Loop brilliant, After the Goldrush stunning, wow the turnover-of-different-material-from-the-last-gig-ometer must have registered about 57.57% or something tonight.
29 November 2014
twistedkitemike
Well done, Loop. The Fifth Biscuit rides again….
Here’s the set-list and I can then hit the sack: –
Evening Sun
Hornbeam
Lilac HQ
Mountain Bikes
Korfball
Old Age
Bob Wilson
Look Dad
Squabblefest
Bad Wools
Adam Boyle
Bane of Constance
NSD
Chatteris
Dean F
Slippers (refrain)
Fred
Vatican
JDOG
DPAK
AOR
Light Tunnel
Gwatkin
…………………………………….
Encs
After the Gold Rush (cover)
Fix It
Trad Arr Tune
Westward Ho!
Trumpton
Another fine evening had by a good sized crowd.
Mike……………………………………….
29 November 2014
Iguana Andy
I completely agree, excellent gig, great set (handwritten set list I noticed). The Broken Men weren’t half bad either. I’m fairly deaf now as well as being hoarse. Roll on Edinburgh….
29 November 2014
Richard n
Fantastic evening. First time I’ve managed to see them since 1990 and I have to ask “why the hell didn’t I go before”? Particularly loved the couple next to me wearing Joy Division Oven Gloves and waving them triumphantly during the song. AOR into Light At The End of The Tunnel was mayhem (although i have to say most of it was mayrhen). Only HMHB would play an encore song where all the audience were chanting “what a letdown!”
29 November 2014
Warden Hodges
Mad moshpit last night, best since Preston a few years back. Brilliant night but sadly the cattle train back to Liverpool wasn’t so good.
Ken first person in Wallasey to use SkyPe.
29 November 2014
Ben_W
Superb display. First time I’ve seen them live, and thoroughly enjoyed it. Mountain Bikes closed with ‘Black Friday is bound to end in tears’ or words to that effect. Great to hear so many songs from the new album.
29 November 2014
redshoedave
First gig I’ve been to in years. As Geoff advised they are very good these days (?). I met Jon from darn south who now lives in Bury. I met Elizabeth the maker of her own Joy Division oven gloves and her boyfriend John owner of his own ‘King of Hi-Vis’ jacket. I got the set list at the end which Jessica attempted to pick-pocket from me as I walked to the station. We agreed to share it! I have the second half. Perfect love (The Residents); Do they owe us a loving? (Cress); She even woke me up to say goodbye (Jerry Lee Lewis version). I have another list from years ago, just as unintelligable but the track list there are possible might-be’s. I feel slightly guilty about not giving Jess the whole thing now.
29 November 2014
Jessica
First half:
Another Coke (ATV)
Theme from Grizzly Adams
Augm (Can)
Copacabana (Bazza)
Tempo House
Strawberry Letter 23
Firhill for thrills (PTP
She said (Hasil Adkins)
Use it up (Odyssey)
Who hid the halibut on the poop deck?
The Bed – (Lou Reed)
What d’ya wanna make…something.
Sorry :)
29 November 2014
Horatio
Made my day! Fab to see the boys last night on good form. Although bouncy, it’s a Bit of a sticking point- the floor! Not so many familiar faces these days, could it be the fans are growing in number?
29 November 2014
Loop
#theprofessional had to stop myself laughing uncontrollably because I knew I was about to play. Had a great time and love Adam Boyle. Very folk – nice sea shanty that Neil wrote there. Looking forward to next time already whenever that may be.
Loop
29 November 2014
Lep
Redshoedave is right they are a proper band now, only took 29 years!!!
Some of the new songs have some of the best punk riffs ever recorded – as good as magazine, joy divisions first album, the pistols holidays in the sun
29 November 2014
EXXO
And there was me thinking that for 30 years I’ve been seeing them do storming gigs at sold-out or nearly-sold-out venues (as long as the promoter did his job properly, he said, thinking of an empty Leeds Irish Centre in about 2001).
29 November 2014
kingsbeef
That was an absolute cracker! Low banter made up for by high adrenalin and all the best new tracks picked from Offal. And an accomplished support in Broken Men. Seriously thinking about trekking to Edinburgh now.
29 November 2014
Peter Gandy
“Who picks up guide dogs’ shit?”
I’d not seen them since Leamington, which I thought was a bit flat, but last night they were in storming form. If I was being picky, I might think that the vocals on Gwatkin were drowned out, but as Nigel said, “then came the song” the hairs stood up on the back of my neck as the crowd launched into it.
Really enjoyed the support band too. Was that Abi Harding from the Zutons on tenor sax?
29 November 2014
Peter Gandy
My ears are still ringing nearly twenty four hours later as well.
Laughed at the Martin Roberts shapeshifter comments. “He’s got a small pice of metal in one hand and a magnet in the other.”
29 November 2014
Steve Molyneux
A HMHB gig on my birthday, life really doesn’t get much better. Another superb performance. Great to see a really active mosh pit following the rather subdued audience at the Wolverhampton gig a couple of months ago.
Had a brief chat with Neil who was checking out the support act from the merch stand. I told him that I’d flown over from Dublin for the gig, his response… “You’re a fool” :-) Kicking myself for not asking him to get something signed by the band as a birthday present to myself. Ahh well. Still a top evening.
Now, do I see what cheap flights are on offer for Edinburgh in Jan?
29 November 2014
Paul
Never seen so many dukla prague away shirts in one place!
But not my favourite hmhb gig. Went with my missus, who’s only ever heard them second hand. (She loves 24 hour garage people)
Good that they were playing new stuff, but I’m not that familiar with it. Only played the album a few times, and without knowing the words, it was difficult to hear the lyrics. Too loud. Too close to the mic. I went to the Shrewsbury gig a couple of years ago, again with a non aficionado, and he/we enjoyed every moment of it. So for my beloved other, it could have been better (especially as 24hrGP wasn’t on the setlist) and apart from the emphatic “CRESTA”, it was impossible to make out the lyrics from the Urge for Offal songs.
Highlight for me was the best ever Vatican Broadside. And the fridge joke was good too!
30 November 2014
EXXO
I’m not sure that people who find “Blackwell ranting over punky guitar riffs” “tedious” should really be at HMHB gigs should they?
Review: Half Man Half Biscuit @ Manchester Ritz
And he thinks “When the Evening Sun Goes Down” is “about as serious as it gets”. He hasn’t been listening to the lyrics for quite a few years, has he? Twerp.
30 November 2014
Loop
Hey Exxo I don’t think he was actually at the gig! Lol!
Wouldn’t surprise me.
30 November 2014
CARRIE ANNE
Wow, superb gig as witnessed from the thick of the ‘lively’ mosh, not my favourite of the year, but it’s definitely up there. My highlight was Adam Boyle, the doom-laden, heartbeat drums reverberated through the floor and gave me the shivers. And we were spoiled with five tunes in the encore, perhaps an attempt to piss off the venue who had originally wanted the band on and off stage early.
30 November 2014
loop
Taylo recorded two songs, guess which ones they were? Hehe.
http://youtu.be/nFDMcvkmJAI
http://youtu.be/XneJxIrMkD0
Happy listening folks!
30 November 2014
EXXo
Thanks for recording and posting (not mention playing) Tayl/oop, but of course both songs came across a lot, lot better than those recordings suggest. Great sound generally on Friday.
30 November 2014
Loop
Tayloop pmsl! Haha. Ta Exxo ;) I really wanted some photographs if anyone has any. What with Taylor recording photos weren’t on his mind lol.
“Got their own sound man!”
1 December 2014
Stu
I was the one in the Black Sabbath t shirt
1 December 2014
Warden Hodges
Watching regional news before (NW Tonight) and I point to the telly saying ‘Annabel Tiffin’.
1 December 2014
ROGER GREEN AS-WAS
The Ritz, Manchester, Fri 28th November 2014 (30/11/14)
Roger Green:
Media Watch #1. Is The Establishment starting to clutch at the band? Thanks to Tony and Karen for drawing this to my attention. HMHB featured in a question on Only Connect. This is how it was told to me. “What connects (a) You, (b) A Beatle, (c) A Dukla Prague Away Kit and (d) My Two Front Teeth?” The answer (of course) was “Things that people have wanted for Christmas, in a song.” Apparently the contestant got the answer after receiving the Dukla Prague clue. Mainstream or what? I’m afraid that programme tends to pass me by.
Media Watch #2. This one is thanks to Gomez. He texted me to say that he had been listening to a commentary on a Liverpool match in the Europa League. Danny Murphy made the astute observation: “You can’t put your foot up in Europe.” We knew that already, Danny, but thanks for the reminder.
Media Watch #3. Manchester Evening News on the day of the gig. They went big on The Ting Tings and the new Paddington film, but there wasn’t a whisper about the HMHB gig. Maybe not so mainstream after all.
It was a steady journey through to Manchester, punctuated only by a fellow passenger at Fitzwilliam station telling us about her £28 rucksack which was ideal for going fishing because it had loads of pockets which she proceeded to demonstrate. There’s a HMHB song in there somewhere. Lunch was at the Street Food Chef Mexican café in Sheffield. Top breakfast burritos available at all times of the day. I’ll be back soon. There was also a spot of confusion, nay turmoil, over the train whose carriages were in the following order – B, A, D, C. Ideal for confusing passengers (probably a disgruntled employee involved somewhere in there, no doubt). It was the same on the way back. But this time we had sussed their system.
Immediately on arrival at The Ritz, I spotted the new Urge For Offal t-shirt on sale at Geoff’s stall. It’s the album cover on a black t-shirt. Geoff explained a new pricing structure. I think it was something to do with the colour print. Still a bargain though, and an essential addition to the winter collection. I also spotted that UFO are playing at this venue in April. Clearly Stale Craig has re-acquainted himself with his brain. We met up with Daz who was looking forward to a night time bus ride back to London after the gig (he got home at 7.30), and also there was John the King Of Hi Vis winning the Best T-Shirt award with his Midge Ure Milk Thief number. He was run close by the guy in the Torquay shirt with Dennis Bell in letters on the back. Also there was Joel who was returning to The Ritz the following evening, to catch Chas And Dave. I await a report. And I can now say that I have shaken hands with one of the members of Alberto Y Los Trios Paranoias. He was down at the front with John. Mental note to dig out my copy of Heads Down No Nonsense Mindless Boogie.
The support act was Broken Men. Perhaps the singer might want to think again about wearing the Nigel Farage coat, but I’m not really one who should be handing out fashion tips. The arrival of their brass section meant that there were eleven of them on stage for most of their show. I can’t see them doing many house gigs, and it is going to be a squeeze if any groupies end up getting a lift home in their van. It is always tempting to compare acts like this with other stuff that you know. On this occasion I struggled to do that, which is no bad thing. I liked the “busy” nature of their sound. I had to ask Nigel about the walk-on music. It was called The Magic Trumpet and was used as the theme to Granada TV’s Sunday afternoon football highlights programme. Presented by Gerald Sinstadt. Those were the days, when these things were regionalised. As Nigel pointed out, Gerry Harrison did Anglia’s coverage (we had Keith Macklin on our side of the hills) and Hugh Johns covered for ATV. Nigel mentioned Hugh’s description of a Jeff Astle shot being “seriously adjacent” when going just wide of the goal. Second half in black and white. Those were the days.
There was more regional TV over-my-head stuff when Nigel spotted Annabel Tiffin in the crowd. We had a couple of very brief twangs of the opening bit of Shine On You Crazy Diamond. The old Tiger Feet joke was given another outing. (“Who sang it? Mud or Sweet…? That’s right, that’s right, that’s right, that’s right?”) Nigel also talked about the guy who presents Homes Under The Hammer, about how he always looks like he has a piece of metal in one hand and a magnet in the other. Apparently you can sing that line to the theme tune. I’ll try it next time I am watching. Neil had a couple of Cresta badges on his bass strap. “It’s frothy, man!” One of the more unusual requests from the crowd was for Do They Know It’s Christmas. Unlikely, but you can never be sure. Victoria (the fifth Biscuit) joined the band on stage for Adam Boyle and After The Goldrush. The experts around me suggested she was playing the Tenor Horn. There was a bit of instrument swapping from Ken and Neil for Bane Of Constance, with Neil also playing guitar on Adam Boyle.
At the end of Lock Up Your Mountain Bikes, the line was “That’s when I was saying that Black Friday would surely end in tears.” Black Friday being the day of this gig, when shoppers form gigantic scrums as they battle for 40” tellies. On the subject, Nigel gave us a glimpse of his Christmas shopping list: “Replicas by Tubeway Army and Stations Of The Crass for my Mum, and a fridge for my grand-daughter so that I can see her face light up when she opens it.” There were a couple of lines from Song To The Siren ahead of Vatican Broadside. We were reminded that Ken was the first man in Wallasey to use Skype. There was more life than usual in the mosh pit, resulting from a far larger crowd than usual. It wasn’t great for note-taking but I got by. A few people were surprised that It’s Cliched To Be Cynical At Christmas wasn’t played tonight, but maybe that would have been a cliché in itself. And I didn’t hear this myself, but Karen assured me that there was a RIP message for Philip Hughes.
These were the songs:
When The Evening Sun Goes Down
Stuck Up A Hornbeam
A Lilac Harry Quinn
Lock Up Your Mountain Bikes
Joy In Leeuwarden
Old Age Killed My Teenage Bride
Bob Wilson Anchorman
Look Dad No Tunes
Running Order Squabble Fest
Rock ‘N’ Roll Is Full Of Bad Wools
Adam Boyle Has Cast Lad Rock Aside
The Bane Of Constance
National Shite Day
For What Is Chatteris?
The Bastard Son Of Dean Friedman
The Best Things In Life (end bit)
Fuckin’ ‘Ell It’s Fred Titmus
Vatican Broadside
Joy Division Oven Gloves
All I Want For Christmas Is A Dukla Prague Away Kit
Everything’s AOR
The Light At The End Of The Tunnel Is The Light Of An Oncoming Train
The Unfortunate Gwatkin
There were five in the encore…
After The Goldrush
Fix It So She Thinks Of Me
We Built This Village On A Trad Arr Tune
Westward Ho! – Massive Letdown
The Trumpton Riots
This was the middle of three shows on three nights for me. Schwervon in Sheffield the night before, and The Lovely Eggs in Wakefield on the night after. I would like to award HMHB with Gig Of The Year, but having seen The Fall in York in August, the prize has to go there on this occasion (unless something surprising happens in December). Ah well, there’s always next year. Starting in Edinburgh at the end of January.
1 December 2014
Ryan
Nice review there, Roger – didn’t know Schwervon were still going! Saw them in 2005 I think, loved it, but I digress…
This was the first time I’d ever seen HMHB, and I loved it. Went on my own as no-one I know are into them enough to go and see them, but I still felt like part of the crowd, always great to see that kind of dedication at a show.
I’d only heard the new album two days before, but still enjoyed everything played from it (Westward Ho was already mostly memorised). Vatican Broadside and Oncoming Train were definitely the highlights, and the train back to Liverpool was insane! Lots of singalongs though, so that broke up the journey a bit.
I’ll definitely be dragging people along with me next time.
1 December 2014
Dr Desperate
Brilliant, brilliant gig.
I have to say the auguries weren’t good initially: The Broken Men’s formidable four-piece brass section were all but inaudible from the bar at stage right, which was serving the usual expensive crap beer. However, things soon took a turn for the better when Ken was spotted sneaking through the crowd, and we engaged him in somewhat one-sided conversation and photo-opportunities.
The place was packed and buzzing, and I recalled from previous visits the joys of moshing on a proper sprung dancefloor.
Very little gap between acts, but enough time to greet RG (fine review as ever, Rog) and mates, and introduce them to my Biscuit-virgin guest for the night, CP Lee of The Albertos. Formal introductions finally also to Exxo, sporting an FC St Pauli shirt.
Intro music was ‘The Magic Trumpet’, sounding a bit different from the Herb Alpert version used as the theme for Granada’s ‘Football’ programme in the early 70s – could it have been the earlier recording made by its writer, Bert Kaempfert? Whichever, it was only just long enough to cover the standard smooth stage entrance by the lads. NB10 explained the tune’s significance to non-Granadalanders, and compared Gerald Sinstadt to some lesser commentators. I mentioned Tony Gubba, whom he allowed despite his having been on The Other Side.
The set was as brilliant as it appears above, and gentlemen in England now a-bed shall think themselves accursed they were not there to witness first outings for ‘Bane of Constance’, ‘Gwatkin’, ‘Westward Ho!’ and ‘Adam Boyle’, after the last of which Nigel acknowledged my shout of “They’ll sacrifice you next year!” (bit of an approximate quote I know, but in my defence I had drink taken).
There were a few late substitutions from the (non-bogus) hand-written setlist: ‘Hornbeam’ and ‘Evening Sun’ switched places as openers, ‘Vatican Broadside’ replaced ‘Totnes Bickering Fair’, and ‘We Built This Village’ was shunted into the encores, where it preceded ‘Westward Ho!’, the latter only a ‘perhaps?’ on the list.
Fantastic to see Loop flirting with brass on two songs (see above). I tried to get a Boo Weekley/Joe Root-style “Looooop!” chant going, to no avail.
M’ladyfriend Elizabeth was the one who shouted for ‘Do They Know It’s Christmas’ as the cover, but was satisfied with ‘After The Goldrush’. It was suggested that this was the only song to which a fair few in the crowd knew the words, but I couldn’t possibly comment, CP. Then after a peerless ‘Trumpton Riots’ it was all over, dead on curfew.
I was beginning to despair of getting a setlist from the Showsecs guarding the stage, and had almost got past them by using my home-made triple-A, when Neil wandered out and obliged by fetching me his. He accepted our encomiums in rare high spirits, and countered jet-setter Jitsu-G’s mention of booking a flight to Edinburgh for the January gig with tales of being locked out of the Luton Airport departure lounge for a flight to Shetland for Up Helly Aa, having to sleep on a bench and missing the plane.
After-match lagers were taken in The Temple; carriages at 12.
2 December 2014
Dr Desperate
For those with fond memories of the theme tunes from Granada’s football coverage in the 70s, here’s an excellent overview from 200%:
http://twohundredpercent.net/?p=24426
“Brian Eno stuck in a lift on mescaline with nothing but a keyboard in chipboard casing and copies of ‘Trout Mask Replica’ and ‘Fear And Loathing In Las Vegas’ ” is particularly fine.
2 December 2014
BrumbiscUit
Thanks for the reviews. I have mixed emotions about the gig. First of all, I’m hacked off I missed such a good one, but pleased that it was a storming gig. To be honest, for me the last Leamington, Bilston and Leicester gigs were disappointingly flat, so to hear it was a belter is great news.
2 December 2014
EXXO
Great stuff John – I’m off to the ‘Theme Song for Something or Other’ thread to comment on what happens around 14 seconds into the Herb Alpert song, just before the whistle.
Sorry didn’t get a chance to chat on Friday.
2 December 2014
Dr Desperate
Oh yeee-ahh, Exxo, well spotted! I *knew* I’d heard that cry before somewhere! Only every Sunday afternoon for the first 4 years of my teens (NB10’s pre-teens).
The Blessed Gerald left Granada in 1981 to produce opera programmes, and he’s often credited with (but denies) suggesting ‘Nessun Dorma’ as the theme for Italia 90.
2 December 2014
Bobby SVARC
Yep, They were pretty poor, Bilston was ok, Lembo was dire and Leicester was like the footy team
2 December 2014
EXXO
Re Dr. Des (comment 32). Did Neil say whay year he went to Up Helly Aa? I’ve had the Up Helly Aa marching/drinking song stuck in me head since it was repeatedly used on a R4 documentary yesterday about last week’s event, and it strikes me that it could have been a bit of influence on ‘Adam Boyle’ [not that it sounds the same – Adam Boyle is much better & more original].
[For those who only vaguely remember the images of the longship in flames at Up Helly Aa from when Blue Peter went there in 1973, one Londoner who was interviewed last week in Lerwick for the R4 programme yesterday cited John Noakes’ visit as having made him want to go there ever since – I wonder if Neil saw it too?]
6 February 2015
Dr Desperate
He didn’t say, Exxo, but I got the impression that it was fairly recently. I don’t think there’s any doubt that anyone of a certain age will have seen and been inspired by Noakes’s ’73 classic. I don’t normally like burning longships, John, but this is delicious. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J4AUfR4C7uc
Incidentally, I mentioned to Neil on Saturday that we were going to the Burning of Trumpton in Great Torrington at the end of August, and it seemed to interest him strangely.
6 February 2015