Robin 2, Bilston gig – 10 December 2015
Anyone ever compiled a table of towns/cities/counties which have hosted the most HMHB gigs over the years? If Bilston isn’t already top, it must be powering its way up the list. Just about an annual event now. Was it as good as ever? Over to you.
✉ Letters Sent (28)
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(11 years ago by Exxo)
SIMON P
That was really very good. Lots of rambling stories from Nigel. HG Wells and the size of actual tuna fish.
The big set list says “Malayan Jelutong” hasn’t been played since 2006. I can sort of see why.
11 December 2015
floreat ULTONIA
The set list:
Foam Party
Hedley
Teenage Bride
Leeuwarden
Hornbeam
1966
Ted Moult
Vitas Gerulaitis
Outstretched Arms
Bob Wilson
Surging
Fix it
Bain of Constance
Fear My Wraith
Squabblefest
Chatteris
Look Dad
Evening Sun
Vagaries
DPAK
JDOG
Malayan Jelutong
Trad arr. Tune
Vatican Broadside
National Shite Day
AOR
Bad Wools
Rubber Bullets (10cc cover)
Light Tunnel
Remind me to stay off curry awhile…
11 December 2015
Chris The Siteowner
Looks like I wasn’t clever in missing that one. Although with “Surging” and “Fix It” one after the other, I might have died and gone to heaven. So still being alive is some consolation. And those last five are a hell of an ending to a gig.
11 December 2015
floreat ULTONIA
The ambassador from Neue Deutsche Welle, Thorsten, ruled it an excellent gig and as the last encore faded away was already in negotiations to get the boys over to Hamburg for a follow up…
11 December 2015
WARDEN HODGES
Top night. Some newbies live for me ‘ Fear my Wraith’ (sorry Micky) .
Very warm in there last night but showered and brekkied up this morning.
The idiot shouting ’27 yards’ all night, wasn’t happy with him. At first OK but got silly in the end.
Nigel and Neil ( on guitar) posing almost Status Quo-esque for a second.
11 December 2015
BrumbiscUit
The intro to D’ye Ken Ted Moult was played, but that’s all. Still, better than nothing, and Nigel’s ‘We haven’t lost it’ was great.
There was at least one punter who had had a very good dinner pre-gig. My, weren’t his antics funny? At least he’ll have a hangover today by way of suffering.
By the standards of previous Robin gigs, I thought this one was a bit flat, but still great fun. Just made it to The Wellington in Brum for last orders.
11 December 2015
RobSoft
Damn, we had to leave during AOR and so I missed Bad Wools, which I have a particular fondness for.
I really enjoyed the gig (wife not so much, but more that it just isn’t her cup of tea really).
The one thing that spoilt it for me were the really loud conversations near the bar, drowning out the between-song chatter from the band. Couple of older guys in particular were really annoying and quite impervious to several of us urging them to shut up.
First time I’ve seen them live, and first time at the Robin too (we drove over from near Crewe). Would definitely go again :-)
11 December 2015
STEVE
Very amusing “I’m Nigel, he’s Neil” clarification to one punter, who’d got it wrong.
Was slightly surprised that the heckler who yelled “Play one the drummer knows!” during an inter-song lull was ignored.
11 December 2015
Proud Salopian
Funny how opinions vary. Been to four of the gigs that the band have played at the Robin and thought this one was the best. Took a mate who had never had the pleasure before and he is already looking ahead to next year in the hope that another trip to Bilston materialises.
12 December 2015
CARRIE ANNE
Yet another fantastic gig at a good venue – the door staff were polite and friendly, nothing like the prison guards at the more corporate places they sometimes play these days.
As usual, the shenanigans have been documented by the lovely Roger Green, read his ‘review’ of the Bilston gig (and all the others) on Gez’s website here:
http://cobweb.businesscollaborator.com/hmhb/guest/index.htm
12 December 2015
floreat ULTONIA
“There was at least one punter who had had a very good dinner pre-gig. My, weren’t his antics funny? At least he’ll have a hangover today by way of suffering”
Scenes from an Indian Restaurant next to a shop selling dildos:
Dr Desperate started talking with a balti on his plate
He was cool, he was clear, for support act he was late
He said, “Beer will flow, Brumbiscuit. And less of yer pedantry, please…”
We don’t understand why they rarely play Fear my Wraith
At Leamington, or Holmfirth, or even Matlock Bath
We’ve all got bubblewrap
And some had bubbleperms (sorry Thorsten)
At the local nosh before the local moshing pit
12 December 2015
Dr Desperate
Brilliant gig as ever at Bilston, the punter-friendliness having no doubt been helped by the band’s insistence (according to the manager) on having no bouncers patrolling between crowd and stage.
Pre-match baltis were taken at Jivan’s with Brumbiscuit’s UEA (Norwich) contingent, @FU and Thorsten aus Hamburg. I’d assumed he’d be the furthest-travelled attendee until I read the post from the bloke who’d come from Australia. Bets were placed on the price of Pringles (if they played 24HGP) and the first song to be played (if not). My suggestion of TLATEOTT proved correct, except that they played it last rather than first.
On to the Great Western for a pint of Batham’s best with other Biscuiteers including Graham and Sara, then a fast cab to the venue, though unfortunately not fast enough to catch the first half of The Humdrum Express’s set. The well-informed Robin 2 receptionist had said that the band had asked for him specially, and no wonder. I told him afterwards that his were the best HMHB songs not by HMHB that I’d ever heard.
I found myself standing next to Geoff as the walk-on music started, so was able to ascertain that it was Elmer Bernstein’s ‘Walk On The Wild Side’. Identifying it as such to Nigel earned me a “Give that man a doughnut”, and I’m ashamed that I didn’t let on how I knew.
The setlist was as detailed above and in Roger’s as-ever excellent review, but I can reveal that there were a couple of changes from the handwritten version, including the substitution of MJ for 24HGP. This, I believe, changed the entire face of the Lux Familiar semi-finals – I hesitate to use the word skulduggery, but Neil was obviously aware of the draw arrangements, as was Nigel (as he admitted when I bemoaned the fact that BWA hadn’t made the top four).
The other swap was between Evenings , with ‘Sun Goes Down’ replacing ‘Of Swing Has been Cancelled’ (sorry, Exxo). The experimental side-project this time was Neil’s, not Ken’s. Squabblefest was a late addition.
Celebrities spotted: none, unless you count the two Coro actresses Nigel saw on the train journey to Scarborough. The tuna on display at the Aquatic Museum there was probably the Jack Hedley Lewis 852lb* bluefin. (*disputed)
Claims for Ken to be the first man in Wallasey to have done something: none.
Notes played on the Airstream guitar: none, though it was strapped on for a few seconds. It would appear to about as effective a guitar as it is a caravan.
Sandbach is apparently the only motorway service station Nigel hasn’t visited, due to its proximity to home. He recalled going on Multi-Coloured Swap Shop to exchange a Striker game with diving goalies (so probably Parker’s Super Striker version) for an air pistol, with which he shot a tomato off a posh mate’s rockery.
He correctly identified the ersatz spork I chucked on during SUAH as coming from a Sainsburys salad, and also corrected the bloke who came up to him to say, “Nice boat shoes, Neil”. Repeated calls for 27YODF were met with an invitation to the requester to come up and sing it himself. He didn’t, but it gave me a new ambition for myself.
The well-dined punter threw his jumper onto Nigel’s shoulder mid-song, then ended up on the floor of the moshpit at least four times, prompting me to check that he hadn’t hit his head – his mates said they’d look after him.
The first line of the Velvet Underground’s ‘Heroin’ preceded NSD, which this year occurred on 22nd August when Tranmere lost their first match in the National League (0-2 at home to Boreham Wood FC).
The Ken wearing a cap/band doing a cover version mutual exclusion theory still holds true, as he didn’t and they did, a storming version of 10cc’s ‘Rubber Bullets’.
The lack of curfew (and residence in the rooms upstairs) allowed us to carry on drinking at the venue until the band came out, and Thorsten lobbied Neil for a gig in Hamburg. Little chance of that, I fancy.
On to Bristol!
[Yuletide quiz: They didn’t play ICTBCAC, but did do three songs which contain the word ‘Christmas’, two in their lyrics and one in its title. Without using ‘Search this site’, name those songs.]
12 December 2015
Bobby SVARC
All I want for Chris Rand is a Ipswich Town away kit?
Fear My Vardy?
12 December 2015
Dickhead in quicksand
You’re going home in a Christmas ambulance?
12 December 2015
Dr Desperate
@Bobby: Yes, yes.
@DiQ: Close but no dry ice.
12 December 2015
Dickhead in quicksand
I’d put in a word for the Christmas party arsehole, except that he didn’t turn up at Bilston.
13 December 2015
Dickhead in quicksand
Shit, I thought I’d just solved the quiz, but I hadn’t.
13 December 2015
bobby svarc
It’s a thickening plot
13 December 2015
Dr Desperate
@Bobby: that’s a bingo!
13 December 2015
SIMON P
“All of your Christmas dos”, which looks completely wrong written down, but I’m not putting an apostrophe in it.
13 December 2015
German rep.
Having spent a few more days in the Black Country, I find myself commuting to work this very moment, still on a high of the memories of this fabulous gig!
@DD: Regarding our first song bet: Had a look at the giant set list for the first time ever last night, only to find out that Tunnel had been the opener on 26(!) gigs – so you put your money on the top contender by far. Second in this ranking is Fred Titmus (18 gigs), so I’d picked – not knowingly I hasten to add – the second and only other favourite! Quite proud of my intuition.
Hope to see you all again soon!
@FU: I like the ambassador title. Could somebody offer me this job please, I won’t disappoint you!
Best regards, Thorsten
14 December 2015
bobby svarc
Band members hanging placards on their speaker in support of a song in the Lux cup, has the world finally gone mad?
14 December 2015
WARDEN HODGES
Off to the nearest printers in Birkenhead they went. A2 size.
14 December 2015
SIMON P
Only for said A2 poster to fall off the amp half way through “Foam Party”. It was lucky that I noticed it to take the Twitter photo before it did.
15 December 2015
D List paul ross
Apologies if anyone else has made this point but quite disappointed the placard was typed out.
15 December 2015
Dr desperate
Just remembered another mini-cover: after the ‘Midge Ure’ bit in TBOC, NB10 sang “Viennaaa…”
Means nothing to me.
16 December 2015
EXXO
Humdrum Express (AKA Ian, AKA Paz) is consistently one of HMHB’s best support acts and here he is with a twee little video for his new single (which has had a few plays on 6Music)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hB43P282tuY
7 January 2016
EXXO
Humdrum Express (AKA Ian, AKA Paz) is consistently one of HMHB’s best support acts and here he is with a twee little video for his new single (which has had a few plays on 6Music)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hB43P282tuY
7 January 2016