A return to a town not visited since the 2000 and 2001 seasons, but of even more interest is the fact that it’s a rare excursion to somewhere mentioned by name in a song (and one of the finest in the repertoire, too, IMHO). Did the gig live up to all that? Over to you. There’s a nice big box in the grey panel below for you to add your review.
Sleeplesssoul
That must have been high energy water the guys were drinking as that was probably the most energetic performance from Nigel I’ve seen in a long while and even Ken moved to centre stage once and Carl banged the drums like he had been possessed by some dark demonic force. Mosh pit was in full swing from the first track and the guys energy seemed to transcend to the watching faithful, who bounced around and sang their heads off like it was their last day on earth. Fantastic as always and Stockton is my next port of call, so roll on June.
28 April 2013
Dodgy Dave
First time at a HMHB gig at Matlock but a fan for many-a-year. Just brilliant. Missus came too. She had no idea about their music – first time she’d heard their songs was in the car on the way to Matlock! And she loved it too! Top night, great atmosphere, bizarre venue. Thanks to everyone. And my Achtung Bono fridge magnet will have pride of place at work.
28 April 2013
Gargoyle 100
Well, it has been over 25 years I’ve called myself a fan but this weekend is the first time I have managed to haul myself to a hmhb gig, inspired in part by the fact that it was at such an iconic (locally) venue and I have to say I was blown away by the performance. It is a genuine treat, fan or not, to see any act who can hold a crowd’s attention like that, even in the very few moments of down-time.
The biggest pleasure for me is the joy of hearing those incredible, early songs played so well, in a slick, clear and full-on way. Hearing them like this is like releasing them from their £30 production history without spoiling them with a re-make. 99%OGLLBT was my highlight. Proof, if it were required that this is a timeless act with timeless material and a frontman of immense genius and timeless wit.
I don’t know if I’m lucky to have caught one of their better performances or if I’m unlucky not to have seen more like it, but I have come home a happy man.
29 April 2013
Age-old Eel
Funnily enough, I’ve recently rediscovered This Leaden Pall, both the album (arguably their first truly great record) and the track, which they played a cracking version of here. I wonder if the pope and his entourage have heard it. Or Chester Barnes for that matter?
For a merest split second half way through I thought the boys weren’t going to play The Light at the end of the Tunnel. But of course they did, just waiting for the moment. And the place went wild…
This is a band right at the top of it’s game. That was pretty obvious to everyone there I thought. A bit odd in a way, you’d have thought twenty-odd years down the road they’d be approaching their twilight years. Or something.
29 April 2013
cyclops
Blissful joy at Matlock Bath, the crowd, the moshpit and the spotlights too.Methinks the set by the lads was so tight, if each of them had a piece of coal up their arse by the end of the proceedings they would of all had a diamond popping out ! All quality, 99%, Totnes Bickering Fair, National shite Day,TLATEOTTITLOAOT,to name but a few. Highlight for me was ‘Everything’s A.O.R’ (always been a favourite). Spotted the oven gloves waving about in the pit, made me chuckle as did Nigel’s ” oh we’ve done that one!!!!” Brilliant. I am now going into the loft to find my tennis racket so i can put it up against my face and pretend I’m Kendo Nagasaki. Cheers now
29 April 2013
kingsbeef
I absolutely loved this venue. It couldn’t be more perfect for them with the peeling paint and plaster and the wonky bar selling real ale. This was the first one I was able to get pissed for, because I normally drive. My quote from the book of revelations is that booze isn’t actually all that necessary to enjoy them but it does make you forget the setlist. Has anyone typed it out?
29 April 2013
twistedkitemike
Excuse the delay, but decorating and reconstruction has taken over my life. I’m sure that Roger Green will have come up with the goods by now, but just in case, here is the set list for apéritif: –
San Antonio
Totnes
Evening Sun
Petty Sessions
Leeuwarden
Irk
Fear My Wraith
Bob Todd
Chatteris
Mountain Bikes
Third Track Main Camera Four Minutes
Bob Wilson
This Leaden Pall
Left Lyrics
Shite Day
Trad Arr Tune
Look Dad
Light Tunnel
Trumpton
Bad Wools
V. Broadside
Fix It
Fred Titmus
AOR
……………………………………..
Femme Fatale
Ready Steady Goa
JDOG
Very passable effort at a Velvets classic, I thought. Extremely interesting venue in many ways. Sound was good after about four tracks, when they seemed to ‘click’. The guys were on good form. Lots of good things to say, n time to say them. Make time, boy.
Mike……………………………………………..
29 April 2013
BrumBiscuit
@kingsbeef
I despair…
29 April 2013
NOT ROGER GREEN
(As ever, first published on Gez’s site)
Let’s get a few logistical observations out of the way. Things were a bit suspect from the outset. The 485 had only taken me a few miles from home when it broke down outside Crofton High School. Maybe the bus is still there. The driver tried the usual trick – revving really hard, but we were clearly going nowhere. I was impressed by his description of the vehicle as “a bag of bollocks”, but was even more impressed by his ability to get us onto the 194 which was following on behind, and got everyone safely into Wakefield. From there it was the train to Derby (stopping at Sheffield and Chesterfield), changing there for the one to Matlock Bath (calling at Duffield, Belper, Ambergate, Whatstandwell and Cromford). Matlock Bath station has a quaint appearance, where you expect Bernard Cribbins to scamper out of the manager’s office to collect the post delivery. Or perhaps you might see John Betjeman meandering down the platform, composing a poem. Sadly there is no such luck in this post-Beeching age. There is merely total silence, and the ghosts of time gone by.
A further logistical observation concerns the tickets for these shows. A feature of our modern enlightened age is the prevalence of the e-ticket. It is now too much to expect a “proper” ticket when you make a purchase. Instead you receive what appears to be known as a Booking Reference. The theory (presumably) is that you whisper this reference number into the ear of the security personnel, and this gets you into the venue. But it doesn’t quite work like that. You end up in a queue for a proceedure which reminds me of going to vote. They check off your name on a list. Instead of getting a voting slip you are given a wristband. And away you go. I would never have a pop at anyone who promotes a HMHB gig, but it never fails to surprise me when I get charged a Booking Fee and I get expected to do a lot of the work. What’s wrong with a ticket handwritten by the town clerk, countersigned by the mayor and featuring the official town stamp, instead of all this hi tech gubbins? Just a minor gripe. But I’m sure that the guys who were in the queue in front of me would agree. They had received their Booking Reference by text on their mobile. But their names did not appear on the list at the desk. They didn’t appear to have done much wrong, and presumably they had also been charged a Booking Fee. But there was still a problem. Maybe we should all laugh these things off as a Twenty Four Hour Garage People moment.
I made a few notes about Matlock Bath itself. I can not confirm or deny the existence of Mrs Gibson’s jam, but I did not see any hard and fast evidence. The line in The Light At The End Of The Tunnel may be based on the Mrs Bridges brand. Much of this was available at the Mining Museum (curds, chutney, marmalade etc). Another feature for the tourist is the cable car to The Heights Of Abraham. This did not provide for the cheapest afternoon I have ever had, but there was a fine view from the top of Prospect Tower. Back in the town I bumped into Geoff and listened to tales of yore. Seeing The Beatles supporting Kenny Ball And The Jazzmen must have been a fine night out. I also attempted to glean info on future plans for HMHB. I had best not put anything in writing until we have official confirmation, but it certainly looks like there will be life after the Cambridge gig in July. And there will be another CD somewhere in the dim and distant.
The Grand Pavillion lies directly across the road from The Fishpond, scene of past HMHB heroics. The art deco outer is impressive on the eye, but the inside has obviously been neglected. Thanks to the time and efforts of a number of locals, it looks like things are going to change. So good luck to them. As Nigel pointed out from the stage, the decoration seemed to show the Relief Of Mafeking, which is probably when it was last given a lick of paint. Let’s hope for another visit some time.
After a musical build-up on the PA, featuring Donna Summer and Diana Ross, Sonnenberg appeared on stage. They have supported HMHB many times before. I’ve always seen them as an ambient, folky type of band, with their collection of mandolin, tabla and e-bow. But as their show went on, they morphed into something a bit heavier, adopting a more traditional guitar, bass, drums line-up. Judas? Very interesting as always, and they were good enough to lead a chorus of Happy Birthday to Geoff.
A blast of Tchaikovsky accompanied HMHB onto stage. “It’s all downhill after Tchaikovsky,” announced Nigel ahead of the first song. He was keen to draw my attention to the band’s route to the gig. A50 round Derby, and A6 via Belper and Duffield apparently. Fair enough, but that seems a long way round from Birkenhead. Petty Sessions was announced as being about dying inwardly when someone introduces you to their quietly spoken friends. Nigel asked if anyone had been to see Pere Ubu. He was impressed with their CD. And he said he had got hold of their set list before the gig, and had a schadenfreude feeling about a guy constantly shouting out for a particular song, while Nigel knew full well that they were not going to play it. Slight nod towards Bonnie Tyler as she seeks out Eurovision glory. “Once upon a time I was living inland, now I’ve got a flat on the coast.” There was a balls-up of the line about Mary Had A Little Lamb in 99% of Gargoyles. You would think he would get it right after all these years. When asked about Tony Gubba, Nigel said it was unexpected. “Although of course it might not have been unexpected if I had known him.” Nigel was asked if they still play Secret Gig. “Now and again, but not tonight.” The line at the end of Lock Up Your Mountain Bikes was “Before the Gods were born, that’s when I first said we’d finish 12th.” Tranmere’s demise, of course. Actually, didn’t they actually end up 11th? The football theme continued with some chat about Martin Jol. “He ought to do an album of Crooning Classics. He has a superb voice for it.” Judging from heckles, it sounds like “Play one the drummer knows” is close to overtaking “What did God give us, Neil?”. The Rotherham Postie needs to get to more gigs to even things up. Nigel pondered out loud the latest odds for the Tour De France. No mention of Chris Froome, though. Everything’s AOR was “in B”. And the evening’s cover version threw me. Fortunately Neil, on post-gig stage clearance duties, was able to help me out. The Velvet Underground has never been my strong point. The show went as follows…
San Antonio Foam Party
Totnes Bickering Fair
When The Evening Sun Goes Down
Petty Sessions
Joy In Leeuwarden
Irk The Purists
Fear My Wraith
99% Of Gargoyles Look Like Bob Todd
For What Is Chatteris
Lock Up Your Mountain Bikes
Third Track Main Camera Four Minutes
Bob Wilson Anchorman
This Leaden Pall
Left Lyrics In The Practice Room
National Shite Day
We Built This Village On A Trad Arr Tune
Look Dad No Tunes
The Light At The End Of The Tunnel
Trumpton Riots
Rock N Roll Is Full Of Bad Wools
Vatican Broadside
Fix It So She Thinks Of Me
Fuckin’ ‘Ell It’s Fred Titmus
Everything’s AOR
And in the encore
Femme Fatale
Ready Steady Goa
Joy Division Oven Gloves
And that was it. Back to the excellent Ashdale Guest House. But it was a bit disappointing that all the chip shops had closed.
29 April 2013
Chris The Siteowner
Wow, “Fear My Wraith” for a second show running, after not having been heard since 2006, and now “Ready Steady Goa” joins the setlist too, after an equally long 7-year absence.
29 April 2013
Charles EXford
I couldn’t make it to this one, so v. grateful for all your reviews and comments.
But @Not Roger Green. The A50 is one the quickest roads to anywhere, ever. I’d consider going that way to almost anywhere at all, if I was still a genuine resident of the Wirral Peninsula (rather than a fictional construct).
@everyone. Nobody has yet mentioned that during one of the many interludes when Ken was tuning up, Nigel apparently played a few lines of George Jones’ classic ‘He Stopped Loving Her Today’ and then rammed straight into ‘Vatican Broadside’.
The strange thing is that I was reliably informed the next day (during a mass pitch invasion by Bournemouth fans, as it happened) that the frontman did not know until after the gig that George had taken his final lawnmower to the bar in the stars earlier that very day.
It’s a gift really, rather than a curse.
29 April 2013
Brian Rabbit
I bumped into Isobel Suttie who plays Dobby in Peep Show in The Fishpond.
She said she was a bit of a HMHB fan, and was with mates from matlock where she was brought up.
30 April 2013
loins71
Sorry for holding the queue up. That was me with my e-ticket. Still, a nice chat with Nigel and Neil outside the venue had lifted my mood. Fantastic gig as usual despite merchandise bloke trying to convince me that I’m an extra large..
30 April 2013
Half man half bike kit
We were there on the eve of a disastrous Half Man Half Bike Kit tour. The Charles B and B / chippy lost our booking, but we were rescued by Roger of the Gables who put us up in his caravan (static, naturally).
Great gig – thought it was a particularly good Joy in Leeuwarden. Incidentally, NB was giving odds on the Giro d’Italia correctly pointing out that you can get 20-1 on Sammy Sanchez.
We made it to Saltergate in Chesterfield the next day, then the Crucible on Sunday for some Len Ganley posturing.
30 April 2013
Iguana Andy
Well done Matlock Bath, as an ex-local It was good to be inside the’Pav’ again especially since it now hosts real music and neither a sticky carpet nor a glitter ball in sight! Excellent gig all told, fantastic atmosphere and another blinding performance. My enjoyment was only marred by the bar running prematurely dry – managed to rectify things in the PV afterwards though. Roll on Stockton…
30 April 2013
Marcus
My lovely wife (a Matlock native) bought us tickets. We had a cracking night although her paranoia about the lack of a physical ticket almost led to a dunking in the Derwent on the walk up from the station car park. Once we’d safely negotiated the wristband dispensing desk and she had a pint of BG Sips in her hand we were able to relax.
My son said it was his favourite ever gig, which is saying something seeing as I made him listen to my ukulele version of “The light at the end of the tunnel” recently. He and I spent a large proportion of the night in the very friendly and welcoming moshpit causing leg aches that only subsided yesterday. A great show and a great venue.
1 May 2013
Chris The Siteowner
First Grand Pavilion live show takes the biscuit
Derby Telegraph, Tuesday, April 30
AN HISTORIC pavilion which is having a £2.6 million refurbishment has seen a record number of people attend its first live music event.
Five hundred people visited the Grand Pavilion, in Matlock Bath, on Friday to see indie punk band Half Man Half Biscuit.
The pavilion closed its doors as a nightclub in 2008. The building, which dates from 1910, has since reopened and has been used for art and music events.
Andie Brazewell, head of events at the pavilion, said: “The event took a lot of planning and co-ordination, including building development, catering, bars, ticketing and volunteer staffing.
“It was the first time we had done such a large live gig. Everything went really well.”
Grand Pavilion chairman Gregor Macgregor said: “When we started our rescue of the building we all agreed that using it straight away was a vital objective.
“The success of this event will help us enormously in gaining funding for our project. We attracted fans from all over Britain. Visitors have stayed in accommodation nearby and spent money in the shops and restaurants.
“We have shown the magnetic power of the building in bringing people into Matlock Bath and stimulating the local economy.”
Original story
1 May 2013
Chris The Siteowner
Half Man Half Biscuit at The Grand Pavilion, Matlock Bath
Evan Cotter, The Ruckus, 21 May 2013
“…They did, of course, play the song that probably brought 80% of us here; The Light At The End Of The Tunnel (Is The Light Of An Oncoming Train). This is a song in which the lovelorn protagonist is bemoaning the fact he has been dumped in favor of “featureless TV producer Steve” and the bright lights of London, at one point reasoning “when you’re in Matlock Bath, you don’t need Silvia Plath, not when they’ve got Mrs. Gibson’s jam”. I swear to God I’ve never sung a lyric louder. It was a special moment in which all of this effort confirmed itself as a brilliant idea. I remember embracing Séan and congratulating myself on being there.”
Full article here
22 May 2013