First visit to Auld Reekie for over four years (is it really that long?), so did the lads make the wait worthwhile for the locals? Of course they did.
See also Mary Hopkin…
First visit to Auld Reekie for over four years (is it really that long?), so did the lads make the wait worthwhile for the locals? Of course they did.
See also Mary Hopkin…
Chris The Siteowner
Oh that was good. Set list was pretty decent (including “Surging”, yay!) but the real talking point was Nigel’s performance – without the guitar to worry about, he had an intensity I can’t ever remember seeing before. Sadly he didn’t hear my shout of “Where’s Lord Norwoooood?”, to which the reply would of course have been “Ipswich Town Reserves”…
14 June 2019
DOozer
Totally agree Chris, I thought vocally Nige was sensational tonight. Just had an edge that was noticeable. Great to hear ‘Petty Sessions’ and ‘Paintball’.
Also bought one of Neil’s paintings!
14 June 2019
Matt
Superb gig, Edinburgh crowd never the best (too reserved) but Nige and the band brilliant. Some rare classics. Loved it and learned he’s a fan of Trek and Bauke Mollema. What did God give us Nigel? Top Gear
15 June 2019
Cream cheese and chives
Tremendous show last night. Nigel without guitar was a beast unchained and bestrode the stage like a collusus. It can only be a matter of time before he is climbing lighting rigs and waving a flag! Good set list and good sound although I thought it got a bit fuzzy as it went on. The cover of Into the Valley was a wonderful thing, especially when accompanied by Nigel’s Jobsonesque kick dancing. This was only outdone by the final cross stage kneeling walk and the gleeful hand rubbing throughout the night. Does anyone know what he was eating through the show?
I enjoyed the references to Victor Kiam/Kyam but swore he was Remington and not Ronco. Still this is splitting hairs. A great night.
15 June 2019
hendrix-tattoo
Skin coloured socks.
Roll on Holmfirth….
15 June 2019
Dog on the pit
Mary Hopkin. Liquid Room. Took me a while. Very good 🙂
15 June 2019
Sophie
I was one of only a handful of females at the show. Apart from the obnoxious smells emanating from all corners, the show was great. Nigel is a God. Thanks for Bat Walk?
15 June 2019
Dave
Do we know why Nigel wasn’t playing guitar?
(See comment form one of the horses’ mouths after the previous gig – CtSO)
15 June 2019
Paul Johnston
Does anyone have the full set list?
First time I’d seen them and I wasn’t disappointed.
15 June 2019
Lando Cakes
Was it really 4 years since the last Liquid Rooms gig? Time flies…
I really liked the guitar-less Nigel. He seemed liberated. Reminded me of Dylan’s rendition of Isis in the Scorsese Rolling Thunder film – no guitar and it seems to add something when it’s just him singing.
Not sure about his pronunciation of Craiglockhart though.
15 June 2019
Bobby Svarc
The full set list is on Gez’s site thanks to Roger Green
16 June 2019
hendrix-tattoo
Roger Green your a National Treasure….
16 June 2019
twistedkitemike
I agree with Roger’s set-list.
As to whether it replicated the original intentions…?
Carl kindly gave me his set-list, from which Evening Sun (due after Surging) and Trad Arr Tune (penultimate track before the encore) were dropped. Vatican was an insert. “Two Chevrons” was on the set-list, although the banter suggested that it may have been an ad lib.
Mike……….
16 June 2019
Lee
What is the web address of Gez’s site?
It seems to be slowly disappearing from view nowadays – it doesn’t send us anything like the number of visitors that it used to – but there’s still loads there. Someone is usually kind enough to re-post Roger’s reviews from there over here, but if you can’t wait it’s cobweb.businesscollaborator.com/hmhb – CtSO
16 June 2019
Edward Ian L’Ampoon
Another great gig. Venue couldn’t have been more different to Newcastle. Given state of Liquid Rooms I suggest that what Nigel was eating throughout, may well have been antibiotics. Good mix of crowd pleasers and Ooh!, I wasn’t expecting that ones. Mrs L came for her first gig, was pleased with number of songs she knew (and could swear along to). Even found that there were some that she could gyrate to
16 June 2019
CARRIE ANNE
Roger’s review, copied from Gez’s site –
Liquid Room, Edinburgh, Fri 14th Jun 2019
Roger Green:
Things are changing in Biscuit World. Tickets went on sale for this one forty-eight weeks in advance. You never used to get that much notice. Those heady days are now long ago, when I used to turn up at The Duchess in Leeds on the night with cash in hand. And early in May (six weeks ahead of the show) we got word that it had sold out. The big city gigs all seem to “go” these days.
Big ups to the guy who was working the bar at Selby Town Hall when Karen and I were there to see The Fretless, a fiddle and cello quartet from Canada. He spotted my HMHB motorway junction t-shirt and said “I won’t ask you for your opinion on Nerys Hughes.”
I’ll put forward the proposition that Judd Trump is the first ever Nigel Blackwell lookalike to become the World Snooker champion. And deservedly so. I would have liked to have seen him play Dave Gilbert in the final. That would have been a battle of the lookalikes. Stick a baseball cap on Gilbert’s head, put a can of beer in his hand, and he becomes Andrew Fearn from Sleaford Mods.
There’s an Archie in the royal family. Archie!! Maybe Meghan is a little bit Sex In The City. (Actually, it was Suits, wasn’t it?) But there is a reference from the HMHB back catalogue for her and Harry… “Bit of advice: call him Rupert, it fits, and besides it’s a good name. Don’t be calling him Fred or Archie, with all its cheeky but lovable working class scamp connotations, unless you really do have plans for him to spend his life in William Hill’s waiting for them to weigh in at Newton Abbot.”
I’ll be in my mid-seventies by the time Archie is old enough to bet, but I’ll be glad to offer advice.
Thanks to John for reminding us about the feature in Mojo. Readers were invited to comment on their favourite HMHB album, and from these, the magazine somehow formulated a chart. CSI: Ambleside ended up at the top of the tree. (“The first anyone should get before spreading both backwards and forwards” according to Nigel Tassell.) Karen was also quoted, but her comment was specifically about Everything’s AOR, rather than McIntyre, Treadmore And Davitt as a whole. “If it doesn’t lift your spirits, you’re not human.” I’d not read Mojo previously, which emphasises how out of touch I am. I’ll be giving it another go some time soon, as long as they can get to work with checking their spelling. In the title of the most recent album, there is no “g” at the end of the third to last word, as they put it. Also, Probe Plus does not contain a hyphen, unlike in their spelling. I know I’m making a rod for my own back, but these things matter.
Hair Like Brian May Blues was featured on The Verb on Radio 3. Not the first time that the band has appeared on that particular station. I remember a session for the Andy Kershaw programme, when he was on late on Sunday evenings. All the songs will be noted somewhere, but I have memories of Nigel making a trumpet noise at the beginning of When The Evening Sun Goes Down.
Now is a good time to re-visit some football punditry, in both cases from before the Newcastle gig. I noted this… “Nigel also shared his thoughts on Tranmere’s promotion chances. He reckons they have done well to be where they are, but they will still be in League Two next season.”… and this… “Neil was a bit more specific than Nigel about Tranmere’s promotion chances. He reckoned that they will lose to Forest Green in the play-off final.” On the basis of those predictions, I think we can expect to see one or other or both on a Saturday sofa some time soon.
On the subject of Forest Green Rovers, I saw that their proposed move to a different town was knocked back. The Local Planning Authority surely looked up the lyrics to Bad Review before advising the club: “Don’t ever come near Stroud”.
Karen and I decided to break up the journey to Edinburgh. We opted for a night in Sunderland. This provided an opportunity to visit Seaham. Fifty per cent of me is from there. It’s near enough half a century since I was last there. The water was decidedly choppy and the sky was total grey. Just another day at the seaside. We got the train back to Sunderland and ate at the Moti Raj restaurant. We agreed it was a top feed. With a bit more time, we would have tried to locate The Locarno, or is/was it The Mecca?. This was the location of a show by The Faces in 1973, which John Peel said was the best gig that he ever attended. Research has never been my strong point. I’ll have a proper look the next time I’m there, although that could be a while.
We took the train north on the morning of the gig. We had barely left Waverley station when we crossed paths with Andrew, with leg strapped but happily making a return to gig action. The afternoon gave us the opportunity to do a paper review. There was nothing in the Day By Day Guide in the freebie Edinburgh Reporter. Ho hum, there would surely be something in The Scotsman. Not so. Not a whisper. It was left to the promotion machine at The Edinburgh Evening News. A few familiar words in there, but something was better than nothing. “Famed for making ill-tempered music with a social conscience, Half Man Half Biscuit perform unofficial anthems of the underground. There’s gonna be a riot down in Trumpton… er, The Liquid Room tonight. Doors 7.30pm, tickets £22.” The time of the doors opening conflicted with our understanding. We would find out later if we were right in thinking that it was actually at 7.00pm. Also, they were showing a price for the tickets. Our belief was that the evening had sold out. Nevertheless, promotional staff were obviously working hard. When doing afternoon reconnaissance, we noticed a poster for the gig had been half ripped from the railings outside the venue, but had been replaced by the time we got back in the evening.
We met Tony and weaved our way up The Royal Mile to the venue. Karen noted how busy it was. I suggested that we go back when The Festival is on. Then we really would be faced with a wall of people. We took our places outside the entrance of the venue. A queue built up steadily. We said Hello to Nigel and Jo who were on their way to the pub. Andrew filled us in with the details of his dancing-related calf injury. And Matt from Lancing announced that he is no longer Matt from Lancing. He is now Matt from Worthing. We clearly don’t know the right people. John from JD Meatyard peeped round the door to let a couple of mates in.
As promised, the doors were opened at 7.00 and we were in and down to the front. I went and had a chat with the guy running the merch stall. Sorry I didn’t catch his name. To me, this was a new member of the Probe Plus empire. After that, I talked with Wirral Graham. He has been having car trouble. A recent example saw his vehicle breaking down on the route being taken by the Liverpool bus celebrating the Champions League win. Some people will do anything to get on the telly. (Un)fortunately he got it going again just in time to get out of the way. It was a bit of a drive tonight for Graham. Hope he got back home OK.
Ian from Northern Ireland came up to us. Bearing gifts as well. He had been to Denmark and got us a re-useable water bottle each. I suppose all bottles are re-useable in reality, but I will have to do something about saving the planet at some point. This seems like a good starting point. There was just time to shake hands with Hi Vis John before JD Meatyard started up. Just the two of them tonight, John and Gary. The line-up has varied many times down the years, with John being the one constant. I need to make myself more familiar with their work. I recognised some of their songs. Broken Arm Jesus and Batchain Pullers for example. The Outsider was about Captain Beefheart. They also included a couple of old favourites, St Peter Won’t Let Me In and Northern Song. As ever, John was keen to sell his CDs, and chucked a Meatyard tshirt into the crowd. I hope that was paid for.
In the interval between the bands, Howie, travelling alone, came and said Hello. As did Postman Tony.
Upon arrival on stage, Nigel’s first task was to place a Tunnock’s teacake on top of Karl’s amp. Not sure what that was all about, but sometimes you just have to go along with these ceremonial rituals. The inevitable photographer appeared for the first few songs. Nigel posed accordingly on the “No frills, handy for the hills” line. Once again, Nigel was without a musical instrument. “Where’s your guitar?” came a shout. “I knew I’d forgotten something,” Nigel replied. “Karl is a Two For One, like Victor Kiam.”
“Where’s your socks?” was the follow-up question. Nigel pointed out that he was in fact wearing socks, but they were part of a weird colour scheme, being flesh coloured. He was also wearing camel-coloured Veras shoes “made in Spain by a bloke from Cardiff.” His reply to Postman Tony, who had asked the question, was “I remember you from previous bad shirts.” (Later on, he was asked again about having no socks. He reached down and tugged at one of them to prove his point.)
“This is a song written in Sittinghurst,” Nigel announced, hopefully. “We’ll soon find out if it’s the one I’m thinking of.” No, it wasn’t. The band then played Petty Sessions. “This is a song written in Sittinghurst,” he said again, before they then began Joy In Leeuwarden straight after.
A request for 1966 And All That was the first to get the “That’s one of ours” treatment. Nigel asked me if I had travelled by train. He then said that the band had intended to travel along the A702 to Craiglockhart where Wilfred Owen was hospitalised and wrote much of his poetry. “But we were delayed, admiring the ducks at Tebay. So we went on the motorway instead.”
As so often when not carrying the guitar, Nigel did a variety of sporting mimes. At one point he was on the bowling green. Another time, he was serving at table tennis. Not a sporting mime, but towards the end of the show he walked across the stage on his knees while holding his ankles behind his back.
What Made Colombia Famous “could be” dedicated to Michael Gove. Allegedly. But Nigel added that it could be applied to anyone really “apart from us four”, There was talk about Le Tour. I think Nigel referred to one of the leading competitors as Nairo “Flattering To Deceive All The Time” Quintana. Nigel said he is a Trek fan. But with a couple of reservations. He didn’t seem overjoyed that they had signed Richie Porte. And he suspected that Bauke Mollema’s participation in the Giro d’Italia might affect his chances in Le Tour.
Nigel reported the recent death of the man who invented predictive texting. “His funfair is next monkey.”
Sometimes you don’t pick up on the call that prompts a response from Nigel. I’m afraid I didn’t hear the shout that caused him to reply “That’s your problem. You can get pills for it.” Nigel liked the short heckle of “Blaby’s in Leicestershire” from elsewhere in the crowd.
Nigel muttered as he unwound the lead from his mike stand. “Just like Ken Goodwin,” he said. “The funniest man who ever lived.” Nigel borrowed a joke from Tony. “I had a theramin but I sold it. It was sat in the corner. I never touched it.”
And there was a shout for Justin Edinburgh, the Orient manager who had died the week before. Nigel agreed that Justin had done well to turn things around at that club. There was a shout from the balcony for Depressed Beyond Tablets. Nigel said he didn’t know how to play it “but if you’ve got a band , then come down and you play it.” Someone else called out “What did God give us?” He replied “Some deity that I do not follow has given us a new series of Top Gear. With Freddie Flintoff and Paddy McGuinness at 8 o’clock on Sundays. I might just start going to the Sunday evening service.”
A concerned attendee asked Nigel how was his motor neurone. He replied by saying that he had been to see his doctor. The doctor told Nigel that he had hypochondria. Nigel’s reply was “Fucking hell! Not that as well?”
Nigel recommended looking something up on You Tube, being Surfing With Steve And Edi Amin by Helen Keller. Ok, we’ll do that. With not playing a guitar, Nigel has taken to wandering around the stage (when not regularly standing with one foot on his monitor). Towards the end of Every Time A Bell Rings, he stood on the rails at the back. It looked good, but I’m guessing it could be a Health And Safety breach.
In reply to a shout for Everything’s AOR, he said “That’s another one of ours. That’s uncanny!”
Paintball’s Coming Home included “They watch the brand new Top Gear show” and “They say It Is What It Is and Back In The Day” among its regular lines, along with something about going to Peaky Blinders themed pubs.
After The Bastard Son Of Dean Friedman, Nigel told the tale about the first time that the band met Dean. “It was at this place. I thought he was going to punch me”. He also discussed the time when Dean appeared on stage with the band at Bilston. The band were going out for some chips and asked him if he wanted anything. Dean said “I’m good” and was still there on his own when the band returned. “Lovely fellow,” as Nigel said. And by the way, Bette Midler had a Puma in tonight’s version of the song. Another change of lyric was in 99% Of Gargoyles, where Marilyn Monroe was on the scag.
The cover version of a Skids song would have been a lot more impressive if Nigel could have done the Richard Jobson dance all the way through, instead of just for a few bars at the end. “I wanted to do Circus Games” he said afterwards. Ready when you are, with that one.
I haven’t always had a great time at The Liquid Room. But, for me, this was by far the band’s best show there. Previously I’ve found it a bit claustrophobic, but tonight the same features provided a great, intimate atmosphere. Another early finish, we were all cleared out by about ten o’clock.
A quick word on clothing. Karl was wearing an Achtung Gravy t-shirt, this being the name of a work by The Lancashire Hotpots. Carl’s t-shirt, meanwhile, seemed to be a triangle as used to set the balls up on a snooker table. Throughout the gig Nigel kept digging into a huge bag of crisps. Keeps hunger at bay, I suppose.
I didn’t manage to get a set list, someone had nabbed Karl’s, so there’s no auditing involved here. I just hope that my data capture facility was functioning properly. I reckon the set went like this.
The Light At The End Of The Tunnel Is The Light Of An Oncoming Train
Irk The Purists
Terminus
Petty Sessions
Joy In Leeuwarden
99 Per Cent Of Gargoyles Look Like Bob Todd
What Made Colombia Famous
Ode To Joyce
Look Dad No Tunes
Surging Out Of Convalescence
Harsh Times In Umberstone Covert
Fuckin’ ‘Ell It’s Fred Titmus
Outbreak Of Vitas Gerulaitis
Renfield’s Afoot
National Shite Day
Keeping Two Chevrons Apart
Joy Division Oven Gloves
Every Time A Bell Rings
Left Lyrics In Practice Room
All I Want For Christmas Is A Dukla Prague Away Kit
Vatican Broadside
Restless Legs
Paintball’s Coming Home
The Trumpton Riots
And in the encore…
The Bastard Son Of Dean Friedman
Into The Valley
Everything’s AOR
A quick hello to Paul, Gillian, Elizabeth and Huddersfield Graham, and I was off down the road to The Albanach with Karen, Tony, Andrew and Matt. Only seven more sleeps and we would be able to do it all again, in Holmfirth.
16 June 2019
Peejaygee
I was lucky enough to be in Edinburgh on Friday , to witness my second HMHB gig . Although I thought the sound wasn’t as good as my previous experience ( Glasgow 2017 ) of the band , it was still a storming gig . The set list seemed to cover most of the band’s history . Which has to be a good thing . I look forward to my next HMHB gig , wherever and whenever it is !
16 June 2019
Paul
Did anyone attend the let’s rock Scotland gig the day after the cover of into the valley who could judge the Blackwell/Jobson dance off?
16 June 2019
EXXO
Thanks Roger & Karen – great stuff, richly deserving all the usual effusive hyperbole (I love a paradox).
@PeeJayGee – longshot I know, but you are not by any chance P.J.G.R., former STH at TRFC moved north of the border some years ago?
17 June 2019
hendrix-tattoo
Here’s what Nigel recommended to look for on You Tube….
https://youtu.be/8xJ_UEXnfvs
17 June 2019
dr desperate
A few minor interpolations to Roger’s exemplary review:
The problem for which you can get pills was microphallus, apparently afflicting the bloke standing behind me who was chanting “Tiny dicks, we’ve got tiny dicks”. The same unfortunate later had difficulty understanding Nigel’s cycling banter, demanding that he “Speak Scottish!”
The design on Carl’s tee-shirt was a Penrose triangle, the impossible object created independently by both the Swedish artist Oscar Reutersvärd and the psychiatrist Lionel Penrose, and featured prominently in the works of M. C. Escher. It was briefly spotlit when Carl played a Grant Hart-like drum solo in the middle eight of ‘Irk The Purists’ which no doubt pleased the crowd member in the Hüsker Dü tee-shirt.
A shout for ‘Fred Titmus’ came immediately before the band played the song of that name, leading Nigel to identify the shouter as Doris Stokes.
The would-be ski-lodge owner in ‘Vitas Gerulaitis’ was once again Nancy Kominsky.
And finally, Neil’s mid-set bass-retuning was “Close enough for country”.
On to Holmfirth!
17 June 2019
parsfan
It looks like we’re all in agreement, that was a good night. For me it started with a dinner of Dr D & co’s leftovers, a couple of beers then The Liquid Room.
It didn’t start too well. My wife, making her first appearance in 10 years, and I arrived late and it was too busy downstairs so I took her up to the balcony to make introductions to the kind people who fed me. The sound was terrible so, leaving her in good hands, I left to join the fray. Downstairs I spent the next few songs behind a pillar until someone’s truly vile flatulence made me get my own arse in gear and I found my way into the pit. From then on just brilliant, without really remembering much in the way of detail. Towards the end I nipped upstairs for a slash, so much easier in the old days when they were where the cloakroom is now (and farty pants could have blamed the bogs). Fighting my way out was hard enough so I decided to stay up there with Mrs Parsfan, Jitsu_G and the girls.
Therein my one regret of the night, missing Into The Valley from the moshpit. The Skids played there less than a fortnight before and one of my mates reckoned there wasn’t much between the two versions, though I think Nigel’s kicking was a bit halfhearted. On the plus side it was good to hear it without it being immediately followed by another home defeat.
Back to the pub, more beer, good chat and great company. Roll on…hmmmm…I don’t know when my next one is. I think I’ll consult the fixture list.
17 June 2019
Ben
I’m ashamed to say I’m still not getting Mary Hopkin, Liquid Room – anyone?
(Compare the venue name in the two photos – CtSO)
18 June 2019
i’ll think of something…
EPIC review!
I can also add a couple of minor corrections and clarifications…
Carl was wearing a Van Der Graaf Generator t-shirt (it said so on the back, which I glimpsed from my fiercely-guarded spot in the front row, on the edge of the metal barrier).
Also, when someone shouted out to request “Depressed Beyond Tablets” (not played) I remember Nigel saying something about it being “a bit too close to home right now”… which is a little worrying, though perhaps he was just referring to the state of the nation.
He also mentioned Gorgie Road – something like “Bloody hell it goes on forever, we were on it for three months” (or something). It is indeed a very long street, though perhaps he was conflating it with Dalry Road, which continues it. I think it’s also part of the A70/A71?
This was my first HMHB gig and seriously one of the best I’ve ever attended!
18 June 2019
peejaygee
Hello Exxo , I’m not who you suggested I might be . I found it ironic that the chosen cover number for the evening was ” Into The Valley ” . I’d been hoodwinked into booking accommodation for the Saturday , after reading on the Visit Scotland website that The Skids were playing the Liquid Room on the 15th . They had in fact played their on June 1st .But at least I was free to attend a Whisky Festival at the Assembly Rooms , and take in a comedy gig at The Stand .
18 June 2019
Phyllis TRiggs
A terrific gig in a wonderful city – I never need much of an excuse to visit Edinburgh and there can be no better excuse to visit anywhere than HMHB.
The Liquid Room is dark dark dark. Descending therein from bright evening sunlight I was embarrassed to find myself shuffling across the floor towards the cloakroom, terrified of falling down invisible steps.
The drinks receptacles are also dark – instead of the ubiquitous clear plastic skiffs the Liquid Room has adopted black opaque fairly solid plastic pint pots. Not keen on these – how much head’s on that, does it need a top up? Nor can they be held in the teeth while applauding.
Another sold-out gig – the venue really started filling up during JD Meatyard’s set. It’s always worth arriving early if support is provided by JD Meatyard. Angry and impassioned as ever but also with songs of great sensitivity, JDM fair brought a tear to my eye – must be getting soft in my old age.
HMHB arrive on stage to no fanfare, no walk-on music. I miss the name-that-tune ritual but admittedly it is kinda nice the way they just amble onto the stage – like when a good friend turns up at your house and doesn’t need to stand and knock, they just walk in and you pick up where you left off. The band launches into TLATEOTT, the crowd roars along to the same, it’s as if we’ve never been apart!
So far, so familiar. Was it John Peel who expressed his delight at HMHB gigs being always the same yet always different? Well, they’ve just got a little bit differenter. Ken’s departure, the addition of Karl, Nigel’s laying aside of his guitar have all effected a gentle transformation of the band. A rebirth would be far too strong a term but nevertheless the performance is different, they are changed.
Without the guitar Nigel is free to concentrate on his delivery and indulge his thespian tendencies. Word has it that he’s a nervous performer. I wonder if, rather than the guitar being something to hide behind it was more of an encumbrance, one more thing to worry about? Without it he seems happier to embrace the role of frontman, capturing and directing our attention. When NB moved to the side of the stage for the last section of ETABR I reckon it was to grant Neil our full focus for his climactic bass work (or perhaps he was just making the most of an opportunity to have a nice sit down!).
Freed from the guitar, concentrating on the delivery of the songs – the lyrics, afterall are Nigel’s primary means of expression – he’s more able to fully inhabit his lyrical universe, more able to be himself. And that leaves space to have a bit of fun – aiming kicks at Neil and then that weird party trick walking on his knees in the style of a 1970’s TV Toulouse-Lautrec impersonator. Whatever was going on there had my poor knees quaking in horror – “Oh God, what’s she watching now? Please don’t try this at home…”
The brilliant cover of Into The Valley sent the already lively crowd into meltdown – literally so, as the floor had now become so sticky I really did fear for the soles of my trusty gig-going Converse. Moshing in Evostick! Gotta keep movin’, even between songs – stand still and you’d be stuck fast!
As with every gig this one left me wanting more of the same – even if the next one was only a week away. Damn! Wish I was still going to Holmfirth! But never mind at least I’ve got the Devils Arse to look forward to. Speaking of which, during a couple of sensible post gig beers it was suggested that the old military road – the A93 which incorporates a feature known as The Devils Elbow – would be a pleasant route for my drive north the next day. After due consideration I decided against this – lacking a road atlas, not trusting my phone sat nav (The application seems to have stopped working would you like to try again? Fuck off, no!) and having previous regarding scenic Scottish routes being the death of cars I thought best to save that experience for another time when I’m better prepared. But it occurs to me that it must be done: should I ever meet the Devil and it turns out he doesn’t know his arse from his elbow, to have visited them both would give me the upper hand, and if he does, well at least we can start off on an equal footing.
Have a great gig at Holmfirth you lucky, lucky people. Fantastic as it was, I reckon Edinburgh was just the warm up!
20 June 2019
EXXO
One of the best gig reviews ever, that Lou.
To the Bat Cave, where, in the word’s of my mate’s son, when he wants his dad to leave his band alone so they can ‘practice’, “it’s going to get DARKER!”
21 June 2019