“Ah, the return of normal life and it felt like, if you had been in a coma for five years and just woken up, as if nothing had changed”, says Twisted Kite Mike. The enforced gap between gigs finally ends; how was it for you?
“Ah, the return of normal life and it felt like, if you had been in a coma for five years and just woken up, as if nothing had changed”, says Twisted Kite Mike. The enforced gap between gigs finally ends; how was it for you?
Twistedkitemike
Ah, the return of normal life and it felt like, if you had been in a coma for five years and just woken up, as if nothing had changed. If someone told you there had been a worldwide pandemic and everyone had been confined to their houses, you would have scoffed. Maybe passed a comment about why the odd person was wearing a face mask, but it could be a new fashion trend.
Plenty of material for Roger and his team of eyes and ears to entertain us with when the review surfaces, but one amusing encounter to whet your appetite.
There was a shout for “Feel My Wrath”, at least that is what is sounded like and that is what Mr. B. heard. It reminded me fondly of a gig in Norwich a few years ago, when a couple of well refreshed Carrot Crunchers kept requesting Fear My Wrath, and despite Nigel correcting them, they continued it and blamed it on their accent.
Still, an epic stab at the opening bars and it only failed to progress when Nigel couldn’t remember the opening words. It’s Vesper’s done, Nige…
Anyway, I’ve got a Barbour to lose in a car park, so here’s the set list for these that weren’t lucky enough to be there, or without an eidetic memory:
Renfield
Terminus
Bob W
Sealclubbing
Korfball
Evening Sun
Asparagus
Lilac HQ
27 Yards
Dickie Davies
Vatican
Surging
Colombia
Look Dad
Slipper refrain
JDOG
NSD
Irk
Footprints
AOR
Restless Legs
DPAK
Light Tunnel
Bob Todd
………………………………
Bell Rings
What Do I Get? (Buzzcocks cover)
Trumpton
A fine evening for all. Onwards and southwards to Frome in two weeks time.
13 November 2021
EXXO
Walk on music was first minute or so of My My Hey Hey (Out of the Blue), probably fading around “once you’re gone you can never come back.” Definitely not as far as “the King is gone.” Then remerkably little messing before Neil’s bassline of Renfield’s Afoot
13 November 2021
Hendrix-tattoo
Eighty weeks or so we’ve waited for our HMHB fix.
And boy did they deliver. I’m lost for words I’ll leave that to Roger and Co….
13 November 2021
EXXO
Great to see you last night Tony.
Rough calculation makes the average age of songs on last night’s setlist 22 years, and without the four they played from the last album it would be 25½ years. Apart from those four, they only played two (Korfball & NSD) that are less than 15 years old.
13 November 2021
Bad loser
After a personal drought lasting over 2 years (Leadmill, Oct 19 my last gig) I was near the front of the queue to ensure a view from the balcony. I was not alone in thinking that ‘Light At The End Of The Tunnel´ would be first up. Wrong on that one but who cared what they played after such a long wait. They rolled out some heavyweights to start and kept up a high standard, of mostly vintage songs, throughout.
Hoping someone can remember more of the story about the guy who was at the cinema for 40 years and whose funeral procession left at 1.50, 5.25 and 8.40.
Another great cover; the only slight disappointment was not hearing a new song or two.
I won’t be at Frome but am eyeing up a clean sweep for 2022. I have tickets for Shrewsbury but fear that that’ll be lost to another lockdown.
13 November 2021
Eric T’Viking
Wow! Don’t have a better word. Thoroughly enjoyed last night in Holmfirth.
Did have the odd qualm about going into a venue with so many people, but that happily evaporated … or was dissolved by alcohol, one of the two.
Did anyone else hear the riff from Deep Purple’s Black Knight, before it got neatly segued into a Biscuit song (not sure which one now) – or was that just my dodgy hearing?
Oh, and respect to one of the security lads – he came past at the end, after most people had left, bent down about 6 foot away from me, and picked up a lens from someone’s spectacles. Not just for having far better eyesight than me – I hadn’t seen it – but for taking the time to look after someone who needed assistance.
13 November 2021
dic aberdaron
fantastic
the biccies are back
roll on shrewsbury
14 November 2021
dr desperate
Also looking forward to Roger’s no-doubt exemplary review. At breakfast the next morning a few of us attempted to fill in the minuscule gaps in his notes, but the best I could come up with was how to spell Teagarden. (Whether this was due to poor acoustics at the gig or the rather lovely Secret bitter recommended by Ferencváros Fan George in the hotel bar pre-gig, I cannot say.)
I can reveal that Nigel’s new guitar was a Duesenberg Julia semi-hollow in Norvik blue. In the Friday night pizza restaurant beforehand he told me that he’d bought it with his eyes, not his brain, but it sounded fine to me (or to put it another way, it’s a Doozy). Wizard Tony and I engaged in some technical discussion as to whether the device that allowed him to play the theme from ‘Peter Gunn’ on it was a tremolo arm or a whammy bar, but having done a little research I now know that they’re the same thing. He also admitted that he could have produced his Tony’s Interesting Fact for the night after the walk-on music, namely that it was Neil Young’s 76th birthday, but unfortunately the moment passed.
Oh, and add my respect to the security lad who found that spectacle lens. The bloke who lost it came over at the end of the gig and asked me if I’d found it, on the assumption that I was on the force – can’t think why – but I pointed him in the right direction. (I’d had a similar experience at the last Picturedrome gig, having lost my room key in the moshpit and had it returned by possibly the same lad.)
On to Frome!
14 November 2021
EXXO
Yes I was glad that Roger & Karen between them reckoned they could hear most of what was said, so I’m looking forward to the report as much airshipped me, e.g. I I couldn’t hear a word of the monologue at the end of ‘Footprints.’ Even when I was in theory having a shouty dialogue with the bard I wouldn’t have heard what he said about Buchan and the Thirty-Nine steps at Wembley if I hadn’t known the anecdote already. Can’t remember acoustics having been a problem at the venue before, so I’m forced to conclude it was a shit sound system and/or a shit balance. The overall sound was very quiet generally, I thought, which made the lively mosh (and it’s lower-than-usual average age) a very pleasant surprise. The bloke trying to crowd surf was surely younger than the average age of the songs.
14 November 2021
Ferencváros fan
@Dr D – we drank all the hotel’s Secret Bitter. None left after the gig.
Loved everything about Friday. The beer, the food, the company and the music. Not normally in the habit of bouncing around the mosh pit for 2 hours but it seemingly had to be done on this occasion. Fantastic.
14 November 2021
CARRIE ANNE
Roger Green’s bumper write-up, from Gez’s website https://www.hmhb.co.uk/guest/index.htm
HMHB, Picturedrome, Holmfirth, Fri 12th Nov 2021
Roger Green:
We had many musical manoeuvres planned between the show in Bristol in March 2020 and this one (everything is relative). It began the night after the Bristol gig, when we were at The Brudenell Social Club in Leeds to see Mush, fresh from a live performance on The Marc Riley Show on 6 Music. They were flogging their new album, 3D Routine.
The week after we were over to Selby Town Hall for a show by Pete Wylie. In with his big hits was a version of Johnny Thunders’ You Can’t Put Your Arms Around A Memory, as also covered on a previous occasion by HMHB. And on the way out, we saw a chap wearing a Dukla Prague home shirt. Ominous signs. Coronavirus was taking hold. The country was about to take a gig break. This proved to be our last live show of any sort for a while. And it would be the last sighting of a HMHB shirt for some time. The listings started to tumble. Scheduled performances in Ulverston, Durham and Nottingham were all tucked away into 2021. The Ulverston one, it turned out, was never to return. And when the Leeds one (originally lined up for November 2020) was also shoved back, then we were left with a totally blank year. And so it went on and went on. Our gig drought was eventually broken in June 2021 when we saw The Lodger and Crake play at Balne Lane Club in Wakefield. Some four hundred and fifty-five sleeps after the Wylie show. Sat down and distanced, though. No moshing just yet, thank you ladies and gentlemen.
As the summer went on, sport started to return. But football and horse racing in front of empty stands was no good to me. Neither was the continuing cancellation of gigs. Birmingham and Blackpool went by the by, pushed into 2021. And then subsequently into 2022.
In the midst of sports grounds being closed to paying spectators, a plot was hatched by Chris to have a load of Gubba cardboard cutouts at the Tranmere v Southend match. We contributed. We had hoped that they would still be evident when Tranmere featured in an FA Cup match a couple of months later. No such luck. Ah well.
What a treat to see a bothy on the Knoydart featured on Springwatch. September came and went. There was a reminder that this was the tenth anniversary of Dean Friedman’s appearance on stage with HMHB at The Robin 2 in Bilston. A particular highlight of watching this band all these years was the encore that night. Dean sang his own song about Nigel Blackwell and stayed on stage to join in on The Bastard Son Of Dean Friedman.
Going towards Christmas, it was clear that a number of the 2021 shows were being pushed back into 2022. However, I was happy to see that Frome had been added to the list of forthcoming gigs. A fine town with a fine venue. I wonder if there will be a Wurzels tribute act supporting again. There was a bumper Christmas edition of The Big Issue. It had a feature on Liverpool-based spoken-word artist Roy. One of the stories in his collection, Algorithm Party, is entitled Paintball’s Coming Home. A coincidence, or a fan of the band? The same magazine had a feature on David Byrne of Talking Heads. He came out with this line, “I have collaborated with so many people and learned from each one. I have worked with Brian Eno on and off for decades and each time is different.”
The lockdown was not a complete waste of time. It’s a very spurious link to HMHB, but I discovered that Medicine Head (back in the day) released an album with the title Dark Side Of The Moon, about a year before Pink Floyd’s arguably better known effort. And also, just a thought… Is Matt Hancock related to Ken Hancock? Another discovery was that D Lister Paul Ross presents a programme in the wee small hours on TalkSport. Ring in and raise the topic of fridge freezers.
It was bound to happen at some point. The band has only ever had one manager. Mr Davies. All good things must come to an end. Geoff’s appearance at gigs had been more and more sporadic, and his retirement was made public in July 2021. I don’t know many people who saw The Beatles play live. And he certainly saw them more than any of the others. Happy retirement, Geoff, man.
At that time it had looked like Blackpool in October would be the first show, post-lockdown. But then that one toppled as well, and was re-arranged for 2022. So another few weeks of suffering. Although we were fed the scraps of an appearance on The Andy Kershaw Podcast. This surfaced early in August having been recorded the week before in Andy’s kitchen. The songs were What Made Colombia Famous, When I Look At My Baby, Totnes Bickering Fair and after a short break the band came back with I’m Getting Buried In The Morning and a fine cover of X-Ray Spex’s Germ Free Adolescence. Or is it “Adolescents”? Investigations proved inconclusive. The Kershaw recording also included discussion about what happens now that Geoff has retired, and the possibilities of a new album at some point.
Another new song emerged at the beginning of September as part of The Leftbank Soundtrack, “an animated music walk in Birkenhead”. Frequent Electric Trains, as quoted on the building of the town’s railway station. A bit of melancholy is never out of place. There seemed to be a paraphrasing of Captain Beefheart towards the end of the song. It sounded like “Ice cream for Quo” to us, which prompted us to play Beefheart’s Ice Cream For Crow.
We noticed it was Bob Wilson Anchorman’s 80th birthday at the end of October, shortly before HMHB returned to action. Happy belated birthday, Bob.
A couple of weeks before the Holmfirth gig, HMHB appeared on the Gideon Coe show on 6 Music. This was from a live appearance in 1998 at The Royal Festival Hall, as part of John Peel’s Meltdown. Pun intended? The songs played were listed as Secret Gig, Running Order Squabble Fest, Four Skinny Indie Kids, Bad Review and 4AD3DCD. A good way of preparing for the return of their live music. But Gid got it wrong here. “Secret Gig” was actually A Shropshire Lad. And at the end of the concert, they sneaked in the last bit of Yipps (My Baby’s Got The).
Came the day. Holmfirth here we come. It’s one of the few venues that is easier by car than by public transport. So we tootled through the drizzle along the A645, A636 and A635, taking in Sandal (Asda already pulled out with pre-Christmas shoppers), Scissett, Denby Dale and New Mill without an “s” at the end.
There is no better gig hotel than The Old Bridge, being a matter of feet from the Picturedrome. We were parked up in good time to visit the Daisy Lane bookshop. Some places never change. Fortunately. A quid bought me Cricket Is My Life by Len Hutton. From there, Karen and I moved on to the Magic Rock bar where we had a Yorkshire Sharing Board, known in some quarters as Ploughman’s Lunch. Yum. The feast continued at the Holme Coffee House with tea and cake ahead of an afternoon of lazing around. We were still not used to this gigging lark.
Having stocked up with fish and chips from the excellent shop on Hollowgate, where we had bumped into Andrew, we spent time trying to earwig the band’s soundcheck from afar. I may have heard Neil playing the bass line to Shadowplay. Then there was Carl testing out the drums, and Karl, Nigel and Neil all giving it “One-Two-One-Two-One-Two-One-Two” over their microphones. They all came together for a rendition of A Lilac Harry Quinn. Hearing that, folks… for me, HMHB live, that was normality back with us. They followed with When The Evening Sun Goes Down. And then Twenty-Seven Yards Of Dental Floss. At which point some bugger shut the hall door, so the sound became more muffled. But that seemed to be the end of it in any case.
The press review was limited to The Huddersfield Daily Examiner. Not a whisper about this show. So I turned to the back page, as you do. Huddersfield Town’s finances are “fine” and the club is “not for sale”. You read it here first. Unless you also got the paper.
We faced up to the short walk to the Picturedrome entrance. We were in good time for the 7.30 opening of the doors. Already ahead of us in the queue were Andrew, Brian, Tony and Graham and Sarah. Great to see everyone again after so long. Brian did my trick – left his ticket in his room. Good job it wasn’t in his other trousers back at home.
When the doors opened, we were down to the front of the hall. I could see Miles at the shop and went to say Hello, not knowing that a new t-shirt was in stock. It’s available in white and details an aerosol spraying the words “Half Man Half Biscuit”. The can contains the warning “Use Only As Directed”. A clue to a future release, one might venture? Or maybe just securing a bit of business ahead of Christmas? I also invested in the CD by tonight’s support act The Stepford Wives. Had the briefest of chats with their singer. I established that the band is from Saddleworth. If you need to know anything else about them, you’ll have to ask them yourself.
More arrivals at the gig were Nigel and Jo from Goole, and Katherine and Karl. Postman Tony was there, and I saw Mike through the crowd. Daz and Howie made their customary appearance just before HMHB hit the stage. Daz announced that he was going to see Pontefract Collieries F.C. play on his way home on the Saturday. Mr and Mrs Exford also appeared. As did Graham Le Taxi. John appeared to have a king of hi vis rival, but went above and beyond by now adopting a hi vis facemask as well as his waistcoat. Trousers next time? And boots maybe?
The Stepford Wives had the same set-up as HMHB, i.e. guitarist on vocals, lead guitarist to his right, bass player to his left, and drummer behind him. There were some floppy fringes on display and Karen felt there was a bit of Harry Potter in the way the drummer looked. They were a bit rockie, a bit indie, it goes down nicely. Ta to the guitarist for the set list.
They Never End
Old Enough
Better Way
DMM WY
Another Number
Pineapple
All The Things
HMHB’s appearance was at a touch after nine o’clock. Way past our normal bedtime, particularly during lockdown. The walk-on music was My My, Hey Hey (Out Of The Blue) by Neil Young – this being Young’s birthday, according to Tony, who handed Nigel a bundle of CDs. Nigel made a big play of cleansing his hands after shaking hands with other folk in the front row. Karl was sporting a snazzy Moon Wiring Club t-shirt. The others were in plainer tops.
After twenty months, we might have wondered about what their first song might be. They have opened up many times with The Light At The End Of The Tunnel. That would have been one of the favourites. But I didn’t expect Renfield’s Afoot, welcome though it was. Nigel had a new guitar in, it must be said, Manchester City colours. It helps if you plug the thing in, of course. After a couple of songs, he finally got that sorted out. Nigel mentioned calling at some Services on the way to the gig, but I didn’t catch the name.
There was a shout for “Anything from Godcore!” The band then played an improvised opening to one such song, and a bit of conversation with the guy who had shouted the request. “It’s Fear My Wraith, not Feel My Wrath,” clarified Nigel. Later he said that this venue, when it was a cinema, was the first place in Britain to show moving pictures. And he wheeled out the old one about when the manager died in 1982. There was a procession round town, and the funeral was at 1.15, 4.20 and 7.30. (Might not have got the times right there.)
Ahead of When The Evening Sun Goes Down, Nigel said “This was originally called What’s The Point, Maureen, done in 1974 by Ed Hennessy’s Thought Process.” He also gave us a bit of Duane Eddy’s Peter Gunn. “I played that in the shop, to test the guitar out.”
“Knock knock… Knock knock… Knock knock… Knock knock… Who’s there?… Philip Glass.” No, me neither. Something to do with minimalism.
Nigel mentioned How Green Is My Valley, and said that when he and Neil were at film college, they went to Butlins at Pwllheli to make a film called How Clean Is My Chalet. A whopping lie? Nigel mimed an extended nose like Pinocchio. When introducing Twenty-Seven Yards Of Dental Floss, he said “I quite like this one, actually.”
Whenever Nigel used to go to a fancy dress party, he would go as his mate. No need to dress up. Dickie Davies Eyes was said to be “about a man with a Mallen streak”. And What Made Colombia Famous is “about loads of people that I know, and loads of people that you know.” That one was preceded by a snippet of Black Night. And from looking at Karl’s set list, which he kindly handed over, this was a late addition.
Tony nudged me and said “I can’t believe I’ve got a philosophy degree, yet I enjoy singing along to There Is Nothing Better In Life Than Writing On The Sole Of Your Slipper With A Biro On A Saturday Night Instead Of Going To The Pub.” This band gets you like that, mate.
Nigel was asked “Are you going to win the FA Cup?” He chose to answer in the first person. “Am I going to win the FA Cup? Well, yeah, I beat Leyton Orient in the First Round and I’m hoping some of the Premier League clubs are going to put out weakened teams.” He also related a story from the 1977 FA Cup final, won by Manchester United, who were captained by Martin Buchan. As they were watching this, his Dad said to him as faux commentary “And Buchan climbs the Thirty-Nine steps to receive the FA Cup.”
Joy Division Oven Gloves was originally by Lord somebody or other. Didn’t catch the name, I’m afraid. Nor did the many other folk that I asked. Hosanna, the jazz snobs are all going home. “Yeah, but I’m one of them,” said Nigel. He was going to open a jazz pub with a Jack Teagarden. And he told us about Alf Roberts and his Therapy Leopard in Bulawayo, one of the deleted scenes from Coronation Street.
During Footprints, it was a shame that the boy had risen at mid-day, as he had missed his favourites, Homes Under The Hammer and The Sheriffs Are Coming. He was particularly upset at missing Homes Under The Hammer as he had noticed lately that Martin Roberts appeared to be going through some marital strife i.e. looking scruffy. In fact, it looks like he has covered himself in glue and rolled around in a skip before presenting the programme.
Before Look Dad No Tunes, Nigel reached into his top pocket for a small package. A couple of guys had approached him earlier in the day, having travelled from Glasgow. Their mate Francis had got them into HMHB in the 1980s. Sadly Francis had passed away and clearly couldn’t be at the gig although, as Nigel said, a little bit of him was there. Nigel scattered his ashes on the stage while the crowd gave three cheers for Francis. Touching.
Exemplary drumming from Carl in Irk The Purists, and Nigel knelt and bowed down to Karl during What Do I Get?
There was some impressive on-stage high-kicking during Restless Legs. I spotted that Neil still has his “arshall” amp. And Nigel came back for the encore with his caravan guitar. I didn’t note which song, but we had an example of Nigel shuffling across the stage on his knees. Always a highlight. Here is how the evening went.
Renfield’s Afoot
Terminus
Bob Wilson Anchorman
Sealclubbing
Joy In Leeuwarden
When The Evening Sun Goes Down
Asparagus Next Left
A Lilac Harry Quinn
Twenty-Seven Yards Of Dental Floss
Dickie Davies Eyes
Vatican Broadside
Surging Out Of Convalescence
What Made Colombia Famous
Look Dad No Tunes
The Best Things In Life (end bit)
Joy Division Oven Gloves
National Shite Day
Irk The Purists
Footprints
Everything’s AOR
Restless Legs
All I Want For Christmas Is A Dukla Prague Away Kit
The Light At The End Of The Tunnel Is The Light Of An Oncoming Train
Ninety-Nine Per Cent Of Gargoyles Look Like Bob Todd
And for the encore
Every Time A Bell Rings
What Do I Get?
The Trumpton Riots
Worth noting here that “Bob Todd” was not on Karl’s list. Maybe a last-minute addition, or maybe Nigel just didn’t write it down. And that was it. Official. HMHB are back in action. And not long before they are back at it. A fortnight, and they are on stage in Frome. A few of us were stopping next door at The Old Bridge. There was quite a gathering at breakfast. Thanks to Karen, Tony, Postman Tony and John for helping out with the notes. At this summit meeting, it was noted that there was a “D” on Nigel’s guitar. Karen then did some research and identified it as a Duesenberg, with Tony suggesting it was a Starplayer model.
Hello to George who was leaving as we arrived for breakfast. And I understand from John that Phil and Karen from Wigan are after me. In a good way, I hope.
14 November 2021
GORDON BURNS
One minor bit to add…
Towards the end, Nigel’s new guitar had some kind of failure. He checked the knobs & dials, the amp, the pedals. Then Neil came over and repeated the whole live debugging activity. It could make noises, just not the right noises. Eventually Nigel gave up, retired it and went without. The Airstream made its appearance for the encores. Unplanned? Possibly. Nigel seemed quite surprised and impressed that it sounded ok – good enough to use.
15 November 2021
dic aberdaron
the caravan never sounded better than it did that night
15 November 2021
transit full of keith
Great review. Not only are Biscuit back, Roger “the Hansard of Biscuit” is also back.
15 November 2021
cream cheese and chives
Been enjoying reading about the events of Friday .The Hansard of Biscuit is spot on.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UMTfyR-caKo
15 November 2021
Cornish Biscuit
Great review again, thank you. From the Huddersfield bus, approaching Holmfirth on Friday, i noticed a chap grouting and had the overpowering urge to shout “break off your grouting, Willy.” Might have done 20 years ago. On the walk to the Picturedrome from the Elephant & Castle we passed an ‘Artisan Roastery’ and i had the overpowering urge to mindlessly vandalise its frontage. Might have done twenty years ago.
15 November 2021
Hendrix-tattoo
Great reviews you guys, Great to see you and your missus also Nigel. In fact it was great to see everybody again and Thank God that after twenty months that we are all healthy and well. Thanks also to John for my lift back to Huddersfield on Saturday and hope you enjoyed the WRC in the World exhibition.
Roll on Frome….
15 November 2021
Hendrix-tattoo
Oh! and also thanks to the band for playing Sealclubbing….
15 November 2021
knockedonthebonce
The Buchan story comes from Motty’s commentary on the final. As a reasonably new commentator he was being assessed on his performance, apparently was doing poorly then came out with the line “how fitting that a man called Buchan is the first to climb the 39 steps”. Carry on
16 November 2021
dr desperate
I assume the Philip Glass repeated ‘Knock Knock’ joke was a reference to his self-description as a composer of “music with repetitive structures”, which has led to him being booed by some string players. Exxo’s final “Philip Glass who?” topped the thing off nicely.
Did I ever tell you about the time I saw Philip Glass standing in front of the Rivals bar at Manchester Royal Exchange having a drink with Brian Eno? Oh, I did.
16 November 2021
CORNISH BISCUIT
Query/cry for help: Have I slept through the Ulverston gig at the Coronation Hall during lockdown? I missed the fact Neil Innes had died so it’s very possible. Came upon our tickets today in the Miscellaneous drawer and experienced a cold fear. It was originally to be in April 2020. Have emailed the venue but they’re not answering the phone. Can’t find an email about rescheduling anywhere…
17 November 2021
Twistedkitemike
Ulverston was I think, rescheduled once but then cancelled.
They gave ticket buyers an opportunity to request a refund, if it wasn’t done by a certain time, you were deemed by default to have forfeited your ticket money to them as a charitable donation.
I think that was the audit trail, I have correspondence and dates at home if you needed something with greater clarity!
Mike…………….
17 November 2021
warden Hodges
Correct Mike.
Ulverston fell into the bracket of gig that never happened. The window for refund was not open for long, a week maximum I’d say.
Took in some nice pubs and the L&H museum 12 days before ‘things changed’….
17 November 2021
Cornish Biscuit
Thanks Mike and Warden, yes just got an email back from the venue which says the same. Will probably have to give that up as lost but can’t remember ever getting an email or a call from them. Never mind, just bought tickets for Durham and even now contemplating Leeds. Come on the future!
17 November 2021
dr desperate
The Ulverston venue (Coro Hall) unfortunately went dark during first lockdown, and decided to cancel rather than reschedule the Biscuits gig. Those who contributed their ticket fees to the theatre’s COVID recovery fund may take some solace from the fact that it did eventually re-open, though showing mostly films at the moment.
The gig may yet happen.
17 November 2021
warden Hodges
Perhaps for another thread but meh….staying here.
Whatever became of Tivoli Buckley ‘gig’ 2008 ish or should that be why was it cancelled?
Never seen HMHB in North Wales before. On holiday in 1999 when they played Colwyn Bay gig.
17 November 2021
EXXO
Blimey. Be surprised if anyone remembers that one Warden but I’ll try googling it on a couple of old footy sites where I do recall posting about the gig in 2008 just to plug it with Liverpudlians who were moaning there was never any local gigs.
Maybe ask the promoter? He’s still knocking around, though what with the situation he’s had to sell his flat in Town.
17 November 2021
EXXO
Blimey. Be surprised if anyone remembers that one Warden but I’ll try googling it on a couple of old footy sites where I do recall posting about the gig in 2008 just to plug it with Liverpudlians who were moaning there was never any local gigs.
Maybe ask the promoter? He’s still knocking around, though what with the situation he’s had to sell his flat in Town.
https://confidentials.com/liverpool/interview-marc-jones-medication-liverpool
See also
http://link2wales.co.uk/2020/latest-news/interview-marc-jones-promoter-tivoli-krazy-house-planet-x/
17 November 2021
EXXO
Ignore me. I somehow had the impression that Marc Jones carried on being the main promoter for the Tiv for about 20 years, but he didn’t, as that second article says. So it wasn’t him in 2008. If it had been maybe it would have happened.
17 November 2021
warden Hodges
Cheers Exxo.
Yeah, a nice summers day and any excuse to travel the borders train from Bidston. Still we make the most of what may be.
17 November 2021
EXXO
Love that train. During the 3½ years my old folks lived in Heswall (just moved) I regret that I never got the trains down the borders – the Shrewsbury gig would have been surprisingly quick to get to from there. Anyway Chris, apologies for continuing the wrong thread stuff – maybe you’ll want to shift 21-30? One of which was comment 45,000 on the site.
But don’t shift this comment, oh no, this is going back on topic with some Holmfirth-related addenda, Minutiae and general AOB in response to the gig.
1. @Hendrix Tattoo – yes we all looked brilliantly healthy but the question is are we still healthy now, the all-important 5 days later? I will kick off by saying that I moshed as much as anyone, my slight post-gig cold peaked yesterday and I’ve been testing negative, so it’s all good and hope for others too..
2. @Knocked on the Bonce – Motson really broke through with his sheepskin coat and Ronnie Radford’s goal in 1972, and was BBC’s 3rd-ranked footy commentator from that moment, so although ’77 was his first FAC final he was hardly a rookie. I say this not to disagree with you, but to sigh at the stuffy old way the BBC worked if he was still worried about his performance.
But yes, @Knocked on the Bonce, although I couldn’t hear every word of what Nigel told me, I think he was saying that his dad had said it without any knowledge that Motson said it. This would presumably be more likely to mean they were watching Brian Moore on ITV, rather than that he said it before Motty said it on the BBC.
Anyway, the whole anecdote was my fault, in that after the heckle from the right about “are you going to win the FA Cup?” and Nigel said that personally yes he was, I shouted “at least you won’t have to climb the steps any more.” Actually I think I shouted it twice after the first time was met with an “eh?” I must have had climbing those steps on the brain, as the last part of my journey to my new job involves me climbing 72 quite old-Wembley-like open-air steps.
3. @Karen. Thanks for posting Roger’s wonderful review and I forgot to say that I owe you a pint in memory of (god giving us) Lionel Blair. If it was still going we could all change and I’m on the record as saying I’d have Dickie Davies. What about you? (in theory, if it was still going – you could have Noam Chomsky now if you wanted). Oh and I was surprised that Gerald Sinstadt never got a shout-out on Friday after his passing last week.
4. @Roger – great stuff – I’m especially relieved that you clarified the ‘Footprints’ monologue. But if I’d known you weren’t going to remember which ‘Lord’ was said to have written JDOG, I’d have made more effort not to forget it instantly meself. I remember thinking “is that a real calypso artist or a pretend one?” and I guess that was what we were meant to think. I’ve since looked up all the “Lord” calypso artists and I don’t think any of them are what he said.
5. @Roger again. I think the bowing down to Karl was only the final moment of a sequence where Nigel first knelt down to see exactly what Karl does with his fingers, to the micro-millimetre, with his fingers to produce the exact Steve Diggle sound at that point, and then spontaneously did the ‘worship’ gesture. If you watch the video posted by I.B.(?) you can even see a point where Nigel suddenlt remembers that he wants to see a close-up exactly what Karl’s going to do with his fingers at that point.
6. @the people with cameraphones. Wow, you got way better quality than I got with my ears. I must have just been in the wrong spot. Mrs Exford also has some clips taken from the balcony where you can hear every word, way more clearly than I could, and where you really get a sense that the playing was not only really, really tight but also somehow more intricate than I can ever remember it. Maybe the high quality of phone recordings on the night was due to how quiet the sound was, like the mix was mainly done with the on-stage acoustics in mind? I know if I’d had a 20-month lay-off from gigging and I had a beautiful new guitar, I’d want to prioritise what was coming through the monitors.
7. @all reviewers – why is nobody mentioning the Nook? As Lou (remember Phyllis Triggs?) said, the Cherry Stout was gorgeous, it truly it was, but I/we actually thought it was the third best of their three home-brewed ales. A cracking, cracking pub and easily the best in Holmfirth.
I’ll be made up if I can find three beers that good in Shrewsbury.
17 November 2021
Injured Buzzard
Certainly the most eagerly awaited show since I started attending 9 years ago and it didn’t disappoint. Initial slight worry of mass close contact was soon forgotten as the intro music started. Positioned front and centre it became clear pretty quickly that this wasn’t the place to be for a ‘stand and watch the band’ patron. After several blows from the more voraciously motioned ‘dancers’, retreated to calmer climes and enjoyed the rest of the performance at a somewhat increased volume. Certainly the initial songs were concurrent with the lack of clear vocals comments, from the front at least. Seemed to improve further back although didn’t stop me becoming another of the 24 hour tinnitus people. Great selection of songs and a brilliant cover in the encore. Almost as if they hadn’t been away.
@Exxo. If only our ears could decipher the music the same way the camera phones do…live-streaming with earphones maybe? Perhaps not…
Afterwards spoke to Roger about the lack of Scottish dates in the upcoming itinerary. Concluded that next December has a slot and Glasgow the most likely due to easier drive home. As the usual venue, the ABC is out of commission, the SWG3 would be a great alternative. Been to a few gigs there and the warehouse is excellent.
Anyway, 1st one back done and on to Frome. See you all there.
17 November 2021
Phyllis Triggs
@Exxo next Holmfirth gig I definitely need to spend more time in the Nook. I only tried two blond ales and the cherry stout so plenty more to be sampled still. And should anyone want an alternative to their traditional pre-gig pizza, can recommend the Mexican eatery – had a lovely meal there with the added bonus that it gave me an excuse to drink tequila.
That’s a great clip of the encore. What a cracking delivery of Trumpton Riots – Nigel at his grrrowly best. Also, its reminded me that at one point someone stood in front of me (front/mid/left of stage) was filming and Nigel spent quite some time performing directly into the phone (uncharacteristic behaviour?) Now, I’d like to see that footage!
That was a brilliant, brilliant gig. If the band was nervous at performing after such a long break they didn’t show it. Looked like they were thoroughly enjoying themselves. Felt a bit nervous meself – this was the first time I’d been anywhere near a moshpit in nearly two years, what if I wasn’t up to it, if I couldn’t stay the course? Needn’t have worried. Like others have said, once it all kicked off it was as if the band (and we) had never been away. My My. Hey Hey.
17 November 2021
Ferencváros FAN
Now that the dust has settled…
Had arrived in Holmfirth early, and it only took 3 attempts to make it into the hotel car park. Not sure if all my manoeuvres were lawful, but no ticket as yet.
Pleased to get the chance to have a good mooch around the place. Rain was persistent though, so I struck a deal with myself to keep walking till my (non-waterproof – why?) jacket was properly soaked, before repairing to the pub. I’ll tell you this for nowt – the climb out of town is much steeper than an ascent of the Stiperstones.
Don’t know if anyone else made it to the Holmfirth Tavern, but big shout out for the place. It reminded me of my local micropub, in that I was on fist name terms with the person behind the bar in no time at all, the beer was good, and the chatter between the punters was lively and friendly.
As mentioned in my earlier, brief, post, the company before, during, and after the gig was brilliant. No need to name names. They know who they are (my old French teacher used to say that when noting down the identities of trouble makers, but I digress). Mention has been made of the other hi vis jacket wearer. I did have a good chat with him. He’d brought his teenage daughter along with him. Parenting at its best.
It’s all been said about the gig. Fantastic setlist. One of the ways that I had tried to make Lockdown work for me was to become more au fait with the band’s music. Although I still feel somewhat GCSE amongst the true aficionados, there were only 4 tracks that I didn’t really know. A stark contrast to Castleton 2019, when my knowledge did not extend beyond the DHSS albums and Achtung. Superb encore session too. I was one of those who were baying for ETABR. It was a much safer bet than the horse I’d backed earlier. Very unlikely that a heavyweight track like that would be omitted. I also heard a shout for Kn0bheads. It is one of my favourite tracks, and I’d love to hear it at a future gig.
Not sure it was the wisest move to position myself at the front of the moshpit and in the centre. At less than 9st wringing wet, there were times that I got bounced around like a pinball, but there were no aches and pains the next day, so I got away with it. Just loved the mood of joyful exuberance (including exchange of hugs) at all being back together after the pandemic. Have thrown the dice a fair few times during the last 3 months, but this was the biggest risk I’ve run by a long way. Pleased to report 2 subsequent LF tests have been negative. Hope the rest of you have all emerged unscathed.
By the end of the encore I needed the finish line, as all the walking and bopping about had taken its toll. Sorry I missed the Nook, but it was back to the hotel for a very quick pint (OK in the interests of accuracy it was a very quick pint followed by a slightly slower one) before bed.
Received a message from home early in the morning that the dogs (but nobody else, so it would seem) were missing me and needed exercising, hence the quick goodbyes to the other gig-goers who had stayed at the hotel. Very much looking forward to more of the same at Shrewsbury then, and maybe even Kn0bheads.
18 November 2021
dr desperate
Can’t speak for the ales at The Nook, as I go non-alcoholic post-gig (as opposed to my pre-gig state), but those at the venue were particularly unpleasant. The two hand-pumped options were taking so long to settle that when I eventually reached the bar I just asked for a pint of their quickest beer.
The most of it ended up on the floor of the moshpit, so no harm done.
18 November 2021
dr desperate
As regards the setlist, I note that ‘Umberstone’ has definitely dropped out of the First XI, having previously been played at fourteen consecutive gigs but none of the last three. The Top Ten, however, remain inviolate.
18 November 2021