I drove past Billing Aquadrome on the way to the gig – always a good sign, as well as a brown one. Those coming via the M1 would have been told to keep Two Chevrons Apart. All good omens, but how was it for you?
I drove past Billing Aquadrome on the way to the gig – always a good sign, as well as a brown one. Those coming via the M1 would have been told to keep Two Chevrons Apart. All good omens, but how was it for you?
Bobby SVARC
Brilliant, Nothing else to say really.
Oh the fella who I didn’t know from Adam who asked me to mind his coat all night, I can only breathe fresh air not spend it!! 😉
30 November 2013
Chris The Siteowner
Tremendous set list – “24 Hour Garage People” returns, and all three of “Shite Day”, “Bad Wools” and “A Country Practice”. Sound wasn’t brilliant, down on the front barrier, but the Twitter chat tells me it was “better than Birmingham”. Nigel on irrepressible form, wiping the floor with certain members of the audience with his local knowledge. His mind seemed to be elsewhere at times with some of the more improvised songs though. Pic here.
Great to meet so many people who frequent this website, some (like Jitsu G and Loins71) who are regular contributors, others who are just lurkers – although equally welcome. It made me wonder how many people visit the site without commenting (not that I’m asking for any more comments!), so I looked it up, and it turns out that in a typical month we get 5,000 different people visiting the site, 1,200 of which come here more than once in the month, with just over 100 people generating about 500 comments. So a big hi to the 90% of frequent visitors who don’t usually comment!
30 November 2013
Nige
Stood at the back, I thought the sound was the clearest ever, although I was wishing it wasn’t in the 5 minutes I endured of the support “act”.
30 November 2013
Zerothehero
Well, I am usually a lurker, so I’ll comment just to buck the trend.
Northampton is nice and local to me – much easier than driving up to Wolverhampton, which is what I did last time. I hadn’t been to the Roadmenders for quite a while, but it hadn’t changed much. Due to various logistical shenanigans I managed to miss the support band – were they any good?
I was about a third of the way back and the sound was fine – Nigel does have excellent diction, so it was only in the noisier bits that the vocals became a bit ‘abstract’. Being a sturdy veteran of one previous HMHB gig I knew roughly what to expect, but I’d brought my daughter (who I’ve forced to listen to some HMHB and some versions of their songs on my ukulele!) and her boyfriend – a Biscuit newbie.
I thoroughly enjoyed it and thought Nigel was on good form. Highlights were too many to relate – but I had no idea what the second encore song was. Anyone any ideas? My daughter also enjoyed it but wished she had listened to more before the gig. The boyfriend also enjoyed it, but said he felt a bit as if he had gone to a club where everyone but him knew what was going on!
I hope the band enjoyed Northampton – I’d like them to come back. Soon.
30 November 2013
rich
The sound does seem to have gone downhill at the Roadmender, and wasn’t that great last night, but it was much better than New Model Army at the same venue earlier in the year.
Setlist:
The Light at the End of the Tunnel (is the Light of an Oncoming Train)
Joy in Leeuwarden (We are Ready)
A Lilac Harry Quinn
Fuckin’ ‘ell it’s Fred Titmus
Look Dad No Tunes
Bob Wilson Anchorman
Use to be in Evil Gazebo – I Went to a Wedding (end)
Yipps (My Baby Got the)
Petty Sessions
All I Want for Christmas Is a Dukla Prague Away Kit
Totnes Bickering Fair
Tending the Wrong Grave for 23 Years
Irk the Purists
Running Order Squabble Fest
Fix it so She Dreams of Me
National Shite Day – The Best Things in Life (end)
Vatican Broadside
When the Evening Sun Goes Down
Rock and Roll is Full of Bad Wools
Restless Legs
24 Hour Garage People (Pringles cost £2.48)
We Built This Village on a Trad. Arr. Tune
It’s Clichéd to Be Cynical at Christmas
Joy Division Oven Gloves
For What is Chatteris…
New Dawn Fades (Joy Division)
A Country Practice
30 November 2013
Killingjoker
Thought the gig was great, apart from some sound issues as others have said. Hadn’t been to The Roadmender since the early 90’s so had forgotten what it was like there. Shame we don’t have anywhere decent enough in Leicester to have them play here 🙁
The cover of Joy Division’s New Dawn Fades as the 2nd encore song was astounding! – love the odd surprise they produce at their gigs 🙂
1 December 2013
Bobby SVARC
Viccy Park, Filbert Street, Stanton Club or even The Musician for a select few
1 December 2013
Age-old Eel
I believe I might have been your coat bloke Bobby. In my defence I was rather inebriated and almost certainly incapable of communicating my intentions.
Great gig for me, the mosh pit could’ve been livelier though.
I’ve realised that Totnes Bickering Fair is my favourite song by any band ever, bit of an adolescent crush almost. Am I wrong?
(My coat was fine btw)
1 December 2013
Killingjoker
Some lads from Leicester had a chat with Nigel in the bar on Friday about gigs here and apparently there was nowhere suitable even though he said they know they can fill a venue. Viccy Park might be o.k. in the summer, I reckon the Musician might be too small (as would be The Shed, Firebug etc.)
Last time I saw them here was at the Auditorium which only stayed open a few months – a real shame as it was just the sort of place we needed 🙁
1 December 2013
Bobby SVARC
Did they? I was in the bar, Didn’t see him.
Mr Eel, No Worries, You can get me a sweet sherry at Leamington
1 December 2013
Killingjoker
He was near the merchandise stall earlier in the evening, shortly after the doors had opened I believe
1 December 2013
Bobby SVARC
Oh with that idiot who built the Filbert Street model?
1 December 2013
Bobby SVARC
Baby Squad or Ratae?
2 December 2013
WE DON’T NEED NO RE-RODGE
Everyone’s used to the drill by now: Balaclavas. Seizing (not too forcible). Hood. Bundling. Van. We get the review. Gez and Roger get the credit. Stay Calm and Nobody gets bored.
The Roadmender, Northampton, Fri 29th November 2013 (30/11/13)
Roger Green:
If ever you want to compare and contrast with the tale from ‘Twenty Four Hour Garage People’, go to Tamworth railway station. They don’t have any cafes on site, but outside the station there is a catering van. The lady in the van doesn’t wear a red corporate jumper and doesn’t do Leadbelly impressions. But she is very helpful and sells top grade sandwiches. I went for corned beef and tomato and had a very pleasant chat with her. As it should be. My route to Northampton led to me changing trains at Tamworth and Rugby. If you’re ever in that area, then you ought to give this venture your support.
When I got to Northampton, my first task was to locate the venue. My second task was to have a wander round town. The main street was much as many other main streets. Marks and Spencer and BHS held prime sites, and the further I went, I came across the likes of Cash Generator and Cashino. As you do. Who said that all town centres look the same? Not everywhere has a Jesus Centre though. Maybe it was one of their people who came up to me and asked “How are you today, sir?”. It was nice of him to ask, but ultimately none of his business. Elsewhere you had Watts furniture store (established 1895) still going strong, but there was another building, which I would guess was maybe a grand department store in a previous life, now occupied by Sports Direct and H+M. I called into That’s Entertainment, expecting perhaps to find a section solely devoted to local geezers Bauhaus. No such luck. It was easier to find stuff by Huddersfield Choral Society. And one day, please can someone explain to me what is meant by “Urban” music? There was a whole corner of the store devoted to that heading. Isn’t it better just to describe it as “music”? It’s me showing I’m out of touch, I know. It started many years ago, when I could never quite find where the line was between “Punk” and “New Wave”. Back outside in the precinct, I also puzzled over “Northampton Sculpture”. May have to go back to that at some time.
The HMHB marketing machine was at its usual level of ruthless efficiency. Not a word in the Chronicle And Echo, and there was an apparent lack of posters around the place. Maybe they gave it up as a bad job in the face of a show by Steeleye Span. Another food tip. Try the Wok Inn. Tony and I tried it for our pre-gig feed. I went for the prawn toast starter, with chicken cashew nuts for main. Admittedly we were less taken by the background music. Very Radio Two Sunday Morning. A very poor cover of Minnie Ripperton’s ‘Loving You’ was in there. Don’t even try it if you are not going to go for the high notes. But you get what you are given, and we didn’t let it spoil the meal.
From the outside, I was expecting the Roadmender to be some sort of arts centre. But it was just a conventional venue on the inside. Bar, concert room, toilets (complete with lights not working). Shifty Chicken Shed were supporting. They were on stage prompt at 7.30. I remember seeing them at one of the Bilston gigs when they did an interesting version of Kate Bush’s ‘Army Dreamers’. Tonight they opened with The Clash’s ‘Rock The Casbah’. Except not how The Clash did it. They have a fair array of instruments – a couple of saxophones, swanee whistle (Tony identified this), washboard, megaphone and even a bell (unused). It would take a better man than me to categorise their music. I’ll stick with “Urban” until I’m told differently. Although they say they are from Shropshire. So maybe they are “Rural”. I got one of their CDs from Geoff’s stall (“Town” on the Moron Records label) so maybe that will give me a clue. I was impressed by the keyboard player’s ATV t-shirt (the television company, not the band), although I was a little worried about the tendency of band members to put instruments to their mouths after they have been on the floor. Health and Safety issue?
A blast of Tchaikovsky announced HMHB’s entrance. Nigel was carrying a yellow Wet Floor sign, as he is entitled to. We were told that ‘Joy In Leeuwarden’ was written by a Chepstow dentist. There was a bit of banter with Nigel about local celebs. I offered Bauhaus, and was given Nanette Newman back, and Francis Crick, one of the guys who discovered DNA, which in turn gave him the excuse for the joke about what does DNA stand for? (National Dyslexic Association). We were told that the band had used the M6 Toll Road. “Here’s a song about something that should never have been,” was the introduction to ‘Bob Wilson Anchorman’. Ken was the the first man in Wallasey to wear Thinsulate. Ian Ormondroyd was spotted in the crowd. “Useful to have round the house for changing lightbulbs,” commented Nigel. Which in turn led to another joke. “How many A&R men does it take to change a lightbulb? Can I come back to you on that one?” We also got another go at the Pointless theme, while Ken was tuning up. Nigel started telling me about the scene in the film where Kes’s brother gives him money to place on a horse, but instead he buys some chips and then gets a thumping when his brother finds out the horse had won. There was a bit about Private Godfrey and a line about him saying that in the normal course of events we would all be sitting round the fire, reading. There was a very short snippet of Climie Fisher, following a shout from the crowd. During ‘When The Evening Sun Goes Down’ we got the line “how do the road menders get to work?” I’m sure Nigel said that the Royal Variety Hall is in Leeds. Did he mean City Varieties? A few observations from ‘Twenty Four Hour Garage People’, which returned to the set list: Talk Sport is now the radio station. It’s sour cream and onion crisps (“there has never been sour cream and chives”). They cost a staggering £2.48! The metal tray device is called a Millmoor, because they were first used at Rotherham United. Yeah, whatever. And surely in that case they should now be called New Yorks. The people in the queue are from the Happy To Stand And Wait Society. The guy in the garage is wearing a ‘Keep Calm And Listen To Toto’ t-shirt. Not only did we have ‘Joy Division Oven Gloves’, but also a cover version. And the venom in ‘A Country Practice’ was still evident.
The Light At The End Of The Tunnel
Joy In Leeuwarden
A Lilac Harry Quinn
Fuckin’ ‘Ell It’s Fred Titmus
Look Dad No Tunes
Bob Wilson Anchorman
Used To Be In Evil Gazebo
Foot Up In Europe
My Baby Got The Yipps
Petty Sessions
All I Want For Christmas Is A Dukla Prague Away Kit
Totnes Bickering Fair
Tending The Wrong Grave
Irk The Purists
Running Order Squabble Fest
Fix It So She Thinks Of Me
National Shite Day
The Best Things In Life (end bit)
Vatican Broadside
When The Evening Sun Goes Down
Rock ‘n’ Roll Is Full Of Bad Wools
Restless Legs
Twenty-Four Hour Garage People
We Built This Village
It’s Cliched To Be Cynical At Christmas
Joy Division Oven Gloves
And in the encore….
For What Is Chatteris
New Dawn Fades
A Country Practice
After that, it was back to the Wetherspoons for a general discussion about the Gig Of The Year award. Everybody agreed that Brighton and Stockton were probably the best two. Special mention also to Stowmarket, as much for the occasion as anything else. And the morris dancing at Birmingham was worth seeing. But then again, it’s all good stuff isn’t it? One day I’m sure something will come along that will draw me away from these gigs. Whatever it is, it’ll have to be wholesome entertainment. Until that happens, I’m booked in for Ilminster, Bristol, London, Leamington Spa and Holmfirth. Happy 2014.
3 December 2013
nigel
The department store was a “co-op” years ago, then the right hand side was transformed into C & A until their demise.
The sculpture is a cobblers last, a tribute to the town’s shoe making past (rather than the football club’s position in league two until saturday)
3 December 2013
exx0
Great stuff as ever Roger.
2013 has seen my lowest HMHB attendance for at least a decade, alas, at a mere 30% of gigs, and your morsels are some compensation. Especially because nobody in Northampton seems to have ‘tubed anything from the gigs yet.
What a brilliant set list that was, you lucky buggers. I think I would gladly pay to see someone’s wobbly phone footage of 24HGP and above all ACP – it’s been that long since they appeared (was someone in the band under the weather and so in need of the extra rest that these pieces afford ?). And that’s a first time ever for the two Lux Familiar Cup finalists appearing in the same encore. Probably.
I’m impressed to hear that there have been better gigs in 2013 than the three I was privileged to attend. The DIY scout hut affair in Sheffield made it one of my favourites ever, Stowmarket was very special and Cambridge one of the best ever in the giving-it-some-welly department.
I must do better in 2014, though obviously the nine-gigs-in-a-row in the Deep South thing doesn’t help and I still mightn’t make anything this side of Holmfirth.
3 December 2013
Simon
Some youtube footage, including New Dawn Fades, here:
http://www.youtube.com/user/malloryroxx?feature=watch
3 December 2013
EXXO
Thanks Simon, really enjoyed them three. You’d think that ‘Half Man Half Biscuit Northampton’ would yield more than zero search results on youtube but it doesn’t , not for me anyway.
3 December 2013
Bobby SVARC
Brilliant JD cover, nice one Simon
3 December 2013
Simon
@Exxo
The uploader doesn’t seem to have tagged them as ‘Northampton’ hence your search yielding nothing. I just searched for ‘Half Man Half Biscuit’ with a filter of ‘This week’.
3 December 2013
EXXO
Ah, OK, I thought tags just helped a search, rather than the search being totally reliant on them, but now I know.
3 December 2013
Paullobster ABZ
Fantastic gig. Great set list. Decent venue. And the other half lost her live(?) virginity!
Hopefully a gig or two north of the border next year T.B.A.
A 1,000 mile round trip and 16 hour drive really does knock the shi*e out of you.
How do you get to Ilminster?
3 December 2013
Bobby SVARC
Bloody Hell, well done.
3 December 2013
Dr Desperate
The clip labelled ‘Totnes Bickering Abuser’ linked from post 7 above begins with NB57 singing something along the lines of “I’m enemies and I don’t like it – F**k the Gas Board, F**k the Gas Board”. A random ‘Rock The Casbah’ parody, or… a snippet from a new song?
4 December 2013
Bobby SVARC
I think it was more to do with Shifty Chicken Shed’s effort earlier on.
4 December 2013
Bobby SVARC
Another fine review from Roger Green, How does he remember so much?. It’s a shame that Roger’s reviews are so good that over the last few years other reviewers on Gerard Wood’s site have decided that they can’t compete and it would be a waste of time trying which is a shame because you only have to go back a few years to read lots of reviews at more or less every gig.. I for one love reading them
4 December 2013
Chris The Siteowner
The reviews are good, aren’t they? I’ve never met Roger, although I assume it was him standing next but one to me at Northampton, and although I saw a few things going in the notebook, he was either very discreet or it didn’t come out of his pocket anything like as much as you’d expect.
4 December 2013
Bobby SVARC
I have trouble remembering what happened 5 minutes ago but fair play to the fella, and yes that was the man btw.
4 December 2013
Bobby SVARC
‘I saw Kate Bush with the ICF, with the ICF, with the ICF, I saw Kate Bush with the ICF at Mile End tube in the morning’
4 December 2013
EXXO
Them’s been the live lyrics for a good few Xmases now.
4 December 2013
Bobby SVARC
Should have been ‘The Baby Squad’ 😉
4 December 2013
Esh She esh
@ Nige comment #3…… 5 minutes of listening to us playing was far better than enduring 90 percent of the audience for 45 minutes. See you at The Blockheads gig in April I hope not!
4 December 2013
nigel
oh dear – touchy!!
doubt many of us would rush to see you again anyway
4 December 2013
Shifty
Well music is subjective, you may like us, its obvious some people here do not. But ask yourself this? Would you rather your local venues are filled with Queen , Bon Jovi, ACDC, Meatloaf….need I go on…. tribute acts? That is the reality right now, so whilst you sit conceited at your keyboard acting the rock band oracle, you are doing nothing to encourage original music. So good luck to you, the future is grim the future is a Beiber tribute act.
4 December 2013
Shifty
…….and to add fat to that, we don’t want to please everyone all of the time, same as HMHB. We just pray that one day, not too far away there is another John Peel who listened to music without a corporate agenda and gave honest, hardworking bands a chance, again just like HMHB, as if it wasn’t for him, I would have never known of them. He launched some of the best cult bands ever…….Ever heard of The Fall? ….and earlier on, when music wasn’t all about adverts and sponsorship, Funkadelic? Nina Simone? Smog? Lambchop? RL Burnside, Leadbelly? Check them out when you’re have five minutes!
4 December 2013
nigel
Conceited at the keyboard hmmmmmm
Compare and contrast and spot the conceit – paraphrasing
Me – heard a bit of the band and wasn’t keen
Them – We hate 90% of HMHB fans, we like proper music and you clearly listen to dross
Personally, I prefer “guests” who realise they’re only there to fill in time, these earnest ones who think the main band are their “warming down” support make me sigh
5 December 2013
CHRIS THE SITEOWNER
OK guys, arguments well made from both sides. Let’s perhaps call it a day on this subject.
5 December 2013
Shifty
Well we enjoyed the gig, sold some CD’S which helped with diesel costs, spoke to some people via internet who enjoyed our set which goes a long way when we have traveled a long way to play. Unfortunately had to get home before the end of HMHB as our drummer was working at 7 the next morning till probably 12 midnight. It would just be better if people were a little more reserved with cheap throw away comments, we welcome relevant constructive criticism
5 December 2013
Bobby SVARC
Coo-ie Mister Shifter, http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8Bl-VnmnOdk
5 December 2013
nigel
That’s not fair, Chris – if you can’t do it on here, where else can you Irk the purist?
insert sarky smiley as required
6 December 2013
Dave Wiggins
@Roger Green. Cap doffed, as usual, Sir, but Billy Casper got more than a thumping of tha’ Jud. His bullying elder sibling went and killed his kestrel, once he found out that Billy had failed to place the bet. The word seminal was invented for that film, and the book upon which it was based.
6 December 2013