Bulletin 10 - Leeds v2
'You were late' said Didz after the show. Well yeah. We had to collect one of our number in Grantham at 7:30 so she could get in a full day at uni. And then had to duck and dive around the Christmas covered city centre a couple of times before we could park. Entered the full (though not packed) venue part the way through the opener, Wondering. We didn't point out that usually we wait for about three hours for them so the odd late arrival is only fair enough. 'Didn't matter,' said Gary, 'the beginning's usually pretty rough. But I was surprised to see you there at all. Didn't expect you guys to come.' 'Why surprised,' I asked, 'we've come to everything else and we had tickets already.' But he was right, it was a particular act of madness to go to Leeds last night.
Sandwiched between work and uni commitments, we had to do a 'there-and-back-again' in the same night. Far too many hours and miles of driving. But, wtf, we had tickets already and so went. And, as always, was glad we did.
A far cry from the chaotic intimacy of the last few Irish gigs, this was back to tour-normal, but had a particular poignancy about it. 'This is the last time we'll play in the north,' Carl said, having apologised for the previous cancellation. Maybe it was just that I was particularly tired, but I did feel one of the few pangs of sadness I've experienced during the tour, and the now familiar (thanks, lads for the lashings of irony) strains of the Doors playing 'This is The End' as we left brought a lump to my throat.
The band have kept hold of the energy they generated last week in Ireland, and the set was fast, furious and good fun. They're still ringing the changes with the set order, and we got all of WtA (minus, of course, 'If You Love a Woman') plus the Holly snippet, Buzzards, Hippy's Son, Chinese Dogs, Plastic Hearts, Truth Begins and I Get Along, which appeared as a closer for 3 of the 5 Irish gigs. With only Kieran as support, we were indeed lucky that DPT didn't come on earlier. Josh Hubbard was present, he'd come over from Hull to see the band. And although my brain and body this morning didn't agree, I was glad we'd made the trek. As usual.
Sandwiched between work and uni commitments, we had to do a 'there-and-back-again' in the same night. Far too many hours and miles of driving. But, wtf, we had tickets already and so went. And, as always, was glad we did.
A far cry from the chaotic intimacy of the last few Irish gigs, this was back to tour-normal, but had a particular poignancy about it. 'This is the last time we'll play in the north,' Carl said, having apologised for the previous cancellation. Maybe it was just that I was particularly tired, but I did feel one of the few pangs of sadness I've experienced during the tour, and the now familiar (thanks, lads for the lashings of irony) strains of the Doors playing 'This is The End' as we left brought a lump to my throat.
The band have kept hold of the energy they generated last week in Ireland, and the set was fast, furious and good fun. They're still ringing the changes with the set order, and we got all of WtA (minus, of course, 'If You Love a Woman') plus the Holly snippet, Buzzards, Hippy's Son, Chinese Dogs, Plastic Hearts, Truth Begins and I Get Along, which appeared as a closer for 3 of the 5 Irish gigs. With only Kieran as support, we were indeed lucky that DPT didn't come on earlier. Josh Hubbard was present, he'd come over from Hull to see the band. And although my brain and body this morning didn't agree, I was glad we'd made the trek. As usual.