Who
Half Man Half Biscuit
Support
The Humdrum Express
Where
Birmingham O2 Institute
When
15th September 2022
Price
£20.00
Who with
No-one
Position
Towards the back
Comments
Thanks to the pandemic this was my first time seeing Half Man Half Biscuit since November 2019, with this show being rescheduled from 2020 to 2021 and then again into 2022. The postponement from 2021 wasn't perhaps necessary as HMHB did manage to play some shows that year, but quite a few artists did the same thing in delaying shows that they presumably could have played. However it is nice to see the guys now things are back to normal and we don't have to worry about wearing masks, even though the pandemic isn't really over and we've collectively just decided to ignore it and get on with life anyway. It was a surprise that Half Man Half Biscuit announced a show for Birmingham rather than the usual venue of Bilston's Robin 2, but at least with it being the Institute it's a decent place. This was my 17th time watching the band, and as usual I had no luck persuading anyone to join me, although I don't believe I asked everyone, and amid all the hassle of the date being put back twice it's fortunate that no one else was involved in that fuss. On the day I heard a few hits on my lunch break and decided to wear my bright red Some Call It Godcore t-shirt. Due to train timings I watched TV and ate tea at home before heading out, not being too concerned by the possibility of the band appearing onstage at 7.30pm sharp, despite the lack of information online. As it turned out the show was the Friday before The Queen's funeral on the Monday, and I was also determined to undertake my planned schedule of Heritage week events also. So I made some notes on my phone after the show, but have taken over a week to start to write this up, hot on the heels of drafting my Kraftwerk at Field Day 2022 review.

I stopped at Wolves train station to break up my journey and to get a cheaper overall train fare, before boarding the surprisingly quiet London train. Considering the supposed rush to get to London it was weirdly empty for a Friday late evening rush hour, but it was nice to get a seat without issue. I got off at Brum and headed towards Digbeth after noting that the "four guys" statue from viral internet fame had been removed already and the bull wasn't wearing any costume, but I took a few nice shots of the Bullring church and the decorated globe outside it, even noting a side entrance that was beautifully lit up which I'd never even noticed before. My walk was a little more challenging as the road to the venue had been comprehensively dug up, and with little sign that it would be put back anytime soon. I think they're building a metro extension, but much like in Wolverhampton, they are doing it with no urgency whatsoever. As it was getting a little dark I mostly ignored the graffiti and felt confident I'd find a decent pub without too much effort, striking pay dirt with Halton Turner Brewing Company. It was pleasantly quiet and had their own lovely beer on tap, plus a few HMHB fans who commented on my Godcore t-shirt. I chose to sit in a quiet area and catch up on my phone as I feel it unlikely I'd make any lasting friendships from a gig meet up, but I certainly enjoyed the two beers, including a SMaRT beer, which apparently stands for single hop and single malt. So as a style it could have been anything, but the one I had was lovely. After a couple of beers I felt ready to head to the venue, getting into the Institute easily enough without any fuss about the camera I was carrying. After the shitshow at Kraftwerk I was a little paranoid about what to take in, but felt it unlikely I'd encounter the same bollocks twice.

The Institute have never given me drama before though, and they didn't even have a problem with the fact that my ticket was dated 2020! I headed upstairs and got in without my ticket being checked again, meaning that anyone with a seated ticket could have got into the main area without issue. I did wonder if I'd have been able to wander into the balcony unattended, but felt my chances were small, and I nudged my way in before shifting to a central position towards the back after the support act finished. I mean it's Half Man Half Biscuit in the West Midlands, so who else could it possibly be other than The Humdrum Express supporting them? It was my seventh time seeing him and I still know very few songs, but I do feel that his set changes each time too. It was a real surprise how full the venue was well ahead of HMHB appearing, but this was a great thing to see, and according to my research it has three times the capacity of The Robin 2 in Bilston, at around 2000 people. Considering that HMHB never seem to sell out in advance, I do wonder how such a large crowd was attracted, but it was great to see regardless. The Humdrum Express was already onstage as I entered and was wearing his usual cap, and although I took some photos I resisted the urge to shoot any videos at all tonight. Humdrum made a joke about spelling Armageddon wrong in a spelling bee, and how it wasn't the end of the world, and talked of enjoying Tony Hancock and enduring Matt Hancock during the pandemic, which was a lovely way of putting it.

Humdrum surprised us by announcing that he'd been placed in the top 100 Midland songs by a recent poll, with his entry coming from Leopard Print Onesie. And it felt familiar, with the "inspiring the next generation" lyric. He said he was an Albion fan from Kidderminster, making more of a deal of his Midlander credentials than I've ever noted before. I just assumed he followed HMHB everywhere they ask him to, rather than it being an arrangement of geographical convenience. Otherwise as I haven't made many notes here I don't have much to add, Humdrum did a brief bout of spoken poetry as he usually throws in, and had gone down pretty well. I made limited notes on my phone, and at this point I may have visited the loos outside the main room again. It's a little strange as there are two doors, one leading to a tiny toilets and the other to some more substantial ones. How bizarre. I moved forwards just a little but contented myself with a central position fairly near the back, spying a few variations of the Dukla Prague away kit amongst the fans. Perhaps as it was a different room and larger/busier, I didn't really notice any of the familiar faces, but for sure it was a positive and happy crowd, lacking in drama and joined by mutual appreciation of The Biscuit. The stage was already set up with a typically minimalist approach, and I recognised the intro tape as being Standing In The Rain by the Electric Light Orchestra, although in fact I think it was actually Daybreaker, but they certainly sounded very similar. After sorting themselves out, Nigel waved his arms so it was cut out, and the band launched into the rather outstanding Fuckin' 'Ell It's Fred Titmus, accompanied by Nigel's caravan guitar also!

Much as would be expected, it was a popular choice and the crowd singing on the chorus was excellent, forming a bit of a moment akin to When The Sun Goes Down by Arctic Monkeys. Unlike those Sheffield shitheads, HMHB aren't afraid of embracing the classics, but just face the challenge that they physically can't play them all, or even close to all, whereas AM just choose to be dicks and could easily squeeze all the classics in and with room to spare too. Nigel maintained his "chatting to the audience like mates while onstage" vibe despite the larger crowd, asking if someone was drinking water or vodka, before declaring bravely to never having ever tried vodka himself. Next up was Alehouse Futsal, which actually was the first of a few "never before heard" tunes. Now I'm miffed that few (if any) classic omissions were performed, but when I listened back to the gloriously named No-One Cares About Your Creative Hub So Get Your Fuckin' Hedge Cut, I've got to say it's a belter. I didn't quite realise just what a rich vein of form HMHB had hit, and although I'm not as familiar with the even newer The Voltarol Years, tunes such as In A Suffolk Ditch whet my appetite. It's becoming a bit of a HMHB pattern of behaviour to prioritise songs from Back In The DHSS alongside the newest cuts, and they took this to new extremes tonight with a stonking five songs from their debut. And they were delivered to closely match the originals, as Time Flies By (When You're The Driver Of A Train) went down a storm and I'm not sure I've ever heard it before with both the original intro and outro!

Don't get me wrong, I think Back In The DHSS is a great debut and it's always a pleasure to hear the oldies, but I can never get over the fear I'll never get to hear the equally fabulous middle-period tunes live. I mean The Len Ganley Stance is a debut cut that would astonish thanks to its live rarity, but moments such as ITMA, You're Hard, A Shropshire Lad, Even Men With Steel Hearts, Styx Gig (Seen By My Mates Coming Out Of A), Moody Chops, Keeping Two Chevrons Apart, The Referee's Alphabet, Lord Hereford's Knob and - perhaps most of all - Sponsoring The Moshpits, would just be absolute gold, and I'm sure I'm not the only fan who would enjoy them. You've got to give credit, Half Man Half Biscuit have a large hardcore of fans who really do know it all. I had to listen to a snippet to confirm that The Bane Of Constance was the crowd pleaser with the "Midge Ure looks like a milk thief" lyric, and I'm Getting Buried In The Morning stands out as a strong opener of the latest Voltarol Years album. Nigel somehow got onto the story of Skippy the kangaroo, and talked about the bloke who played his dad, reading our minds by clarifying that he was referring to the actor's dad, not the kangaroos father! Bob Wilson: Anchorman is a great and popular middle-era tune that makes its way into the set a fair number of times, and it was numbers such as Renfield's Afoot that attracted moshing that seemed to come out of completely nowhere and with no connection to the "classicness" of the tunes. It truly seemed to be driven by the vibes of the moment, which is quite rare!

There was a guy gently bobbing around in front of me who was frustrating me by blocking my view just enough to be annoying, and it felt good to hear Lark Descending and We Built This Village On A Trad. Arr. Tune. Nigel actually forgot one of the verses to the eternally lovely For What Is Chatteris?, and now I'm writing this up I'm realising that the setlist did throw in a few more surprises than I'd gave it credit for. Bogus Official and Floreat Inertia were a bit obscure, and I couldn't help but wonder if Dead Men Don't Need Season Tickets was played with a very slight reference to the passing of The Queen? It did feel strange to be out and about the Friday just three days before her funeral, as I'd always thought that the nation would have ground to a halt completely for the whole period. But the situation is a bit different when it's a long life well lived, and not one suddenly cut short. Nigel did the very briefest of takes on Song To The Siren to lead into Vatican Broadside, and because it was done the very first time I saw HMHB in 2001, Song To The Siren remains my favourite way to segue into it. Very rarely do we hear Vatican Broadside by itself, as it's normally thrown on the end of a song as a little Easter egg instead. The band were sounding and looking good, with Carl on drums sporting considerable facial hair at the back! The stone cold classic Everything's A.O.R. got the crowd going, before a slightly premature (both in the set and in the year) rendition of All I Want For Christmas Is A Dukla Prague Away Kit. Apparently there was a tune played called Barbarellas which I don't even know so have to suspect it was a newbie, and Oblong Of Dreams continued the trend of newer numbers.

Every Time A Bell Rings had been a storming closer last time around and along with What Made Colombia Famous... (which wasn't played tonight), really shows HMHB are still writing at the highest levels. The guys in the pub beforehand were singing the praises of the new material, and although I wasn't quite prepared to agree that it was their best ever, I do accept it's very strong, and I had a lot more work to do to listen and get into this stuff! Perhaps the closest to an "unheard classic" tonight was 99% Of Gargoyles Look Like Bob Todd. I felt confident I'd heard it before and my records show that they'd finished with it way back in January 2012. So not quite one to tick off my list, but a real crowd pleaser and a pleasure to hear it. I'm not quite sure, but Nigel gave the vibe that it was improvised. I do wonder how many of the songs the guys can just happily play, and how many they need to rehearse and relearn before they can delight us with them? The Trumpton Riots (I think) featured the quiet brief intro and felt as violent and exciting as ever, and this led into National Shite Day, which I should love but it's rather long and makes it into the setlist just a bit too regularly. Persian Rug Sale At The URC was the last newbie, and the set had been going on so long that I was doubting that HMHB were even going to bother with the fake "leaving of the stage then coming back for an encore" moment, but it was obvious that Joy Division Oven Gloves was an ending of sorts! We all took delight in noting the one guy in the moshpit with two gloves on, but when the hands aren't connected I'm not sure that they genuinely are oven gloves? Still, he put the effort in, so credit must be given.

And yes, it was the end of the main set as expected, and the band left the stage. There is just something monumental about Joy Division Oven Gloves, and it is lovely that it is now perhaps seen as more of a highlight than even The Trumpton Riots or Everything's A.O.R! The band quickly reappeared even though they'd played a very long set, and we all were confident that they wouldn't leave us early and shortchanged. And She's In Broadstairs was a popular choice, giving Neil a rare moment on lead vocals. I then was stumped by what I correctly deduced was the token cover version, which in fact was A Song From Under The Floorboards by Magazine. A few fans seemed to enjoy it, but it's always tough to enjoy an unknown tune that has made the set at the expense of dozens of desired classic cuts. Still, I guess it's a tradition? I don't quite agree with its lofty status, but The Light At The End Of The Tunnel (Is The Light Of An Oncoming Train) was predictably the closing number, and for sure everyone would have noticed if it had been omitted. But for me it's far from their best, but the fans love it so maybe I'm wrong? We applauded and slowly made our way down the stairs and outside, struggling past the Digbeth roadworks to the train station. If there had been some pub time available, it quickly vanished, but spotting a Primark FM t-shirt on the way back made up for it! I caught the penultimate train back anyway, making a few notes and playing on the internet a bit. For sure I felt really frustrated that I couldn't get anyone to bother to join me, at £20 a ticket it was insanely cheap and everyone always loves it once they see the guys live. But whatever, Half Man Half Biscuit can't continue forever, one day there will be a final time, but I hope to get another 5-10 viewings in, and that eventually they'll displace Abba with a virtual reality concert of their own playing to 10,000 people a night in Birkenhead with a randomised setlist. Think how spectacular that would be? In a better world, it would surely happen!
Setlist
Fuckin' 'Ell It's Fred Titmus
Alehouse Futsal
In A Suffolk Ditch
Time Flies By (When You're The Driver Of A Train)
The Bane Of Constance
I'm Getting Buried In The Morning
Bob Wilson: Anchorman
Renfield's Afoot
Awkward Sean
Lark Descending
We Built This Village On A Trad. Arr. Tune
Terminus
For What Is Chatteris?
Bogus Official
Floreat Inertia
Dead Men Don't Need Season Tickets
Song To The Siren [snippet]/Vatican Broadside
Everything's A.O.R.
All I Want For Christmas Is A Dukla Prague Away Kit
Barbarellas
Oblong Of Dreams
Every Time A Bell Rings
Midnight Mass Murder
99% Of Gargoyles Look Like Bob Todd
The Trumpton Riots
National Shite Day
Persian Rug Sale At The URC
Joy Division Oven Gloves
She's In Broadstairs
A Song From Under The Floorboards
The Light At The End Of The Tunnel (Is The Light Of An Oncoming Train)

Mark: 8.5/10