GIG NUMBER ONE HUNDRED AND SEVEN
Who
The band came on to some music I can't identify which went on long enough to cover the time they spent tuning up. I'd expected an innovative choice of opener so Restless Legs seemed a bit too obvious, but it's a great song so I'll let them off. This was followed by the wonderful A Lilac Harry Quinn, which was a newbie for me and extremely welcome as it has recently become one of my favourites. Bottleneck At Capel Curig was preceded by much banter about Capel Curig as Nigel exchanged gossip with some of the guys at the front. Neil was complaining a lot about a white light being projected onto him, and seeing as it added nothing to the show you'd had thought the venue would have been more careful! After a typically exciting Fuckin' 'Ell It's Fred Titmus was the first true newbie. It had been two years since the last album so I was curious to see if there would be any, but the band thankfully understand that nobody wants to hear endless songs they don't know. Bad Losers On Yahoo Chess sounded good, and keeping the unknown stuff brief made me feel much more excited about the next L.P. The show continued along in an unnervingly consistent manner, and could almost be called a greatest hits set. The crowd was larger, the moshpit madder, sound quality a tad worse but audience enthusiasm slightly greater than the last time. Despite joking that they'd known about this thing for months and lamenting a lack of preparation, the band were probably the most focused I've seen them, with less random moments or pauses, and seemingly more well-rehearsed than usual. Gimmicks were kept down to a near minimum, and sadly the caravan guitar didn't make a return, but this allowed the songs to speak for themselves. Outbreak Of Vitas Gerulaitis name-checked Roman Polanski ("it was you all along") and Paintball's Coming Home was unleashed very early, although Nigel needed help from the crowd to remember the words. The excellent run of songs (see the setlist below for details) climaxed with Look Dad No Tunes and The Light At The End Of The Tunnel (Is The Light Of An Oncoming Train), and it was a powerful glimpse of just how many great songs HMHB can play in a row if they feel like it. At one point it sounded like they were launching into Footprints, but it was aborted, and Nigel had two shots at the intro of Four Skinny Indie Kids to get it right. I've never heard them play that one before. As usual, all of the albums were represented except the permanently snubbed Some Call It Godcore. A bit of Sponsoring The Moshpits would go down nicely I think?
Lock Up Your Mountain Bikes has became something of a crowd favourite considering it is a very difficult to obtain b-side, and the random "I'd rather be a plumber than a spark" lyric added even more to this bizarre anthem. I was excited to hear Everything's A.O.R. but I swear that Nigel sighed when introducing it?! It still led to a top-drawer moshpit and the band made some knowing attempts to look like rock Gods for it. I don't know why Secret Gig is so fantastic live. It's just some shushes, but it's hilarious. On The Roids was the second and last new song we were given, and it sounded very promising. Roids is short for steroids by the way. We also were treated to short renditions of the endings of Twydale's Lament and The Best Things In Life but one thing I was noting was a relative lack of very old songs. All I Want For Christmas Is A Dukla Prague Away Kit went a long way to remedy the balance, with Nigel pointing out that £3.10 was a lot of money in those days and letting a guy down the front do the scream at the end. I think I spotted a couple of Dukla Prague Away Kits as well. One of the best improvs was declaring that DNA stands for the National Dyslexics Association, but there was no beating the moment when somebody shouted "Monmore Hare's Running" and Nigel hit back by saying "we've got a song called that!" He also suggested that he wasn't stalking anyone, but was partaking in some "selective walking!", pointed at the drummer and announced "he scored at Molineux the other day - do your research!", dismissed the FA Cup third round draw as the most boring ever and produced his Christmas shopping list for his dad from his pocket instead of the setlist and proceeded to dissect it for our amusement! Joy Division Oven Gloves finished the main set and it had all been good so far, but I think that the last time had been slightly more entertaining. The encore certainly didn't hold back, consisting of PRS Yearbook (Quick, The Drawbridge), We Built This Village On A Trad. Arr. Tune and a grand finale of The Trumpton Riots which went down a storm. It was a very exciting way to finish things off. The set had ended quite early but I was determined to get back in time for my train home so attempted to rush out, but was held back by an embarrassing scene of pushing and shoving. I reclaimed a ticket from the entrance which I'd had to hand over earlier and almost ran for the trams, arriving there nearly first. I'd figured this would be how almost everyone had got here tonight, but seemingly it wasn't.
I met the guy who I'd met on the way here and we exchanged views of the gig. He'd been at the Blackpool show the previous week and claimed it had been completely different, but my research suggests it hadn't! I had no problems getting home and assuming the public transport runs on time and the bands don't overrun it is rather easy to get to Bilston. I spent much of my journey back drafting out this review on my phone, but there hasn't been that much to say, as many of the songs were straightforward brilliant renditions of the records, with less surprises than I'd expect. The main disappointment was the omission of Twenty Four Hour Garage People, which I thought was a cornerstone of their live set and destined to be there forever. There had been a lot of shouting for it from the crowd so maybe it will return. I'm also surprised to report that now Uffington Wassail has been dropped I suddenly want to hear it, and I can say the same thing for C.A.M.R.A. Man! I believe that Rod Hull Is Alive - Why? and The Bastard Son Of Dean Friedman are often played but sadly never when I'm around and I wonder why Time Flies By (When You're The Driver Of A Train) and God Gave Us Life never come near the set when the equally aged Fuckin' 'Ell It's Fred Titmus is a mainstay? I can't really complain though, as very few bands play so many great songs, but it is a shame some tunes never make the cut, The Referee's Alphabet being another classic I'd love to hear! Finally, there'd been no token cover versions, but this rarely bothers me, although I wouldn't mind travelling back in time and seeing them cover Help Me Rhonda! I was very tired the next day and my ears were whistling but I'd still like to reiterate the point I made at the start - Half Man Half Biscuit are better than The Beatles and, upon seeing Macca playing Anfield in June 2008, I still am to be convinced otherwise!
Mark: 8.5/10
Half Man Half Biscuit
Where
Bilston The Robin 2
When
3rd December 2007
Price
£16.00
Who with
No-one
Position
Towards the front
Comments
The Biscuit had presumably enjoyed their previous visit to Bilston, as here they were less than eighteen months later coming back for more. I'd got a ticket many months in advance and decided to hear through their entire catalogue beforehand to refresh my memory. Not that there was much point - the few songs I don't already know are unlikely to make the set. My respect for HMHB has been rising for the last six years, and I'd now consider them to be better than The Rolling Stones and The Beatles combined. Strong words indeed! As there was no support band and my ticket helpfully advised that the band wouldn't come onstage until 9pm I set out late with no need to rush at all. I was somewhat disturbed by the rain and random train delays but things turned out very smoothly as I got on the tram for Bilston. Upon arrival I met a fellow traveller who was looking for the gig and upon asking for directions we discovered just how close the venue was to the tram station - much quicker than the way I went last time. Bilston was deserted, and I hear they're going to knock down most of the centre to build an urban village soon, which can only be a good thing! Apart from an OK market and the nice venue there is nothing to recommend this place. The Robin was rather busy and it seems that word of mouth had encouraged a larger audience than before, and ticket prices had gone up by £1. If the band keeps working on the West Midlands they'll be playing Birmingham NIA before they know it! I checked out the store and decided I couldn't resist an Achtung Bono t-shirt which I promptly put on top of my other one, making me much too hot to contemplate any degree of moshing tonight. I had a Newcastle Brown then decided to get myself into position, although everybody seemed to want to stand back and leave the moshpit space empty. There was a TV screen advertising the many bands that would be playing The Robin over the next few months. It's a lovely venue - much bigger than I remember it being - but the acts that were playing were a largely embarrassing selection of tribute acts. I can only attribute this to Bilston not being considered a glamorous location! The room filled up and I gradually moved forwards, but then the token tall guy with a big head stepped in front of me and remained there all show. I had an otherwise good position yet was outside the moshpit at all times. The only tune I remember that was played beforehand was Rock The Casbah so I waited patiently, looking at the crowd who seemed more male and ageing than I remember from Manchester shows. Perhaps the West Midland is a hotbed for original Biscuit fans? A few minutes past 9pm the screen was magically raised and the lights went down for the start of the show.
Setlist
Restless Legs
A Lilac Harry Quinn
Bottleneck At Capel Curig
Fuckin' 'Ell It's Fred Titmus
Bad Losers On Yahoo Chess
Running Order Squabble Fest
For What Is Chatteris...
Outbreak Of Vitas Gerulaitis
Paintball's Coming Home
Bob Wilson: Anchorman
Tending The Wrong Grave For 23 Years
Vatican Broadside
Look Dad No Tunes
The Light At The End Of The Tunnel (Is The Light Of An Oncoming Train)
Four Skinny Indie Kids
Lock Up Your Mountain Bikes
Everything's A.O.R.
Secret Gig
On The Roids
Twydale's Lament
Shit Arm, Bad Tattoo
The Best Things In Life
All I Want For Christmas Is A Dukla Prague Away Kit
Monmore Hare's Running
Joy Division Oven Gloves
P.R.S. Yearbook (Quick, The Drawbridge)
We Built This Village On A Trad. Arr. Tune
The Trumpton Riots
