GIG NUMBER ONE HUNDRED AND TWENTY-TWO
Who
The band took to the stage at 9pm with Took Problem Chimp To Ideal Home Show (again) and I was in a great position behind the moshpit and without any large heads in front. The intro was repeated endlessly as HMHB tried to work through some sound problems that never were fixed properly. It was the third time I'd seen HMHB in Bilston and the venue had been good to them in the past but this time they were far too loud all the way through and never quite in tune. Still, they made the most of it, with Nigel remarking after an extensive re-tuning that that was as in tune as they'd ever been in the past! They also were joking about the lack of atmosphere and lighting effects until a lacklustre spurt from the smoke machine made them "look ten years... well... one way or the other!" We Built This Village On A Trad. Arr. Tune was dispatched next and then a rendition of Petty Sessions that had definitely grown on me since last time. Right from the outset there was a small but committed moshpit and an encouraging showing of young fans who seemed to know every word! Nigel was in a particularly chatty mood, talking about all the exciting local sightseeing they'd engaged in, suggesting that he should have taken a flask, and engaging in much banter with the audience, including some remarks about their choice of bottled water. Nigel retorted that the critical audience member probably drank tap water, not realising that tap water in the West Midlands is usually better than the bottled variety! He also commented on the clothing and accents of some of the crowd, in a cheeky but never cruel manner. Anyway, the barrage of good tunes continued, and the topsy turvy nature of the running order continued as National Shite Day was dispatched early. Nigel also missed his cue on Irk The Purists, leading Carl into an improv drum solo to plug the gap. Meanwhile Totnes Bickering Fair and Blue Badge Abuser meant that the new album was once again very strongly represented.
First amazing surprise of the night was an unrecognisable intro I took to be the token cover version but turned out to be the never-heard-before Dickie Davies Eyes. In other news it took a few seconds for Nigel to notice that his band were playing When The Evening Sun Goes Down! The pauses as HMHB squinted at their setlists in tiny type were as long and entertaining as ever but things hit top gear with an apparently unplanned romp through The Trumpton Riots, which was the most incendiary it had ever been. For What Is Chatteris... followed and if anybody out there argues that the band aren't as good as they used to be then the fact it went down as well as Trumpton would have put them in their place! We were also treated to Monmore, Hare's Running as we were in the vicinity before the longest and possibly best rendition of Twenty Four Hour Garage People I'd ever heard. This time the garage had sold out of Pringles and Nigel had to make do with a cut-cost equivalent! Running Order Squabble Fest was a nice surprise, but unexpected as it usually belongs in the first half, and Nigel kept asking about the curfew, seemingly happy to play on and on until being kicked offstage! Vatican Broadside was played after a short song that may have been a Welsh cover version and, amazingly, this is now the only ever-present song in the HMHB set. I say this because both Look Dad No Tunes and Everything's A.O.R. had been dropped, which would have bothered me if I hadn't heard them in Manchester! Indeed, they'd played nothing at all from the excellent McIntyre, Treadmore And Davitt and it took a couple of top-drawer surprises in the encore to make up for this! Joy Division Oven Gloves ended the main set and the crowd were still firmly on-side, particularly the guy waving his Joy Division oven gloves around!
The encore opened in a low-key manner with Evening Of Swing (Has Been Cancelled) before hitting top gear with the rarely played A Country Practice. It's a contender for being the band's Bohemian Rhapsody with the emphasis mostly on sprawling rather than epic and it featured much welcome improv. Particularly memorable was Nigel ringing the council to enquire exactly what constituted the "much, much more" being advertised at the local fun fair to be met by an embarrassed silence. My favourite part of the song is the T for Thatcher ending, but this was cut out as they had something else up their sleeve. In any other case I'd had been bitterly disappointed but this had been a set of annoyances cancelled out by some amazing highs and the best surprise had been saved for last, as Neil had started to play Time Flies By (When You're The Driver Of A Train)! They may have missed out the proper intro to create this segue but I was so happy to hear it for the first time ever I didn't mind at all. The band left the stage and I was totally content, knowing I'd enjoyed a longer and more memorable show than in Manchester. I walked in totally the wrong direction away from the venue but fortunately I regained my bearings and made it back to the tram station. The tram I was supposed to catch wasn't listed on the departure board but fortunately it showed up anyway and I got home without problems. Fingers crossed that HMHB will continue to rock the West Midlands on a yearly basis because, if they keep mixing it up and writing decent new songs, I don't think I would ever get bored of them!
Mark: 8.5/10
Half Man Half Biscuit
Support
The Humdrum Express
Where
Bilston The Robin 2
When
5th March 2009
Price
£16.00
Who with
No-one
Position
Towards the front
Comments
I just can't seem to get enough of them and now I had the privilege of watching Half Man Half Biscuit playing two consecutive shows. Off-hand, the only time I can recall doing this before was for Super Furry Animals for the awesome Furrymania in Manchester, but these shows were nicely spread out by five weeks and I had high hopes that HMHB would mix things up a bit. I'd became even better acquainted with the CSI: Ambleside album in the meantime and was on a high after a day where I'd got tickets for Michael Jackson for 1st February 2010 which sadly was not to be. I set out late and it was once again a cold day. I had a free tram ride both ways into Bilston and didn't purchase any food, drink or merchandise, making it just about my cheapest night out ever (barring the cost for the tickets!) which was good as I was still looking for work. I arrived around 8:30ish and already it was pretty busy and The Humdrum Express were onstage. I imagined a band but he was just a soloist wearing a cap and glasses and was from Kidderminster apparently. He passed the time reasonably, at one point launching into a cover of the Only Fools And Horses theme tune, and his expression of annoyance at radios obsession with "getting involved" struck a chord and was mentioned by Nigel during the main set. After he finished, the crowd pushed forwards and the screen came down over the stage advertising the procession of mostly tribute bands who were to be rocking Bilston over the coming months. I was quite tempted by The Counterfeit Stones and it was fitting that Jan Akkerman was appearing soon!
Setlist
Took Problem Chimp To Ideal Home Show
We Built This Village On A Trad. Arr. Tune
Petty Sessions
Dead Men Don't Need Season Tickets
Eno Collaboration
Totnes Bickering Fair
Bob Wilson: Anchorman
National Shite Day
Irk The Purists
Blue Badge Abuser
Restless Legs
Dickie Davies Eyes
When The Evening Sun Goes Down
Bad Losers On Yahoo Chess
The Trumpton Riots
For What Is Chatteris...
Monmore, Hare's Running
The Light At The End Of The Tunnel (Is The Light Of An Oncoming Train)
Twenty Four Hour Garage People
Running Order Squabble Fest
Them's The Vagaries
Vatican Broadside
Joy Division Oven Gloves
Evening Of Swing (Has Been Cancelled)
A Country Practice
Time Flies By (When You're The Driver Of A Train)
