What do they put in the water in Manchester? Huh! I mean, after a journey combining twisity roads in a snow storm (not good), almost killing myself due to the car in front breaking at a time when it shouldn't have and me doing quite a neat little skid and panic breaking (lucky nowt was coming the other way) and generally thinking why? you really need to enter the venue and see a couple of hundred people at the front pogoing, headbanging and generally acting like a bunch of extra's from Wayne's World to Bohemian Raphsody by Queen. Before anyone has played. What is it about this place. I know Manchester spawned Oasis, but really...
Anyway, that seemed to set it up for Will Haven, who actually walked on stage to a chant of Will Haven. Which is better than Spice Girls. But, it went a little flat from there in. The performance was there again, though with the same criticisms that I levelled at the Nottingham gig. Lack of variety and, well bascially, any kind of subtlety in the vocals. But the crowd didn't quite go off in the way I expected. Still, it seemed like another victory for them, which they should be able to consolidate when they return shortly with Tura Satana.
As for Deftones, well, it's funny what a difference a few days makes. Tonight was good. I dunno, maybe I need to be in a really pissed off mood to enjoy things. Monday in Nottingham, I went in a relatively good mood, and ended up pissed off, thinking they were cruising. Tonight, I entered pissed off, and emerged thinking 'yeah, they can still do it'. The difference was subtle, it seemed to be in attitude. Tonight Chino was more at one with the crowd. Maybe with himself. After his tumble from the stack during 7 Words, he emerged back onstage minus his shirt, thankful almost to still be alive. But he was able to joke with the crowd about it, not antagonise as he seemed to do the other night. And his words at the end about the crowd being one of the best we have played to in a long time, seemed to be genuine rather than the run of the mill spiel that some bands will give even after they've taken a dump in public.
So what was it that was different. I don't know, the set list was the same. Same energy as before from Chi and Steph. So in a way, there wasn't much room for criticism about the Nottingham gig. And, if I'm being honest, the new material is growing on me more and more all the time. Still not reached classic status, but it's begining to grow on me.