Ah, London. Centre of chaos. Well, I bottled the idea of driving into the centre of London and settled for the less stressful parking of the car and catching of the tube. Plenty of time. I was there by 6. As were hundreds of others. Lining the entire length of the building. And around the corner. Not a good sign. By the time we started moving some 75 minutes later, the queue had maybe doubled in size, and a procession of pantomine horses, and various other disguises had walked by. And people think Coal Chamber look weird. Oh, and the tension had started to rise for me. Was I gonna make it in. This could top even the frustration of Wolves and Bristol on the last tour. This time I was there, but still not there. But there was a God this time, and 5 minutes before Human Waste hit the stage, I was in.
Now, I've no idea how well support bands normally go down in London, but the female cries of 'Aimeeeee' around me suggested that HWP were doing Ok. Aimee was sounding better and teasing with the audience as noraml. You know the set list by know, Shine, Get With It, She Gives, Powerstrip, Slide, Exit Wound, Drowned, Drugstore and the stompathon (Copyright me as of this moment in time) of Disease.
London, as on the rest of the tour, seems to be a Hate crowd. You know what I mean if you were there. I found out later, well, about a day later when I tried to do another interview that the band loved the gig and the venue. One which is an ideal size for them, it provides a stage on which to perform, but keeps the intimacy that arenas loose. Soon they'll be capable of headlining even bigger places, I just hope they decide to stick with these and continue to provide the magic.
Later, during the Coal Chamber set, both Aimee and Scott can be seen dancing by the side of the stage, before coming on for the HWP shout ritual, and passing out shots to the entire band as well as downing some themselves. Later Aimee tell me that I'm drunk before giggling and carrying on with signing more fliers that people are giving her. Stars in the making. Scott also said that he'd started feeling better about an hour before the gig, and was now able to talk, so things look like they'll work out just fine.
So it's a quicky shift back to Wales, before a long trip up to Bradford tomorrow night.