'Arena' - right. Student union fair enough, but Arena, such grand ideas I had ... ah well. To the music.
RealTV = FaithNoMore. Well thats what it seemed like to these lugsters and eyes. They wanted to be FNM so much it hurt. Well it did for me 'cos I like FNM, but the bassist was imitating Billy Goulds moves, the keyboard player was apeing Roddy Bottum's moves and the singer was apeing Mike Patton for moves and trying the different vocal styles and voices. Just that on first listen the thing they haven't yet aped is the song writing ability. Or maybe I just need to be able to listen to their stuff a bit. Hmmm for this one.
Again! I didn't know they were the support tonight, guess I should've guessed. I thought they were doing the Almighty tour. Forgot that that one starts about a day after the Wildhearts finish. Anyway, it was more of the same from these lot. In case you'r wondering, they supported Anthrax and the Moodswingers in the very recent past. And I'm still not sure on them, although they seemed to get a good reception, so probably what the hell do I know. Sod all usually, but that's another story. So Hmm, for these again, although I suspect that the future might be bright for them.
Ok, 3rd gig I've seen on this tour. And it'll be the 4th tonight in Sheffield, so I'm a glutton for punishment. It's just that although they do play pretty much the same set each night, there's something a little different each time. Be it the set list order changed, couple of different songs, different audience reaction (we shall return to this one in a bit) or just something. And tonight was no exception.
Greetings starts things running, no difference there, and I Wanna Go .... follows along, no difference there, well apart from the fact that they now have enough support from the 'record company' to invest in the old flashbomb thingies. You know they go BANG and do sparks and things. Or maybe you don't know. You have to be a bit of an old git like me to remember back to those times when bands used these sorts of things in order to entertain people, pre grunge misery time thing. (Oooh bitchy comes the reply from the grunge bods - so kill me).
Taunts follow next with 'we've just been on Top of the Pops, and flew back in a helicopter, how many of you did that today'. All said with a great big grin on the face of course. Its amazing, Ginger still looks happy. Caffeine bomb ..... This is for all the new age punks ...... Nita Nitro. And this time there was no fuck up on the second verse.
A thankyou for buying the single, putting them on TOTP - again, a slagging for TOTP - 'it's shite even though we're on it' - a ticking off for subject them to the most boring day of their lives in filming TOTP and Sick OF Drugs it is. Which considering it's only been out for a week and a half seems to go down rather nicely with most people in the crowd. Maybe cos its a catchy toon.
It's definitely possible that TV Tan followed this, well it was one hit after the other, with the now customary middle section of telling people to get off their asses and get out of the house and do seomthing with their lives. Yeah it does seem to be a bit of a dig at Honeycrack given what happened and but who knows. Red Light Green Light, the next single follows, and on hearing this for the second time, I think, (although it is a rarity) that this one is also about going out and doing something and not 'Sitting at home'. Hmmm.
A 'no bullshit, your the best crowd on the tour so far' follows. And yeah, he knows it's the same as everyone else says, hell, he even admits it, so it's keep the energy levels up and into, shit what was the song, oops, forgotten. Anyway I do remember that the next one was also the last one before 'you call us back after a few minutes and we go and have a piss and take some heroin'. Yup, Love U 'Till I Don't it is before we have that tricky couple of minute wait when everyone wonders what to chant, or how long to clap for ... you know, the wait for the encore time bit.
So, I mentioned audience earlier, and this is where they came in. After a few chants of 'blah', a few people piped up with 'don't worry 'bout me, don't worry bout me' which passed on to a few others, and a few more, until everyone was having a little chant. Which went on for a few minutes. And then they returned, so everyone returned to the chant, and the band join in with a little blues type shuffly thing with huge grins. 'I wish all audiences were like you'. Seems fair enough to me. And then they start up again, what was there, there was Everlone, Geordie ... with a top of the league dig thrown in. A bit of a dig at the Middlesborough crowd, a cover that they did at Wolverhampton and I've forgotten again, Miles Away Girl before the inevitable ending of Headfuck. Still think they should release it as a single just to piss off Radio 1. And then its the return of 'Don't worry bout me', complete with the band watching from the stage, still with the bleeding grins on their faces, mind you most people in the crowd had silly grins an all.
No point bothering really is there. One day I'll try and dislike a Wildhearts gig. Honest.