The Perfect Evening ... Almost!

So the concert last night was fantastic (bet you guessed I was going to say that *LOL*) but it really was. Unfortunately things didn’t quite go to plan. I found my hotel but couldn’t find any sign of the car park. As Nottingham is a one way town it meant driving right round again for the second attempt. At this point my petrol light has come on and I’ve found that the garage marked on my sat nav has been knocked down, with no sign of any other garages in the area. Unable to keep driving aimlessly I park in the hugely expensive NCP car park and make my way on foot to the hotel, which is one of those ramshackle bad end of town jobs. Having established how to get to their car park I go back to release my car from the NCP at the extortionate price of £2.80 for 13 minutes parking. Soon I’m back in the hotel with its musty smell, peeling wallpaper and slightly too spongy carpets. I’m allocated the room the furthest away from the entrance – on the third floor (with no lifts) and a real hike once at the top of the stairs. The only bonus is that it’s right next door to the fire escape so I’m okay if there’s a fire. Although the hotel was a bit grim the room itself was clean and tidy with fresh bed linen and a rock hard bed, but then the downside to my cheap room – no ensuite. The toilet is right down the end of a very long corridor and the bathroom is next to it. Thank god I’m only here for one night.

Then I find that the new memory card that I bought for my camera on the way up is the wrong one, even though I showed the salesman my camera. I am not happy as I’d wanted to record ‘Fingerprints’ and the card I currently have is nowhere near big enough. I have to admit now that I deleted all the pictures I’d taken on 25th April for Shimelle’s course to free up some space, but alas it wasn’t anywhere near enough – I managed to get only the first verse (*sigh* am I ever going to get a decent copy of this song? Why on earth don’t they release it?)

By now it’s gone 7.30pm and I still need to get some food before I go to the concert but there’s plenty of time multimap has said it’s a 15 minute walk to the Rescue Rooms from my hotel and I’ve got the map and the directions. The problem is that Nottingham isn’t very well signed and so I have trouble working out which way I should be going. I ask the receptionist who’s clearly never been to Nottingham before as she doesn’t recognise any of the roads around the hotel at all and can’t tell me whether to go left or right out of the door. Eventually she tells me to go left (she’s wrong). So finally I head off in the right direction only to discover that they’re not keen on street signs. By some fluke I manage to find Maid Marion Way after about fifteen minutes of walking and set off up the huge hill to find the roundabout. I find that too, after another twenty odd minutes and then try to find the next road (according to the map I’m almost there). It’s not there and no-one I ask has ever heard of it (or the Rescue Rooms … I find out later that it used to be called something else and everyone knows it by its old name). Eventually a nice doorman at one of the Casino’s takes pity on me and tries, without much success, to decipher the map and instructions I’ve got, but he too is stumped. Eventually after more aimless wandering I finally manage to find a cash point and someone who can point me in the right direction. I’ve still not had any food but there’s no time as it’s now almost 9pm and I’m still not there yet.

By fluke I spot Rock City, the bigger sister of the Rescue Rooms so I know I must be in the right area. I am, sort of. I’ve found the back where the tour coach is. Luckily I find someone to ask and they direct me back round the corner where I finally reach my destination just in time to hear Ferraby Lionheart’s last song. From the applause he’s receiving they obviously really liked him. I get a drink and head over to the desk to (finally) buy his CD and have a chat with him about the concert and the tour in general. He seems like a genuinely nice guy and tells me that he’s really enjoyed touring with IAK and has loved the UK.

The venue is a small one, not much larger than the Half Moon and I head (of course) for the front. The stage looks rather crowded with all their equipment and when they come onstage almost 15 minutes early Johnny comments on the way that his guitar cables are completely messed up. Everything goes pretty smoothly, with the usual jokes and heckles until ‘Life in a Day’ when Johnny’s guitar stops working. He disappears off to the side of the stage to try and sort it, but it doesn’t work. When a second guitar doesn’t work either he proceeds to strut the stage like some old time rock god, highly appreciated by the crowd.

When the rest of the band disappear for their cigarette break (poor Pete used to smoke 20 cigarettes during a concert so the smoking ban has hit him badly) John creates mayhem trying to get his guitars to work. He decides to plug them directly into the amp and there’s a cheer as the guitar works once more, but the wires are still tangled and as he heads back towards the mike he ends up pulling over the amp, almost wrecking his other guitars in the process. Norman nips back onstage to help him get the amp back up and eventually Johnny gives up and moves the mike nearer to the amp. The last few songs go without a hitch and suddenly it’s all over again.

After saying I wasn’t going to do it, I did buy the official release of ‘Moolah Rouge’ with the DVD as it gave me the chance to get it signed by Johnny. We had a brief chat during which I was surprised and pleased to find that he recognised me – probably from Half Moon, and discussed the concert at Koko, with the conclusion that while it was a fantastic concert he’d enjoyed this one more.

As luck would have it I’d got chatting to a couple of women who were standing next to me during the concert (alas my memory for names is rubbish) but it turned out that they were good friends with Colin and Norman McLeod, the brothers helping IAK on their tour and owners of the Moolah Rouge Studio. Soon I had been introduced to them too and had quite an interesting discussion on the tour, the amazingly huge glitter ball at Koko, Colin’s Theramin that Norman had played during the concert and other such fascinating topics. They asked me if I was going to the final gig at the Manchester Academy on Saturday night but I told them I had to work and it was too far to go (aren’t I a good girl). They did try to convince me and even suggested that the band wouldn’t be going onstage till 10pm, but I wasn’t swayed (yay me for being so strong!)

As much as I was having fun chatting to them and Ferraby who’d made a reappearance I knew I had to go as I still had to find my way back to the hotel and I wasn’t sure what walking back would be like at that time of night. Amazingly I managed to find the hotel pretty quickly as I now had some idea of the route and it actually did only take about 20 minutes. Of course by the time I’d got back to the hotel my mind was turning over the idea of going to Manchester, working out that I could just about make it, especially if I manage to get them to let me finish work at the pub at 3pm.

Of course I won’t really go – 1 long trip in a week is more than enough, especially as a bad cold that I had earlier in the week has now increased to leave me with a sore throat, hardly any voice, blocked sinuses and a strange noise in my right ear. No I won’t go … although I really, really want to!

IAK at the Rescue Rooms ... Here I Come!

Okay yes I admit it I’m mad!

I’m just about to head off to Nottingham for the I Am Kloot concert at the Rescue Rooms. Sorry but withdrawal symptoms coupled with rumours that apart from an appearance at a festival in Holland at the end of August along with Babyshambles (which interestingly clashes with a festival that Gary Numan is headlining that same day) they aren’t likely to be touring until October meant that I just had to make the effort to go. I’ve managed to find the cheapest and probably dodgiest hotel room in the world so I don’t have to make the journey straight back after the show.

Am I obsessed with the band? Maybe, but at least it’s getting me out and I get to hear great live music. Oh and it’s going to be my final attempt to acquire the Ferraby Lionheart CD too!

Guilt is a Terrible Thing

I am so not a criminal. Or at least I should say I don’t have the mentality of a criminal. As you know Mrs H3 and I were on the guest list for Tuesday’s I Am Kloot gig at Koko as we’d agreed to collect e-mail addresses for the band’s newsletter. The premise was simple, turn up before the bands come on, collect a clipboard, paper and pen from the merchandise desk, harass a few unsuspecting lurking students and then settle back to enjoy Ferraby (not Mrs H3 obviously) and the awesome I Am Kloot. Great in theory, in practice not quite so simple.

For starters when we arrived at about 7.45pm (bear in mind Ferraby wasn’t going on stage till 8.30pm so this is how serious I was about doing the job properly) the merchandise desk was closed so we didn’t even spot where it was. After searching the whole of Koko for something that looked like the merchandise desk or anything to do with IAK we finally asked a security guard. He directed us back out to the entrance where we found the desk – still closed.

So back into the theatre where we found a fabulous spot, for once not right down the front by the stage but up in the balcony next to the sound desk. Unfortunately, I start to feel guilty about not having collected e-mail names and eventually get so fretful that we have to go back to the merchandising desk. It’s still closed and still no sign of anyone. We are lucky that we manage to get our space back. Now of course anyone else would give up at this point and just enjoy the evening, but not me. Another two times we visit the merchandising desk only to find that it’s still closed and still no one around. Of course by this time Ferraby has come on and we’ve lost our space. Mrs H3 is taller than me so she can still see the stage and spots Pete to whom she gives a huge wolf whistle before he runs off again. I tell her she’s scared the poor man away. *LOL*

Finally I Am Kloot come on and our good spot on the balcony is no longer so because loads have people are now in front of us (yep my fault totally for getting wiggy about this collecting lark again) but we can’t go downstairs because it’s absolutely packed (hurrah finally a mega crowd for Kloot – and better still most of them obviously appreciated the music big time) as Mrs H3 gets a bit freaked in close spaces.

Then to really cheer me up I’ve got three dickheads next to me who don’t stop chatting all the way through the set about … well just about anything but the music. Eventually I realise that I either have to move or I’m going to end up being thrown out when I thump them. As I can’t see the band from where I am anyway I move back to leaning against the wall seat and listen to the concert in peace without the added inane chatter. Every so often someone moves slightly and I catch a glimpse of Johnny through the bars of the balcony but it’s not much compensation.

Kloot (who for the first time ever have gone on stage dead on time at 9.30pm) are every bit as good as at Brighton, although the sound is different because of the different type of venue – not so rocky but with the fantastic acoustics in the place they sound great. But Johnny’s voice is on its way out again. It has grown considerably croakier since last week however he still manages to sing ‘Fingerprints’ (which is my current favourite, having overtaken ‘Dark Star’ with this performance) beautifully – and yes he does just about manage the high notes in ‘To You’ too although it’s clear that it’s a bit of a struggle.

As much as I hate to say it I hope that once the tour finishes he has a good long rest to recover his vocal chords (although obviously I’ll be pining at not seeing him – after all I’m already getting withdrawal symptoms and it’s only been 2 days!)

By the end of the concert I’ve finally managed to find a spot to see the band clearly and manage a full 30 seconds of the last song before they go offstage.

So time to leave and yep, I’m still feeling guilty about not having done my job but guess what – the merchandise desk is still closed on the way out, a shame as I wanted to buy the Ferraby Lionheart CD. Mrs H3 thinks it’s really funny that I feel so guilty about such a little thing. But I can’t help it.

As you can tell I’m still feeling a bit guilty about it hence the confession on here, but really we did try our hardest to do the job – it’s not our fault the merchandise desk was closed or that there was no sign of anyone vaguely IAK related around!

So for us the IAK tour is finished, although I would have to admit to having seriously considered going to Nottingham next Wednesday (unfortunately my Sat Nav tells me it’s a 3 hour drive which would make it a bit tight for seeing the band assuming they go on stage on time). Of course I’m sure I’ll do the sensible thing and not go, but it could be months before I get to see them again …

These are my friends, see how they glisten

“There was a barber and his wife …”

Wooohooooo!!!!!

It’s arrived! Yep Sweeney Todd is in my DVD player even as I write. I am sure you can imagine the excitement I’m feeling at seeing it again. After all it’s been just over two months since I last saw it (blimey doesn’t time fly!) although of course I have listened to the soundtrack rather a lot since then. All together now “It’s priest. Have a little priest …”

I have to mention the I Am Kloot concert on Tuesday, which was completely fantastic. Now I know I always say that but they really were on excellent form. Heavier than usual too which made a nice change. I noticed that Johnny changed the words to every one of the old songs in some way and several of them were played differently which was nice, but he’s keeping the ones from Moolah Rouge the same at the moment – probably a good move when they’re touring to promote the album. I was a bit disappointed that some of my favourite tracks from the new album weren’t played but as any Kloot track is a great track it was all good. Roll on next Tuesday when we get to do it all again!

IAK had a support act this time, the fabulously named Ferraby Lionheart (yep you heard it right) and I rather liked him. Mrs H3 very definitely didn’t. A solo singer-songwriter in the vein of David Mead he was right up my street although I was finding the chatting of the crowd through his set very off-putting, so I don’t know how he must have felt, poor man. I can see his album “Catch the Brass Ring” heading my way very shortly (probably next Tuesday to be precise), although I’m guessing Mrs H3 won’t want a copy.