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| Gig report by Stephen Cade: |
Having met up with Pete and the Bolton "Posse" in dry bar we ventured to the club at 9.00pm where 808 had been DJing since 8.08pm, or so the flyer said, until we saw it was actually Livewire doing the honours. Another This Is Your Life moment occurred when Rodders and Dave appeared with their big red book and Dr Walsh and co made an appearance to round off the reunion. Although the venue allegedly could hold over 2000, the room where 808 played seemed to have attracted about 300 which was a comfortable number ensuring the gig looked fairly full, yet left room to "dance" with the addition of no queuing at the bar (always a bonus). All in all a good location. 808 came on stage at 10.30pm offering us the same set as the previous. My favourite track at the moment is the opener "Doctors and Nurses". I cant help but become hypnotised by it and have to steady myself from falling backwards as it sends me into a trance like state. This track should be a form of Anesthetic. The comedic highlights for me were the guest vocalists on both "606" and "Crossword". As the opening bars played on "Crossword", were we going to get a personal appearance from Alabama ? No. The vocal harmonies of Mr "No Chill Out" Partington echoed the lyrics giving a very "brooding" performance, "Its better when Alabama sing it" he strains at the end whilst sipping his water to relax his vocal chords in case we chant for an encore. "Whos a wanker" (Peter Kay joke). Then it was Mr Masseys turn to impress, dressed in combat gear, ready for Iraq war armed with sax, to compete for the 808 karaoke prize. His rendition of "606" got a 6 out of ten from the judges and a wry comment from Daz behind him. This is the first time I've ever seen 808 themselves sing on stage... ...and hopefully the last, ha!! An 808 performance would not be that without the obligatory power cut which came towards the end of "Quincy", leaving the drummer to solely finish the track with a 2 minute solo. The track that certainly needs a high voltage is "Cubik" and this was to follow bringing the house down and yet again being THE track which the whole crowd adored. The set complete there was just time for them to return and delight us with "Relay" which seemed an extended version to the one that once accompanied the set. As they left the stage for the second time, despite protests from Andy, there was no time for him to enter the karaoke contest, and alas, he was denied the opportunity of singing on "Lemonsoul". Darren and Live then entertained the final hour on the decks, whilst Pete used his charm to blag VIP passes off Daz which gave us a whole 5 minutes in the VIP lounge/Waiting room at the end. Alas there was no after show party, despite the mention on the ticket. We then saw Graham upon leaving whereby we wished him a Merry Xmas. Paddy then made an appearance whilst we chatted outside, whereby we were ambushed SAS style once more by Mr Massey as he was heading for home, obviously training for Iraq. All in all an enjoyable evening, great gig, I prefer the smaller venues, it took me back to a couple of the University gigs from the early days. Great to see some more of the regulars off here, have a great Christmas all, see you next year. For more reports, see the forum. |
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