So this was a pretty much last minute gig for me. Huge thanks to Ally & Danny for looking after me for this sold out gig. All along, i just knew it would be a big day for me as so many of the “VMs family” were gonna be there. My train was delayed so i went straight to FOPP area. Nothing had been set up when i got there, but, i saw this poster & thought “I want that!”.
Decided to go down the road to Montague Pyke for some grub & who should i bump into, but my mate Jim! So we both went in.
I’d previously had a msg earlier in the day (well, i had a few actually) where Eva said ” So i finally get to meet you then !”
It was so funny how we met : Myself & Jim went back to Fopp & i saw Eva trying to get her bearings on the Shaftesbury Ave/Charing Cross Rd junction. It was kinda funny how she was walking towards me & i deliberately made sure i was in her way…. once she realised it was me, we just hugged each other. It felt like we’d known each other forever (even though we’d not previously met properly). So we all went to Fopp ready for the gig. We were told to queue up outside & that’s where we met Jody. Then it started raining. After a while, someone came outside & said we could queue up inside. Yay ! Once inside, we gradually saw some of the “VMs family”, including Eric, Ony , Jill & Andy. 
Later, my old friend Kristina arrived. We also saw Dante Bonutto. When we were finally allowed in the basement, i ended up on the front row. I just thought “It’s acoustic so i doubt there will be much craziness “. It was a great little show. But my god, was it hot in there ! As ever, i recorded a could of songs
The band were doing a signing session but i hadn’t brought my CD with me, so, just had a brief chat & was about to leave. Then i remembered that poster upstairs ! So went & asked if i could have it & got the ok. So, back down into the basement we went 🙂 Also got a flyer from Dante Bonutto. We were pretty much at the back of queue, but, it still worked out fine. Was so nice to get the nice messages off the guys :
We then went to Camden, had a quick look in the Black Heart venue & decided to go to The Worlds End pub. As we walked in, we saw Rob arriving!
So the 4 of us had a drink in there. Somehow, i’d lost where Eva & the others had gone to, so sent a msg to find out. By the time we got back into the Black Heart, most of the VMs peeps soon arrived. Had some quick chats & Eric came over & told me of a photo he had for me! You’re such a dude Eric ! 🙂 After a while we decided to go upstairs to watch the openers, “Fizzy Blood”. Now, i hadn’t planned on going down the front, but once in there, i just thought to myself “If i go there on the left, i’m out the way”. Not only that, but Rob stood behind me & was all set to protect me if things got crazy (There were a couple of chaps who’d obviously had a few ales, so eyes were on them 😉 )
Fizzy Blood were quite entertaining. A lot of energy up there, no denying that. Bit unsure about the whole “tops off” thing though lol. I think i remember one of our crowd saying they were trying to be different or original, to stand out….
Well, eventually, it was time for the Virginmarys set. It was the usual hard core VMs fans on the front row. Could tell it would be a good one.
I had a brief chat with Gareth as he was gonna be down the front looking after Ally. Nice chap. He even saved a set list for me later 😉
Virginmarys started their set with “Push The Pedal” & then pretty much went straight into “Halo”. That front row was up & down rockin out. After “Halo” Ally said “Hows it going?”. “Great to be here, thank you very much..”.
A brief drink & we get another new one, “I Wanna Take You Home”. I scan the crowd & its great to see smiling faces. Then it’s time for an old classic “Dead Mans Shoes”. It really goes off now. I’m bloody loving the show.
Whilst i’m not gonna mention every song of the night, i will say that the set was nicely balanced & the new songs sound fantastic in the live setting. Also, i’ve never seen The Virginmarys do such a fantastic show as tonight. Add to that that we had a great amount of VMs hard cores in there, it just made for a fantastic night.
I’ll finish with mention of a totally unexpected moment, which really choked me up : Come encore time, Ally dedicated “Moths To A Flame” to me. Saying something like i’d been to loads of VMs gigs & that i was fighting a struggle now. The words “…My Brother be strong my brother hold on…” meant so much in this situation. I don’t mind admitting, i had tears in my eyes, especially when looking at the VMs crowd. Thank you Ally. Oh yeah, finally after the last song, Ally gave his guitar pick. Again, a nice touch. I felt i had to go downstairs to both cool down & so i wouldn’t blub in front of everyone 😉 Eventually, it was time to go back to Robs,but, not before saying goodbye to everyone. Lots of hugs etc with the VMs guys. What a fantastic emotional day it had been. Thank you everyone who was part of it, you really have no idea what it all meant to me.
Once back at Robs, i’d imagine i was in a similar position as a lot of people tonight : High as a kite & not able to sleep. Somehow i missed saying goodbye to Eva & around midnight i got a message from her suggesting we meet up tomorrow before i go back home. Perfect ! Again, i don’t have a clue how much sleep i got cos i was just buzzing all night. But as usual nowadays, i was awake around 05.30 am. I decided i’d get up & leave when Rob was going to work (8am ish) . Then later that day i met Eva at Kings X before travelling home…perfect ending to a nice trip away
What a great day for my mate Simon, just so happy to have been part of it.