So, Garbage in Amsterdam, for numerous reasons, i really thought i wouldn’t make it , one of which was being able to get to Luton airport !
Once again, an old school friend, Dusty, came to my rescue & offered to drive me to Luton & pick me up on return! Thank you mate, it was really appreciated. The journey got off to a bad start as once on the plane, we were delayed 2 hours ! (Due to thunder storms in NL). Once in NL ,everything ran smooth. First walked to Jeffs hotel near Leidsplein
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Then we went to meet Greg & Jerome at a bar. As we walked up, both Rob n Rijkels were also arriving. Later Marta joined us. All the other girls were still out shopping 😉 Come 18.30 some of the guys were talking about going to the ” J.P. bar ” instead of Garbage gig !. Notice the empty pint glasses. If you’ve ever wondered where the phrase ” Rijkeling a pint ” comes from, he’s demonstrating it here 😉
Myself & Rob left for the venue where there was already a few awaiting such as Anette, Paul, Marco, Boris etc. Rob & Rijkels had already decided they would join me up in the balcony tonight 🙂 In a total shock, i saw Greg & Jerome take opposite position on other balcony ! (Though it didn’t last long) The Pearl Harts were their typical rocking selves. The audience did seem to take a while before waking up though.
So to the headliners ; Garbage. I thought opening with “Sometimes” was a bit strange (& the lighting was rubbish!), but at least “Empty” brought up the vibe.
We then got a couple of old classics ; ” Stupid Girl” & “Special” which brought things into overdrive. It was great to see a bunch of the Trashers down near the front just rocking out…yes, i kinda wished i could have been down there 🙁
A very special moment for me was during ” #1 Crush” where Shirley sang directly at me 🙂
Well this one came out of the blue! A while back, when i posted about my health issues, i got a very nice PM from Adam asking if i’d like to go to the Starset + Breaking Benjamin gig at Koko, London. I’d last seen Starset when they opened for In This Moment at beginning of 2015, so obviously jumped at the chance! I arranged to crash down at Robs place & also to meet my mate Andy Avery before going to the gig. I met Andy & Nina at the Ice Wharf in Camden & had a nice catch up. Also met Jim there. During our time there, i got a msg from Adam saying there was a problem with guest list, but he’d try sort it out. As doors were early, me & Jim got there just gone 5pm. After a while Adam came out to see me & after a bit of discussion with venue & production staff, he got us passes for the “Directors Box”! Pretty cool huh ? Eventually Kristina arrived & we were soon in the venue. As it was,we decided not to go in Directors box as the angle to the stage wasn’t as good as being a bit more central.
We had a great view of everything.(On 2nd balcony,slightly to one side) This was a VERY busy gig.
Starset rocked the house & got a very good audience reaction. I’m sure they will have picked up a number of new fans after tonights performance.
As ever, they finished their set with the excellent ” My Demons ”
It’s probably shameful of me, but, i don’t know much about Breaking Benjamin ! If i’m honest, i had heard them years back & thought they were a bit of a typical “sounding like Nirvana” type band. Yeah, i know… Anyhow,i knew it would be a special gig as it was their first European gig EVER. I’ve never heard an audience as loud as that before in Koko, so respect people.
Overall, the gig was pretty decent. Some great singalongs from the crowd as well.
A funny moment was during ” Breath ” , firstly when the crowd were shouting for Ben to take his top off & his reply was ” i want you all to follow me in instagram & secondly when Adam came over & had a brief chat with me (sorry for the shaky video part lol)
Afterwards we hung with Adam & the guys for a while (kinda reminded me of when saw them during the ITM shows) Before we left, i was given a couple of drumsticks.
Once again, my huge thanks to Adam for arranging all this. The night was more than special.
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
A big day for me. In the morning i went to Lincoln hospital to get fitted out with my Gimp Mask preparing for radiotherapy treatment (+ I’m also gonna have chemotherapy). I have a couple of tumors in my brain…..yeah, even i am surprised they could find my brain! But as i wrote on my Facebook page ” Did anyone ever doubt that a couple of tumors would stop me going to a gig? Of course not, Mr Gigaddiction returns next week to see Juliette Lewis & The Licks in London ! “:-) I couldn’t think of a better more genuine rock n roll band than Juliette Lewis & The Licks.
Not only was i looking forward to the gig (having missed 8 shows recently due to the health issues) but i was REALLY looking forward to hanging with good friends again. My travel went well & i was at venue from about 4pm i think. First of my friends to arrive was Jim. We had a bit of a natter & then i noticed Juliette walk by. It was quite funny seeing pretty much ALL of the queue go after her to get photos etc. As i’d been waiting since the Garage show of ’05 for such an opportunity, i just had to go. I never do selfies, i couldn’t even work my phone! I asked Juliette to do it & she obliged. I know i look rough & am not even looking in correct direction, but i GOT THAT PHOTO ! Woo hoo
Later, when back in the queue, i saw Todd walking back to the venue. Had to have a chat with him.Strange i didn’t see anyone else chat with him. Don’t forget people, he’s been with Juliette a long time.To me, he’s just as important. Later my old mate Rob arrived. Originally, he wasn’t going to the gig, but once he knew i was doing it, he decided to get a ticket off a tout. Not long after that, Julia & Nadine turned up.Again, great to see them.After a brief chat, they went off to grab food…or rather, started to : Julia saw a guy in the queue selling a ticket, so came back & told Rob. Job done ! Thanks Julia. Looking at Heavens website, i’d worked out the best place in the venue : a raised area at the side.(I’m no longer allowed to go down the front in the pits 🙁 ) This was perfect as far as i was concerned. We got the “front row” there. Jim tried to get a photo of me up there, but didn’t quite manage what i was after. Then a lass behind me offered to try as it was a different angle & voila, perfect ! Thank you, who ever you were 🙂
Whilst waiting around, another old friend came & joined us. Hadn’t seen Patricia for ages. So again, very nice to see her & have a good catch up. Eventually, it was time for the first act, ” Kenneths”. Totally new to me, but they made a great impression. Just great fun rock n roll.
Next up its Waco. It’s probably the wrong attitude,but, i just took an instant dislike to them, sorry.(I wasn’t the only one as Rob, Patricia & Jim also thought they sucked. We all thought it would have been better if they’d switched places with Kenneths 😉 ) I’m not saying they didn’t go down well with the majority of the crowd though…
Finally, it’s time for the main event & man you have no idea how much i’d been looking forward to this! A great start to the show, with the classic “Smash & Grab”
Straight away, Juliette is doing her crazy rock star moves. It’s so obvious that she just gets lost in the music. The rest of the band are very tight & again, it’s obvious who’s having fun up there. We get a very varied set which includes a couple of new songs, plenty of old classics & a couple of unexpected covers…i really wouldn’t have expected “You Really Got Me “, but it was great.
Todd Morse does some acrobatics at the end 😉
After the gig, we went down to have a chat with Julia & Nadine, before we went to the pub. We also had Diletta join us there. So all in all, a great day out with good old friends. No one will ever know how truly special this day was to me
