I was asked a question. A very simple one. Straightforward.
“How was it?”
Thoughts were running wild in my head. I wanted to say so many things and yet I barely could come up with anything. My throat was tight. From shouting and screaming. My head hurt. From head banging and being repeatedly kicked and pushed all over the place in the mosh pit. My body was tired and bruised. I was exhausted.
How can you answer, when a simple, straightforward answer simply does not exist?
Fancy shot of the venue – because the owner of the smart phone felt artsy;)
***
We arrived at The Castle and Falcon a bit late as the traffic in Birmingham was horrendous. Since Paradise Circuit in the city centre has been closed for major works, getting in and out of the Second City during rush hours reminds us of a military operation. You have to jump lanes, watch out for temporary traffic lights located in the strangest of places, swirl and turn and pirouette on narrow lanes like a ballet dancer. Two and a half hours of this mad dance is enough to tire you out before the show even starts. We sadly missed the first support act, a local Brummie gang named Paper Buoys, but at least we can find the solace in the fact that we have seen them open for the Blinders in February this year at the Sunflower Lounge. Maybe next time we will have more luck. Oh well, c’est la vie.
The view of the stage with red banners with Columbia emblem
The second opening act for the night, The Mothers Earth Experiment may also be local but they are well known and respected for their full blown psychedelic sound and mesmerizing stage presence. The sextet is led by vocalist and guitarist Mark Roberts and consist of James Baker (keyboard, backing vocals), Jake Clarke (bass), Reece Greenfield (drums, vocals), Oliver Overton (percussion) and Jackson Younger (guitar). We saw them play for the first time at the Night Owl in Birmingham in August along with our beloved WorcesterWave acts: The Americas and As Mamas and they made a huge impression on us. On stage, Mark Roberts is more of a shamanic priest with a guitar than a musician, his entire body was perfectly tuned to the music. His movements flowed naturally in coherence with the hypnotic rhythm section. Whenever the music stopped, Mark froze in a dramatic pose with his hands raised above his head and eyes open wide (or fully rolled back). Whenever the tempo changed, so did the performance. Blessed with powerful voice, nearly mystical chanting backing vocals and great skills, Mother Earth Experiment are something fresh and an absolute pleasure to watch. They played four tracks off their self-titled debut album released in 2017: “Ignorance”, “Quietus”, “Bliss” and their best known single “Cool Down Mama”. Two of the tracks were nearly 10 minutes each and even that felt like not long enough. It was heartbreaking to hear that this was one of their last concerts together as they decided to go their separate ways. The final performance will take place in Birmingham on 16th of November so if you want to go down in the rock and roll history, grab a ticket now. This will be one of those “I was there” moments worth telling your grandchildren about. We only hope that the remaining members will regroup quickly and return with a brand new, exciting project.
The Mothers Earth Experiment in full swing on the stage
The Mothers Earth Experience is a cult art rock/psychedelia act in West Midlands music scene
After The Mothers Earth Experiment charmed the audience (including the headliner and their entourage), Calva Louise had a difficult task of raising the bar even higher. The London based trio consisting of charismatic singer Jess Allanic, Alizon Taho (bass, backing vocals) and Ben Parker (drums, backing vocals) put up a great, energetic show full of grunge-like fuzzed riffs, sing-along melodies and angry pop beats. We were glad to hear people singing the lyrics to “I heard A Cry” and their BBC 6 Music acclaimed single “Outrageous”. Being the only woman on stage that night, Jess brought all the teenage girls to the front, where they had a proper 30 minute party. It was good to see their faces alight with excitement, watching a woman shred the guitar, shout her heart out and doing a splendid job. With recent reports saying that nearly half of all new guitar players being females, we need bands (and role models) like Calva Louise more than ever. Their musical style may be very different than that of The Blinders but putting them together on one tour was surprisingly a very good decision. We are looking forward to see Calva Louise in the future on a tour of their own. Maybe with Soeur? Maybe with Estrons or Mercury Prize winners, Wolf Alice? We would love to see the British version of the Lilith Fair tour. It has been long time overdue.
With the Calva Louise set over, the mood inside the venue changed in a matter of seconds. The infectious, melodic vibe evaporated, replaced by nervous anticipation. The crowd thickened, the lights dimmed, voices reduced to a murmur. And once three, dark-clothed silhouettes appeared on stage, you could feel the temperature rising. The beginning was sudden and heavy like a shotgun blast. Bright red lights blinded those nearest the stage but behind our backs, a vortex of bodies erupted. The Blinders started off with “Gotta Get Through” and quickly followed with “L’Etat C’est Moi” and “Brave New World” without any breaks to catch our breath. It has been written and said many times but the band members are extremely skilled musicians. Thomas Haywood can bleed, throw himself on the floor, climb the amplifiers and still play flawlessly. If you have ever seen Luke Griffiths of the False Heads creating his perfect mayhem on stage, giving himself a concussion and still finishing his riffs, then you probably know what we mean. If you have not, then let’s just say that both Griffiths and Haywood are in the league of their own. They could juggle knives and still play their instruments simultaneously. The same can be said of the rhythm section that grinds everything in its path and spits out the splinters behind them. Looking like a young Nick Cave (and always dressed to impress) bassist Charlie McGough delivers thunderous cannonade and drummer, Matty Neale is properly possessed behind his drum kit, hitting the right notes with the speed of light and murderous precision. Such well-developed technical skills are rarely observed in a band that has been playing together for only couple of years. You could easily attribute them to musicians at least decade older.
Thomas Haywood as his stage persona Johnny Dream delivering a sermon to the faithful citizen of Columbia
The Blinders are a rare beast thought and their technical skills only match their song writing abilities. In one moment they can be as brutal as IDLES, driving their audience into frenzied pogo of epic proportions, in another they are delicate, almost lyrical. “Free the Slaves” is actually a poem recited with minimal, Beatles-inspired background music and the slow and dark “Where No Man Comes” showcases maturity in the use of language and metrical composition. Again, it is a common knowledge that the band is inspired by literature and poetry but it still takes you by surprise how well those artistic references are executed. Haywood’s declamation, gestures, half whispered-half screamed monologues are a small masterpiece in itself. It gives the live performance a bit of a theatrical luster and splendour. His charismatic stage persona of Johnny Dream, simple yet striking black make up, make you think of a Shakespearean actor. If he ever gets bored of making music, his next career move could easily take him to the stages of the East End or Broadway.
Charlie McGough performing on stage
Matt Neale – the beating heart of The Blinders
When you think the band would slow down a bit, the drilling beat and punkadelic aesthetics are back and you are thrown back into the mosh pit. “Swine”, “ICB Blues” and “Ramona Flowers” have the public on their knees and the band covered in sweat. The show goes on with people throwing their hands towards the stage, Haywood surfing the crowd and hanging from the ventilation crate on the ceiling, t-shirts being removed, naked bodies slamming into each other in a wild, almost ritualistic manner. And then comes the final push towards sonic destruction that drives everyone insane – 7 minutes of Dionysian thiasus in the form of “Et Tu”, “Berlin Wall” and “Brutus”. Now everything is allowed, everything is fair – hair is flying in every direction, somebody losses both shoes, the brave ones are stage diving, the meek are dancing and hugging each other. The trio gives it all.
The lights are turned off without warning and we all fall silent, waiting in darkness. Is it the end? We can see Charlie and Matty leaving their posts but Thomas is still hunched on the floor, motionless. One of the technicians is passing him a guitar and he raises, completely exhausted, to perform some sort of an encore, one last song of the evening. It is “Orbit (Salmon of Alaska)” a hauntingly beautiful composition penned as a tribute to a friend who took his own life. We can see tears in the eyes of many people as they sing to “dream the most dangerous of dreams” – to be free.
And then we are free. We are free of our worries, free of bad thoughts, politics, and rotten world that surrounds us. We are happy to experience something unique, a magical performance that brought us all together.
The band is now gone but we are still gathered in front of the stage, hugging each other and re-living the last hour. It will take us another 20 minutes to leave.
Charlie and Max Grindle – who helps the band onstage as part of their technical crew. Max is awesome and a proper legend. Here`s to you mate!
The Blinders in their element.
“How was it”?
It was beautiful. Cathartic. Impossible to describe.
If a picture is worth thousand words, maybe next time, a hug will be enough to convey thousands of thoughts and feelings? I truly hope so as I may be speechless again.
See you in two weeks in Bristol.
The merch stand
All the goodies the money can buy!
You will never escape the watching eye!
Setlist:
Gotta Get Through
L’etat C’est Moi
Brave New World
Where No Man Comes
Free the Slave
I Can’t Breathe Blues
Swine
Hate Song
Rat In a Cage
Ramona Flowers
Et Tu
Brutus/Berlin Wall
Orbit (Salmon of Alaska)
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Vanadian Avenue would like to thank: The Blinders’ technical crew and their management (for their time), Caffy St Luce (thank you, thank you – you know for what!!), Dizzy Spell of The Zine UK, Christopher Phee of Junior Weeb (happy birthday!), Lee Richardson, Milo Ferreira-Hayes, James Devine and Matt Rawlings of Dead Dads Club (for being the best of friends), Erin and The Cosmics (for being awesome as usual), Mark Roberts and the rest of the Mothers Earth Experiments (you are worth every taxi fare in the world), Calva Louise, Paper Buoys, Mark Stack (for being an awesome companion in the mosh pit), MOSES (for just being there), Becky Bushnell & Daniel Davies (for being absolute sweethearts!), Sonic Gun Concerts with Tom Holloway and Liam Connolly, Patrick and the rest of the Violet and everybody else who bought the tickets and made it such a special evening.
“Never Fight a Man With a Perm” by IDLES and “The Boy With a Bubble Gun” by Tom McRae are especially dedicated to our fellow gig goers.
Erin Grace (The Cosmics), Thomas Haywood (The Blinders) and Chris Phee (Junior Weeb) at the after party
Matt Rawlings and James Devine (Dead Dads Club), Chris Phee (Junior Weeb) and music promoter Mark Stack at the after party
Matt Rawlings (Dead Dads Club) and Malicia Dabrowicz (Vanadian Avenue) with a broken nose…
Take care for now,
Mal+Rita
We thought that we will add some more photos from the night for the enjoyment of our blog readers. We did not manage to film all the bands, so at least two out of four to illustrate what a wild night it was!
Photo gallery: The Mothers Earth Experiment
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Photo gallery: The Blinders
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We have been writing extensively about the Blinders on our blog Indieterria, so please have a look if you want to know more.
The time has come! The great tour of Columbia is almost upon us and for the next month, we will be following The Blinders as they deliver their sermon of raw emotions, rock and roll fire and spiritual awakening to a venue near you! Vanadian Avenue will attend two concerts on our own turf. We will bring you the exclusive coverage from Birmingham and Bristol so be prepared for live streams, videos and pictures from the front row.
This entry will be dedicated to the tour exclusively. We will try to collect all materials that will be published on various social media to keep everything tour-related in one place.
For the next month and a half, The Blinders will be travelling all over the UK bringing their music to their fans and shaking the old walls of Columbia until they crumble into a pile of dust. The tour starts in Manchester on 15th of October and will end up with the Last Battle of Bristol on 11th of November. The 22-date tour is the second this year and already several shows are sold out or running very low on tickets. The Blinders will be supported by White Room and Calva Louise on alternative dates so please consider coming to the shows twice as both support acts are incredibly good and it is worth seeing them both live.
The Blinders tour with The White Room and Calva Louise as support acts at the beginning of week 1
And at the beginning of week two – 7 shows sold out and 7 running very low on tickets (less than 20 tickets left)
Third leg of the tour and 9 sold out gigs. Out of 22 shows, that’s nearly 40% of the tour being sold out! Nice!
Merch: It is not possible to go on a national tour without a whole range of t-shirts and other memorabilia. This time, the band prepared coasters, stickers, three different shirts to choose from, bags, lighters, posters and many other items. Some of them you can see on the pictures below:
The bags
Some of the good and their prices.
Coasters
Thomas Haywood signing posters that will be available in the shop
Stage: There is a new scenography for the tour and it is in the darkest shades of crimson! The colour of blood is visible on posters and stickers, the Columbia banners that are proudly displayed on both sides of the stage and the lighting. You can see the picture of Charlie standing on the stage just before the last rehearsal. There is apparently a shocking beginning to the set too but you will not hear any spoilers form us!
Reviews: The reviews are already pouring in and we will be gathering them all to show you how well the tour has been prepared.
We have made a screenshot from Twitter to show you several opinions.
October 15th – Manchester Academy 2 with Calva Louise and White Room (sold out)
October 16th – Newcastle Upon Tyne, The Cluny with Calva Louise and Baltic
October 18th – Kingston Upon Hull, New Adelphi with Calva Louise and Faux Pas (sold out)
October 19th – SWN Festival, Cardiff, O’Neill’s
October 20th – SWN Festival, Cardiff, Old Market Tavern
October 22th – Stoke On Trent, The Sugarmill with Calva Louise and Saint Ivy
October 23rd – Birmingham, The Castle and Falcon with Calva Louise, The Mother Earth Experiment and Paper Buoys (sold out)
October 24th – Nottingham, The Bodega with Calva Louise, Those Howlin’ Sounds
October 25th – Derby, The Venue wih Calva Louise, Damn Cargo
October 26th – Sheffield, The Plug with Calva Louise, The Varletts (sold out)
October 28th – Leeds – Brudenell Social Club with Calva Louise, Household Dogs (sold out)
October 29th – Liverpool, Arts Club, White Room, The K’s (sold out)
October 30th – Aberdeen, Cafe Drummonds with White Room, Swym
November 1st – Preston, The Ferret with White Room, Sweet Deals on Surgery (sold out)
November 2nd – York , The Crescent with White Room, Faux Pas
November 3rd – Lincoln, 2Q Festival at the Liquor with Ducking Punches, OCTOBER DRIFT, Queen Zee, Madonnatron, No Hot Ashes, The Ultraviolet, tiger warsaw
November 5th – Oxford , The Bullingdon with White Room, Brixtons
November 6th – Cambridge, The Portland Arms with White Room, Ugly
November 7th – London, The Garage with Calva Louise, Moses
November 9th – Southampton, Heartbreakers with White Room, Moses (sold out)
November 10th – Brighton, The Haunt with White Room, Swoon
November 11th – Bristol, Thekla with White Room, GumSole
Home-coming gig! It was mad and tightly packed. Half of the local scene was there so claustrophobic conditions, mosh pit of epic proportions, blood, sweet and tears were to be expected. Manchester Academy 2 has capacity of 800 people and all tickets have been sold out which signals a new chapter in the band’s development. From small and medium sized clubs, they are quickly moving towards large arenas. After the concert, everybody were invited to the official after party where the band once again played the DJ’s and tormented their guests with their favourite songs from Nick Cave, Bob Dylan and The Doors to The Arctic Monkeys to Abba (Oh, does your mother know you are out?)
The Blinders’ guitar tech, Max Grindle, (@maxgrindle) captures the moment when the champagnes are being opened to celebrate a huge success!
02. Newcastle Upon Tyne – 16th of October (now completed)
Newcastle poster
After triumphant beginning in Manchester, The Blinders played Newcastle on Tuesday night. The doors opened at 8:00, the show started 30 minutes later with local 4 piece band called Baltic opening. Calva Louise played their 45 minutes set at 9:15 and then The Blinders took to the stage at 10:00 PM. This venue has capacity of 275 people and was nearly sold out (only 30 ticket short from being full)!
The New Adelphi Club may be small but it is very popular in Kingston. The tickets sold out hours before the gig and many were left desperate when this screen appeared around 14:00 in the afternoon:
Tickets are now sold out!
Those who came to the club earlier, were told by the organizers to purchase passes to other shows as quickly as possible as all the venues on tour were running low on tickets. This caused a minor panic among the gig goers – many of them admitted that they planned on seeing The Blinders multiple times! Hopefully everybody will have a chance to see the band playing but note that at this moment we are told that Birmingham is down to 6 tickets, Bristol is down to about 30, the same in other venues. Please don’t leave it to the last minute as there is no reprint of tickets. The venues cannot accept any more people beyond their capacity limits! Thank you! Now, having the announcements behind us, we are pleased to report that Calva Louise and Faux Pas played excellent shows and the crowd went absolutely mad for them both. The Blinders went to the stage at 10:00 pm and played “a very lively gig” as one of our correspondents described it. There was a signing session at the end and many people had to queue to have their records signed. Did we mentioned that the band sold out their tees and vinyl records? All in all it was a great night to remember!
04. SWN Festival Cardiff – 19th of October (now completed)
The Blinders played twice in Cardiff during the SWN festival. On Friday, they headlined the main stage in popular bar, O’Neills and their set took place between 11:30 pm – 00:30 am. Early bird passes sold out at the end of August and there was no tickets left at the door. Festival goers had to queue to see if it was possible for them to enter! The place was packed so tight the security had to intervene!
You can see the schedule as a pdf or jpg below:
As you can see from the song list, two fan favourites made a big come back: “Swine” and “Ramona Flowers”. They might not be on the record but their place among the best songs are confirmed. This tour is a massive punch in the guts and if you haven’t been punched yet, please stand in line!!
05. SWN Festival Cardiff – 20th of October (now completed)
Saturday is always one of the busiest days at SWN festivals. The schedules are packed absolutely mad and Cardiff was bursting at the seams in the evening. The Blinders played a 45 minute set at the Old Market Tavern starting exactly at 6:00pm. The crowd was wild, welcoming and ready to rock. What can we say, another day in the office, isn’t it? 🙂
Poster advertising Huw Stephens show with the Blinders hanging outside the venue
06. Stoke-on-Trent – 22nd of October (now completed)
The band had a day off on Sunday 21st of October to recharge their batteries and came back to the stage on Monday at the Sugarmill. This is a popular venue and The Blinders played there on their last tour in the winter. To thank their fans for being so welcoming (by the mid-day on 22nd of October, the band learnt that 7 shows have fully sold out and 7 additional ones were down to last tickets!), the lads along with their management offered 4 free tickets to the show. You can imagine that they were snapped in a matter of minutes. As usually, the gig went perfectly well with Calva Louise and local act, Saint Ivy on the supporting bills.
The first gig on Vanadian Avenue’s turf! Birmingham was selling well from the start and it is our greatest pleasure to announce that we have a second sold out show for the band in the Second City, following the gig at Sunflower Lounge on 16th of February 2018. We will be doing an extensive coverage and a concert review so please be on a stand by!
Instagram picture advertising the nearly sold out show in Birmingham!
On the 8th day of tour, The Blinders visited Nottingham to play at nearly sold out gig at the popular club, Bodega. The doors opened at 7:00 pm and the show finished exactly at 10:00 pm, very early for a mid week night! We cannot complain as the concert was an excellent one, with massive mosh pit and a fantastic crowd reaction. Young 4 piece Those Howling Sounds opened the show,followed by a well received performance by Calva Louise. We don’t have to tell you that The Blinders of course stole the show, but nobody would bet on something that obvious!
Starting in Birmingham, the tour is becoming more and more relentless. There are shows now every day without any breaks but the band truly enjoy being on the road and playing a gig in new town each day. More and more gigs are also selling out, so please don’t wait until last minute. On 25 of October, The Blinders returned to the Venue in Derby for the second time this year, after their sold out debut in February. Another venue and another, nearly sold out show. It was very intense, or sources confirmed that Matty broke one of his drumsticks and he threw it into the crowd!
We are almost in the middle of the tour! On 26 of October, The Blinders played in Sheffield in a fantastic place called The Plug on Matilda Street. The doors opened at 7:30pm, the curfew was at 11:00pm and Calva Louise and The Varletts were supporting. It was considered one of the best shows on the tour so thank you to those who came and made it such a fantastic experience for everybody involved. We love you all!
After a day of rest (for Halloween parties), The Blinders are now back on the road. On 28th of October, the band arrived to play at the lovely Brudenell Social Club in Leeds and it was again a sold out affair. Doors opened at 7:30, Household Dogs were the first support for the night, followed by the wonderful Calva Louise just before the Doncaster trio. As expected, it was a beautiful gig, with massive mosh pit, great response from the crowd and a fantastic feedback.
12. Liverpool – 29th of October 2018 (now completed)
Liverpool poster
Liverpool was the 12th gig on this tour and right now we are exactly in the middle! It is true that the time flies when we are all having the time of our lives. The Liverpool concert introduced some massive changes in the line up: Calva Louise finished their leg of the tour and the new support slot was now filled by White Room. Liverpool concert was also be supported by the mega popular local quartet, The K’s. It was the 6th sold out show for the trio and as you can imagine, it was a blast! The crowd was mad, the band again gave it all and everybody loved each second!
13. Aberdeen – 30th of October 2018 (now completed)
Aberdeen poster
The lucky, 13th gig took place in Aberdeen! A long, long way from the Kingdom of Mancunia (about 6 h by car), but only an hour by plane. The band was travelling by air to reach the next destination and luckily it was a sunny (yet very cold day) for such a long journey. As with other gigs before, the show was spectacular and the club was tightly packed. The Blinders were joined by the White Room and local 5 piece, Swym.
The concerts are going so well that Sam Crowston (The Blinders’ official photographer and visualizer) posted this on Twitter. The merch has nearly sold out and again. That is a very, very good news indeed! Time to order so more.
14. Preston – 1st of November 2018 (now completed) – sold out
Preston poster – sold out!
After a day of rest for the Halloween festivities, the show number 14 is a sweet deal for The Blinders. Preston was one of the first shows to sell out, even before Manchester, Birmingham or London. The show will take place in a club called The Ferret. The doors opened sharp at 7:00 pm and the party lasted until way past the curfew at 11:00. White Room and Manchester trio Sweet Deals on Surgery were supporting to universal acclaim. Of course, The Blinders again stole the show, but it happens every night so nobody is surprised.
Another evening nearly sold out and a fantastic, active crowd singing every word! Thank you so much York! You were fantastic and this show will be remembered for a long period of time. The doors were opened at 7:00, Faux Pas played first, followed by White Room and The Blinders (or Los Blinders as they are recently known) came to the stage at 10:00. Their 50 minute show left people drenched in sweat and wanting more. And more shall come as the tour continues!
16. Lincoln – 2QFestival – 3rd of November 2018 (now completed)
2Q Festival – Presented by the crew of Badlands Festival, the Liquor stage will present: Ducking Punches, The Blinders, OCTOBER DRIFT, Queen Zee, Madonnatron, No Hot Ashes, The Ultraviolet, tiger warsaw
2Q Festival is a one celebration festival happening in Lincoln. 80 bands, 9 venues, a whole city dedicated to rock and roll – what else can you ask for? The festival is an award winning event and is known for it’s fantastic and safe atmosphere. The Blinders played their slot at The Liquor exactly at 19:45 pm as a first support before the headliner, Ducking Punches.
Stage times
Facebook advert
How can we describe their show? Well it was MADNESS! People shouting, jumping, Thomas being lifted in the air and walking among the crowd, Charlie playing like a demon and Matty just driving everyone and everything into the ground with his drumming. Only handful of shows left so please come and see them if you haven’t had the chance yet!
The band arrived in Oxford to play at the legendary Bullingdon Club on the 5th of November (remember, remember…). The doors were opened exactly at 7:00 pm but many people were waiting outside of the club for at least several hours despite the cold weather. They were singing “Rat In a Cage” and sharing teas – this is what real dedication and true fandom looks like! Thank you to those who provided the free cuppa to the half frozen fans! Due to a mistake on the ticket vendor site, the show was marked as 14+ when in fact it was 16+ so fans had to show their ID’s to the gentleman at the door. Local Oxford heroes, Brixtons were the first opener, with White Light playing at 9:00 and The Blinders at 10:00. The show finished around 11:00. What can we say? The show was nearly sold out – only 11 tickets were left at the doors so that says a lot about the reception this tour is getting. The crowd was mad, the band finished drenched in sweat and Thomas’ make up was washed clean by fourth song. Another fantastic night!
18th day of the tour had the band arriving in lovely Cambridge! Lets hope the lads had some time off to do a bit of sightseeing as Cambridge is simply breathtaking. As for the show: opening times were pretty standard. Doors opened at 7:00 pm, first support, Ugly performed at 7:30 (please give them a spin as they are truly excellent band!), The White Room went on stage at 9:00 and The Blinders again exactly at 10:00. The show was finished by 11:30 pm. Again, the requirement for all attendees who were under 18 was to have an accompanying adult with them and an ID. According to the reports, the crowd was mad as a hatter, the mosh pit was truly impressive (though not as big as in Birmingham) and everyone had time of their lives.
London gig advertised in Time Out Magazine, London. Picture by by Artbeat Promo
London!! The Columbia tour has finally reached the capitol! For one night only, at the amazing venue The Garage, we had a chance to see The Moses, Calva Louise and The Blinders on one bill. It was a dream come true and the show will remain in our memories for a very long period of time. The doors were opened at 7:00, Moses played at 7:45, Calva Louise at 8:30 and Los Blinders at 9:20. The mosh pit was extremely tight and several people have to be removed from the venue but the security guys did a splendid job. Everyone was safe and sound, had a great time and nothing could spoil the fun! Thank you once again guys! You are truly amazing!
On the 20th day of their journey, The Blinders went down to Southampton. It was one of the earliest sold out dates and the band is always welcomed in the city. The place, The Heartbreakers Bar and Venue has a fantastic reputation and is known to deliver great events. Moses and The White Room went along for the wild ride and we have to say that the night went smoothly and everybody were perfectly happy. As usual, doors were opened at 7pm, Moses played at 7:45pm, The While Room at 8:20 and The Blinders went on at 9:30. The curfew was 10:30 pm. There was a secret after party at one of the city’s night clubs and fans had a chance to take pictures and speak to the band. All in all, the night was greatly intense and long will be remembered (there was just one causality, the amp backed up and exit the stage left, but it didn’t spoil anything!)
Brighton, the next step after Southampton (aka day 21) also sold out several months in advance and is considered one of the best shows on the tour. The band was incredibly focused and energetic. Each song was played with additional strength, dedication and with an extra layer of what can only be described as a “rock and roll” spirit. In plain words – there was more sweat, more theatrics and more swagger. The public loved every second of it and so did the band.
As usual, the gig was opened by a local support, this time by Brighton quartet, Swoon with the amazing vocalist Alice Guala at the helm. The White Room were next at 8:30 and then at 9:20, the Blinders took to the stage. The gig ended at 10:30 with all three bands meeting fans and signing records and posters. After everything was said, done, sang and signed, the entourage went off to a local night club for the after party that lasted, if you believe the report, till the dawn.
Venue: The Haunt
Time: 7:00pm – 10:30pm
Official website: https://www.thehauntbrighton.co.uk/
Supports: White Room, Swoon
More information: https://www.facebook.com/events/220680275374879/
Bristol gig (aka The Last Battle of Bristol) took place on the 11th of November and it was the last show on this tour. What was happening, you may ask? The band has long promised to finally kill off Johnny Dream persona, but the show was rather peaceful and nobody was hurt. There was no murder on the (dance) floor and no blood streaming down the walls. The doors were opened at 7:00 and the fans were treated to a cloak room, two upstairs bars, one main bar at the ground floor and a viewing gallery (aka the upper deck) on a real boat! Thekla is quite famous for its unique interior and it was a pleasure to see it with our own eyes. Gum Sole, a young quartet from Bath were quite impressive and we took some videos and pictures so please be on the look out for a review! The White Room are not our cup of tea, but we have to say their music is of excellent quality and the lead singer knows how to charm a crowd! Sadly, we had to leave the venue quite early and we only saw the Blinders for a couple of songs but as usual they were amazing. We missed a very cool thing though – Thomas (or rather Johnny Dream) came into the audience and sat on the floor surrounded by the crowd during one of the songs and everyone commented, it was a truly magical moment. Oh well! You cannot see everything but there is always another gig to attend!
So how can this tour be summarized? Was it a success?
The answer will be a simple one – it was a huge success for the young Doncaster trio! 22 concerts, 10 sold out shows, 7 nearly sold out gigs (leaving 10 or 20 tickets at the doors), 4 concerts with more than half venue capacity filled out. Please note that we are only relying on press reports, venue press releases, our own calculations and the reviews available online and those of our friends who came to the gigs. Maybe the official results will be even better. In any case, Columbia tour has to be called a success. The attendance was way above the average, we have found more than 50 videos on Youtube, hundreds of pictures, 20 articles, 21 reviews and that’s only the tip of the iceberg.
The merch stand was almost empty in Thekla and the gentleman behind the counter was apologizing that the band ran out of t-shirts again! Apparently the shop had to be restocked twice before. This is a very good news and thank you so much for your amazing support for the band! Buying tickets and merch provides necessary income to keep the bands going. We are sure all sales will be dutifully counted and the stock will be much bigger on the next tour, to meet the demand.
Was there something missing?
There is always room for improvement and we have collected the best fans suggestions that were posted all over the Internet:
– A gig in Norwich! Many fans called for additional gig to be added to the tour. The last time The Blinders played Norwich was on 17th of October 2017 along with Queen Zee and Cabbage (Norwich Arts Centre). Maybe 2019 will see the band returning to the capitol of East Anglia.
– More variety at the merch stand – fans asked for more t-shirt designs to choose from (there were only three available) and for female versions of the tees to be added as the unisex ones (even in S and M sizes) were simply too big. Also, please bring back the lighters! – Festival appearances – some festival appearances were added at the last minute or were not advertised on the social media in advance, not allowing fans to purchase the tickets.
– New material/song order – in short, can at least one new song be added to the set? If it is not possible, please play “Murder at the Ballet” and “You Are So Cold” from the first EP to add some variety. Those who attended multiple concerts wished that the song order was changed a bit as it was identical for the majority of the tour. Some fans also called out for the mysterious “Acid Bath” to be finally added to the set!
– More security and safe spaces for female attendees – this one is tricky as the band has absolutely no control over the behavior of the concert goers. When Thomas saw a rowdy fan trying to start a fight at the London gig, he stopped the concert and made sure the gentleman was escorted out by the security. The band also posted an appeal on their social media asking fans to take care of one another afterwards. Fans suggested teaming up with Safe Gigs for Women (https://sgfw.org.uk) a non profit organization trying to provide women with spaces where they could enjoy concerts without being harassed or being endangered. The charity also caters to the needs of the vulnerable people of both sexes, people with disabilities (including wheel chair users) and underage or young teens. There are other organizations doing similar work as well. It is something that can be taken into consideration.
Please remember that after all, we are responsible for the safety at gigs so if you see something worrying, suspicious or wrong, please let the stewards or security know. Thank you!
So what’s next? The band is now resting and working on new material. There are many gigs already booked for the rest of 2018 and for the 2019 and we will follow them in a separate blog entry as this one is very, very long already!
Please stay with us and enjoy the music, memories and the extensive library of links, pictures and videos!
