Colin Robinson:
If previous gigs had left me wishing that more of the audience had known more of the set, then this one was surely the antidote. Not as packed as I've seen Fibbers for past visits, but a generous helping of fans who knew the full repertoire added to the 'real match atmosphere'. I remember looking at the entrance door with a little trepidation when I saw a group of 'trendy' looking lads who certainly didn't appear to be there to listen to any particular band. How wrong could my preconceived ideas of appearance be - within moments of the gig starting the lads began singing 'Tower block, couldn't score in a...' and then went on to know and sing every other song. One of them even bought Nigel a packet of plain crisps mid-set, very 'off-the-wall'.
The support band seemed accomplished, but weren't really my cup of tea - although how exactly do you try to find a band that fits neatly alongside HMHB? A real added bonus was that, either by weird telepathy or incredible acts of chance, Nigel and the boys chose to play only my absolute favourites. I never thought that I'd hear 'My baby's got the Yipps' live but there it was, nestling between all the other 'No honestly I'll go to the bar after this one' tunes.
In short, not so much a concert but a celebration of how a minority audience isn't necessarily wrong. I would have said that it was the best night humanly possible, but then they didn't do 'Tonight Matthew'...