As a Biscuit reviewing virgin, I'll add my tuppenceworth to the reviews already in for Edinburgh.
Being from Edinburgh, I tend to rate the Liquid Room (singular) as my fave venue - apart from the crap beer selection and high prices. It generates a great atmosphere for any band, with its tight floorspace and intimate surrounding balcony, so getting to see the Biscuit there twice in the space 12 months was pretty much all I could ask for.
Another reviewer here said it was sold out - far from it I'm afraid. In fact, I'm pretty sure the crowd was smaller than the one last year, which is a shame, 'cos they played such a blinder 12 months ago. I have to blame the promoter for this - the show was on during Festival time, a time when Edinburgh attracts around 250k tourists, yet I never saw one poster anywhere for this gig. Surely a dozen or so strategically placed fluorescent posters wouldn't have cost the earth Mr. Promoter? No excuses.
The setlist shown on another review has a few deviations from what they actually did. All well and good for you moshing down at the front sir, but its left to us upstairs in the balcony to suss it out. Pay attention at the front!
Deviations from the list;
4 skinny Indie Kids
24 Hour Garage People
PRS Yearbook
Gubba Lookalikes
Pancake day (NOT PLAYED)
Used to be in Evil Gazebo
Paintball (not on setlist?)
Uffington Wassail
Another minor flaw on the night was the sound - there was something going on with the PA - for most of the gig there was a fairly audible crackling coming from somewhere...
Hats off to the moshers for creating a great atmosphere. Slightly less moshing than last year, but that could be put down to it being a Wednesday night and not a Friday? However, Harry Quinn - superb, Capel Curig, this is where Nigel slags off Munro baggers, Tunnel was ace as ever, Improv Workshop was a delight... 24 hours is where Nigel sneaks in the "calm down, its only a commercial" - I had to enquire what he was referring to...obviously I need to stay in more and a brief Joy Division bass line intro was played before Gubba. 4 Skinny indie kids, Foam party, AOR all quite superb. Nigel did look pissed off with beer throwing man, but at least he stopped on Nigel issuing the threat! Not sure if Nigel got back into the swing of things with the same degree of merriment after that though. My overall view was they were marginally (very marginally) less brilliant than last year, and having said that, they're probably still the best band I've seen so far this year.
Sometimes you wish there were more bands like them, but then you pinch yourself and tell yourself "don't be so bloody stupid, there is only one HMHB - the world is too small for two."
Back in the wonderful Bow Bar afterwards, my wife, a fan for all of 1 year, asked me why very few people have heard of them. Promoters I mumbled into my pint, promoters...
See you there next year lads?