Slight panic at the start of the evening. It had been announced that HMHB were due on stage at 8.30, but it was nearly 7.15 when I finally got off my arse to pick Richard and Kate up for the drive through. I don't usually cut it that fine, but the A1 and M18 were good to us. This is certainly a better venue for parking than The Boardwalk. There is a pay-and-display across the road, and things turned for the better when a woman leaving the car park took pity and handed over her ticket, thus saving us the grand sum of two whole pounds.
We just caught the last five minutes of Sonnenberg and then were treated to the DJ set. I'm assuming the people who used to do this at The Boardwalk must have got a free transfer to Plug, judging by the high standard of what they were playing. I had to confirm with Richard on the way home that I really had heard them give The Angelic Upstarts' Police Oppression a spin. Takes you back.
My power of recall is on the wane. I had to think hard about the title of a couple of the songs in HMHB's set. But that just shows the variety that gets played. Nigel came up with another tale about DVDs available somewhere or other. And apparently he had wandered around the Botanical Gardens during the afternoon. He certainly knows a good time when he sees one.
As mentioned, there were a couple of songs dragged out of the loft. And a bit of product placement. One of the interludes was The Velvet Underground's Heroin, with the title changed to Biofreeze. Nigel appeared to be moving gingerly, with an apparent explanation coming with his answer to the eternal What Did God Give Us question... "Bad back" came his reply. There was a name check for Owls favourite Jim McCalliog who was, we were led to believe, spotted in the crowd. And, in the interest of balance, Blades man Keith Edwards got a mention during Tending The Wrong Grave.
Here's how the show went.
Them's The Vagaries
Asparagus Next Left
Petty Sessions
Left Lyrics In The Practice Room
Mate Of The Bloke
The Light At The End Of The Tunnel
Tending The Wrong Grave
Foot Up In Europe (followed by an interesting note from Nigel about how the crowd shots from the Arsenal-Barcelona match the previous night made it look like a post-graduate convention)
Totnes Bickering Fair
Fuckin' 'Ell It's Fred Titmus
Surging Out Of Convalescence
Venus In Flares
Trumpton Riots
RSVP
San Antonio Foam Party
We Built This Village On A Trad Arr Tune
National Shite Day
Evening Of Swing
Turned Up Clocked On Laid Off
Joy Division Oven Gloves
Uffington Wassail
Running Order Squabble Fest
All I Want For Christmas Is A Dukla Prague Away Kit
99% Of Gargoyles Look Like Bob Todd
And then there was an epic encore
Tommy Walsh's Eco House
For What Is Chatteris?
Holidays In Cambodia
Vatican Broadside
Time Flies By When You're The Driver Of A Train
Everything's AOR
The general concensus was that we weren't that bothered about the Fancy Wig disco afterwards. Instead, we all agreed to re-convene in Leicester for the pre-royal wedding gig.