GBH in Eire / Northern Ireland, Wednesday October 20th - Sunday October 24th and Bradford, Great Britain, Friday 29th October, 1999

The itinerary ..

Country	Date	City	Venue
	Wednesday 20th October, 1999	Dublin	Temple Bar Music Centre With: Strikniën D.C.
	Friday 22nd October, 1999	Cork	An Phoenix With: Stress
	Saturday 23rd October, 1999	Belfast	Rosetta Bar
	Sunday 24th October, 1999	Galway	O'Malleys
	Friday 29th October, 1999	Bradford	Rios With: Rebel Truce and Hoof

Belfast

'To play or not to play ?' That was the question posed by circumstance and pondered by us all on what was seemingly the most fateful of Saturday tea-times whilst we stood in the kitchen of the tour co-ordinator Gary's house.

For a period of time, it appeared that the evening's gig was going to be called off, thus finally blowing apart a tour that had been a nightmare to set up from the word 'go'. I have in the past been perhaps unkind about promoters in general, but then I have had to watch the results of their shoddy planning and it's left me feeling angry for the sake of the bands and their fans involved .. would you like to play to ten people because no-one had advertised your gig ? I think not.

However, the setting up of the Irish gigs had been a true example of perseverance triumphing over adversity and there was one guy to thank well and truly for that, Gary ('The fireman') Fahy. It would be difficult to surmise the pain of the moment had you not been there and dealt with Gary from the early days of setting up the dates, but believe me (and bearing in mind that I had spent the best part of Ł200.00 getting my partner and myself over there), I was gutted when it looked like things were 'off' .. absolutely gutted, that tour just had to work, permit me to turn the clock back by ten years and explain why.

You see I just love Punk music, admittedly I am more fussy in my tastes of it these days but I love it and I can't even imagine what life would be like without the bands that I hold so dear. Absolutely nothing on earth beats the feeling of going to a good concert. Indeed, as I started writing this, I was still buzzing after seeing GBH's concert in Bradford. To see them twice in one week .. as opposed to once in two years .. I was in GBH heaven !

However, I can remember when times were not so good and there was a dearth of gigs, the end of the Eighties was a lean-mean time gig-wise, I was lucky to see one band a year. Now, whilst that sounds like bad news, it wouldn't be putting too fine a point on it to say that the poor Irish .. be they of Southern or Northern extraction, had seen gigs virtually dry up for a decade. Forget about fire, brimstone and little red men below with toasting forks and horns, no shows for ten years .. that would be my idea of hell !

I must admit that I had always looked at listings in the press for gigs and had realised that Irish shows were thin on the ground. Now, please let me make the point here, there has been no shortage of home-grown Irish talent .. and I will give some examples at the end of this review, but if you wanted to see the likes of GBH, The Test Tubes, The Subs, The Exploited over there, forget it !

Then suddenly, as if the ice was beginning to finally thaw, things had started to happen. GBH went over in late '98 (it was ok-ish apparently), and I have noticed other 'names' listed for gigs too. However, it really is hard work making things happen and putting on gigs is no joke, one pulled date can wreck a tour and there are many hassles involved. The relationships between booker / promoter / venue / band are forever tenuous.

However, when you are so determined to get your favourite bands over and to breathe fresh air into a lifeless scene then nothing will stand in your way. The qualities of sheer determination and nerves of steel are the bare minimum qualifications required for this job though, the faint hearted need not apply !

Enter Gary, fed up to the teeth of not seeing his favourite bands, he did his best to do something about it. Gary contacted GBH and put together a short tour. After a frantic five weeks of Gary constantly being on the phone dealing with pulled venues and all the other hazards of promotion, the band were finally ready to hit the Emerald Isle once more.

Believe me when I say it, Ireland is a fantastic place, full of mystery and steeped in history. Consider the British occupation of the North (what an irony that is when you look at the boom in the South), the might of the Catholic church, fading perhaps but still omni-present down South and that's just the start. I lived in Dublin for four months and loved every minute of it, in equal measure, GBH were well keen to hit Irish shores again.

Returning back to the present time then and to Wednesday the 20th and Dublin. Just to set the pace, the weather had done its worst that day and bearing in mind that GBH were due to sail from Holyhead to Dublin and then trundle along the line of the river the half mile or so to the Temple Bar centre .. well ! The band arrived at eight o'clock in the evening, their ferry had been cancelled and they'd arrived on a cargo boat ! Mero the Dublin promoter was having heart failure by all accounts.

Thankfully, the band had at least made it, even though it really was in a nick of time so to speak. Apparently they played to a decent crowd (the 'Temple' is an excellent venue) and had gone down well. Cork is the date I know least about because I have not so far met the promoter there, I believe that too went pretty well. So, two down and things had finally gotten' underway at last, much to Gary's relief I think.

Now, GBH played down South in Cork on the Friday and the idea was to get the long drive up to Belfast done as quickly as possible. The band were bringing along members of Strikniën D.C. for a support slot, that also being backed-up might I add by 'Cabin Boy' and 'Catharsis' who Gary and myself had both caught playing at 'Giros' in Belfast the previous evening.

As it happened, things seemed to go reasonably well, GBH arrived at a reasonable time. The only apparent problem being that they had got stuck in a 'wake' (funeral procession) somewhere in one of the many little towns that you would encounter on the way. Believe me, if there is one thing that I could criticise about Ireland in general, it is that no-one gets anywhere in a hurry .. if you want to get somewhere on time then take the train as by comparison to road travel, Iarnród Éireann provide a superb and environmentally friendly service !

So everyone arrived at Gary's house, unpacked, chatted and we were within about an hour of soundchecking .. what could possibly go wrong ? Well if there's one lesson in life that must be learned then it has to be that one can never predict the unpredictable. Let's say that there was myself, Gary and Colin amongst others in the kitchen. The phone rang yet again (as it had been doing all day) and on answering, Gary's tone of voice dropped .. along with his face. Ok, I am in fact going to stop here because the gist of the problem was that we had been warned of trouble (happens to bands all the time), but that the issue involved was a complex one rooted in personal clashes over political leanings due to some of the personnel present. I am not now going to drag that up as it will benefit no-one, I am just going to say that I saw things that I didn't care for one bit that evening and it saddened me. Circumstance however dictated that things were handled with care.

It was an awful moment, all of Gary's hard work looked dashed as the band really had to consider whether it was safe to play or whether to cancel the gig. Was this the end of Gary's masterplan before it had barely started ? In the end, the show did go ahead .. albeit without any support acts and it has to be said that at the end of the evening, everything went ok. It is a pity that narrow-mindedness reaches out with such a sweeping hand, but that is part and parcel of human nature I suppose. In the troubled city of Belfast, it seemed like 'just one more of those things'. I do want to state very strongly however, that I met many excellent people in Belfast. The city is not an affluent place and a lot of the people I met probably didn't have all that much money, but those that I did chat with were generous and friendly and hopefully I will see them all again some day.

Right, with the debate and sermonising over, let's pick up at the point where the fun started ! Decision to play made, the band piled in the van with the exception (I think) of Colin who travelled in Gary's car with myself. There were one or two friends of the band along with us too, Tony Quinn and Wayne who were working in Dublin as builders and at least one other guy, a joiner friend of Gary's but whose name escapes me unfortunately.

We got to the venue .. which seemed miles out of town but I am assured that this is an optical illusion, and we loaded in the gear. Those not in the band grabbed a beer whilst the soundcheck went ahead, and I must say that it was the longest and most precision driven soundcheck that I have ever sat through ! Considering that this was still only October and as I write this part .. the band have only just recorded a demo for their new LP, I was particularly pleased to hear them launch into 'Punk Rock ambulance' .. a long awaited new track. My over-riding impression was that the venue was very nice and clean and well kept but quite staggeringly cold. Having said that, you must ask Ross about his overnight stay in the van outside Gary's house and I reckon that you'll get a much firmer definition of what it is to be cold !

I think we were there for nearly two hours .. it certainly felt like it, and then we all piled back to Gary's house to change, freshen up and eat as we were all starving. My main memory of the drive back was that it was an eerie experience travelling through what was a deserted route on a very dark evening indeed. We were listening to the new 'Dropkick Murphy's' CD which actually I didn't find so impressive as 'Do or die'.

A cup of tea and a few cans and pictures later and it was ready for the real thing .. yippee ! Everyone who was going got into whatever transport there was and off we went for 'Round 2'.

On arriving back at the venue, there were now a good few people present and the atmosphere was good, which I say with some relief as it was not the kind of place where I would like to have been present had there been a bad atmosphere ! As ever, Jock, Ross and Scott disappeared into the crowds ( I had to just about drag Jock up the stairs when it was time to go on later), whilst Colin, Pedro, Jackie and myself stayed in the dressing room, from which point you could hear a reasonable Punk oriented disco. I was pleased to note a few metalheads and Goths amongst the crowd .. I don't see why gigs should be 'partitioned' just because of people's musical persuasion.

It was somewhere at this juncture that Colin and myself first engaged in what may well become a regular gig game .. "test the singer's memory". This started because both Jackie and myself begged the question of Colin, "Don't you forget the lyrics to old songs over time". The answer was quite funny as Colin admitted that not only was it possible to forget the lyrics to old songs no longer played, but a bigger nightmare arose when you were half way through a song and your memory suddenly failed you ! Now, I am going to leave it to the reader to imagine the solution to this problem ! We began a little contest therefore, perhaps something like those "Spelling B's" that you used to have at school. I tested Colin with "Cryin' on the hard shoulder" and instantly scored an own goal by recalling a fictitious first line .. Colin - 1, Nigel - 0.

Now, "Cryin'" is one of my favourite ever GBH songs, it proves that they can be (relatively) melodic and punch out powerful lyrics to a very catchy tune. As it happens, the song is about a dear old friend of GBH who has let life get the better of him, to reveal more would be unfair. I await eagerly the day that Colin gives me a write-up about the themes behind the songs on all their albums, though as I am still waiting for their "USA 99' Tour-diary", then perhaps chronicles of the groups albums may be some time in appearing. I managed to equalize however by quoting a line from 'Company of wolves' .. again another favourite. And the response to quote, "Who the fucking hell wrote that .. I have never heard those lyrics in my life" Ha ..'One all' !

And finally we went on with the show .. after retrieving our absent band members from their 'walkabout' of course. There isn't much to be said about the show that I probably didn't say in the Derby review from earlier this year. The band played extremely well, and quite possibly the only disappointment was that they didn't finish their set, something that happened at Bradford too. They played a blistering version of 'Give me fire' to which the crowd went nuts (no broken strings à la Derby) and everything else sounded good too. The crowd seemed to love it. The great thing about the venue being that there was plenty of table space (fixed down of course), and those who choose to 'mosh' can do so freely. My only gripes were of an extremely pissed and large skinhead who was a complete pain in the arse (throwing a microphone on the floor at one point, breakage's come out of the band's fee), and the idiot who kept putting his hand in front of the camera whilst I was trying to take front shots of the band. Thanks to him I got just one shot that came out and that wasn't brilliant either, cheers mate. Still, it was high spirits all round by the close of things, though (to much piss-taking from everyone else), a succession of early mornings and late nights culminated in me falling asleep in the van on the way home and crawling off to bed, everyone else carried on partying !

All that over with, people pretty well dispersed, there is some extra re-collection of events in the links to the photographs at the bottom of this page. All that remained for myself and Jackie to do once the band had made their way off was to wait for our plane home and chill-out .. which was exactly what we did.

Bradford

Well of course it was hardly within my capabilities to pass over the chance of seeing the band yet again that week. Luckily, I was actually off work anyway and so despite the best assurances to myself that I couldn't possibly go and see the band again, my resistance counted for nothing and sure enough, I found myself on the train to Bradford on the Friday evening.

Now funnily enough, there were a lot of metallers on the Leeds-Bradford route, "Maybe just too many" I thought to myself as we neared the Interchange station and for the second time in a week my heart sank as my suspicions proved well founded. I left the station entrance to find myself thronged by teenage kids with 'Coal Chamber' T-shirts, you've guessed it, the eponymous quartet were playing at Bradford's St Georges Hall. You see the reason for my concern was that in previous visits, Rios .. tonight's venue, has always had a good spread of young metal fans in the audience for shows and there seemed no chance of that tonight, a rather bad coincidence of bookings .. it happens I suppose !

Indeed, as I got to Rios the place was totally and utterly deserted, not a good omen. Sill having travelled all that way, there was little I could do but find the band and go in, which is eventually what I did once my mobile phone had recovered from a mysterious 15 minute period of being dead ! I basically caught the band in sound-check and we had a few beers and a good chat, reliving moments from Ireland as if it had been months ago.

Well I would tell you how the band played that evening, but since they played the same set as they had in Ireland there wasn't perhaps so much that I can add. They sounded bloody good yet again, though Colin didn't care much for their performance that evening. I was slightly mystified about but it's good that people have different opinions to one another. Again unfortunately, the band didn't get through the set fully but I think that people still enjoyed what they did play. I guess that by the next time I get to write a review of a set of theirs at Bradford they'll almost certainly be touring a new album, so things will most certainly be written from a different perspective.

As it happened, both the support bands deserve a good mention, the second band 'Rebel Truce', a Clash tribute band sounded solid and if anything I rather enjoyed listening to them more than I had listening to Joe Strummer the night before ! Not the best piece of judgement quite possibly but there you go. I was rather taken with the first support band Hoof. These were a very nice bunch of guys who put on a good show of er - Punky Metal .. not metally Punk .. work that one out. They played a cover of 'Protest & Survive' by Discharge that had everyone upstairs peering over the balcony . Earlier on they had really amused me when they broke into the opening chords of 'Diplomatic Immunity'. All of GBH were in the dressing room talking at the time with myself and others, when we heard the familiar chords, Jock literally looked down as if his guitar were missing and he was hearing 'ghost' music, it was quite a funny moment if you had been there.

I think that I will end things here as I have said as much as I think I can. I really did have a good two evenings with GBH and I think everyone else present did too, I look forward to seeing them a good many times again too, take care.

Definitive moments of the tours ..

Hairiest moment

Jock shouting (in all innocence), "What does 'our day will come' mean ?" in what was a stronghold Loyalist bar prior to the gig.

Funniest moment

(With fifteen people in a house with just one bathroom), watching Dego (ex- of 'Product' magazine fame), crossing his legs on the stairs for half an hour waiting for the toliet to become vacant. Interestingly, Dego seems to be 'there' as well as 'here' and 'everywhere' simultaneously, never has one person managed to attend so many geographically scattered gigs in one week !!

Most self-satisfying moment

Drinking half of the band's beer at Bradford after they had stolen all of mine in Belfast !

Thank-you's and relevant information

One hundred percent thanks to Gary for organising it all and for putting me up twice during my times in Ireland, a very big 'thanks' also to his wife Chelley for putting up with it all.

To the other promoters who put on the gigs down South, especially Maeve (Galway - apparently the best of the tour) and Mero who put on the Dublin gig. I had already met Mero when going to see firstly 'Sick of it all' in Dublin and then one of several excellent bands on Mero's Rejected Records label. If you ever get the chance to see 'Blood or whiskey or Strikniën D.C. then don't pass it over. Blood .. are a heavily punk influenced Pogue-ish type ensemble whilst Strikniën belt out a ferocious but structured type of Hardcore (punk), well worth seeing.

I was also sorry not to see 'Cabin Boy' and 'Catharsis' play at the GBH Belfast gig. I had caught both bands before playing the previous evening at Giro's (also known as the 'Anarchy centre') in central Belfast. Cabin Boy were a grungy type three-piece instrumental group ! Nice to see a female in the ranks .. she played the bass in-between drinking mugs of tea ! Poor Catharsis would probably not have been my type on record but they were a nice bunch of lads who put on a good show. They had just started their Irish tour when it was suddenly cancelled on them, it would seem that Irish eyes had not been smiling on them that week.

Links:

Gig flyers and set-list for the Belfast gig

Photographs before, during and after the Belfast gig

Photographs before, during and after the Bradford gig