Hey Guys it's yer ol' pal Warpangel with part the 3rd of my Wheatus adventure!
Sonja got up early on the morning of the 11th July to get ready to go to Warrington. The first thing I noticed on getting up was...Argh...pain... The severe pummeling we had gotten at the Notingham gig had taken its toll and some very nice bruises had developed. Wearily, we got ourselves sorted and left the house around 10ish and set off in the car.
Warrington isnt too far away from where I live and so it only took us 45 mins or so to get there. We found the venue easily enough and got parked. (Making sure the windows were fully wound up!!!) We ventured into the town centre and headed for the venue. It was almost noon and we noticed how quiet the town was. The venue too was deserted so we went to get something to eat, put some films in for developing and just relaxed a little. We were still pretty tired from the previous day.
When Sonja and I got back to the venue, there were a few familiar frogs there. Zo and her crew, as well as Flick and Gemma had turned up, as had others. As we got there the tour bus arrived and the crew were soon getting all the equipment in ready for later. It was a lot more chilled atmosphere than the frenzy of the previous days gig. The guys had loads of time to prepare for soundcheck and there was no rushing.
The Venue itself, the Parr Hall, was positivly palacial compared to the Rock City venue. It was quite classy inside.
We started looking through our photos and Pete noticed us doing so, so he took some time to look through them as well and he thought they were cool.
The soundcheck was fun, they always are. This time it was good because we got some roll reversals going on. For a while Phil was playing Mikes bass, Mike was on the bongos and even BBB was seen to be having a go with some shaky fruit. All we needed was Vanesa on drums and Pete on backing vocals and we could have witnessed a complete new lineup!
Sonja and I went out again to eat before the gig. We got back a little late and missed our chance to get to the front. No problems though, there was a huge balcony section and we used our charms and convince a nice security man to let us into a taped off area. Which directly looked over the stage. A perfect spot to see the gig. It felt like we were practically on the stage.
Dirty Harry came on. Not my favourite band on this planet and there set was begining to wear a little after seeing them 3 times previously! So we just sat down through them.
But as Wheatus prepared to go on stage we stood up and prepared for a night of grooving to our favourite tunes. It was great where we were, because we could see the guys at the side of the stage and saw what they were planning to do as an entrance. Earlier in the day, the guys had noticed that there was a room next to their dressing room full of St Johns Ambulance gear. Stretchers, bandages and.....a wheelchair! So they hatched a cunning plan!
We laughed as we saw them wheel the chair onto the side stage. As the intro music started and the crowd went nuts, Phil climbed into the chair and Vanesa wheeled him onto the stage. She parked him by his bongos and as the first notes to Hump em n Dump em started he played away still sat down. Of course..it wasn't long before he slowly pulled himself out of the chair..staggering over to centre stage, then suddenly flying into a frenzy of mad dance steps as he made his full recovery.
The guys rocked and we grooved all night long. Sonja and I had a great vantage point asn we had the freedom to dance around without getting crushed. We felt like we were onstage as well as we were so close to them, so I dont know how it looked to everyone else. but we had fun and just went for it! Phil threw a few pieces of fruit our way as well during the show. Clumsy ass that I am managed to miss every one, but the apple I managed to rescue was welcomed as we didnt have drinks with us and it quenched us a little.
At the first gig on the UK tour, in Norwich,Vanesa kept pointing and smiling at me when she sang the 'I'm so in love with you.." part of ALR. After the show I mentioned it and she laughed and told me she would do it at every show. She kept her word always and it was so much fun. Tonights show was great, because as I was on the balcony she pointed upwards at me and there was me singing back to her. So funny. After the gig I said to her "That was the best little respect yet !!", Phil just found it amusing.
The highlight song I think for this tour has got to be William McGovern. It is such an amazing and emotional song to witness live. The closing part of the song is my favourite as it builds up to its climax. During that time Phil and Brendan spin around furiosly side by side, BBB with his Guitar and Phil on the accordian, and every time it just looks spectacular!
The gig rocked and was definately one of my favourites of the tour. The guys themselves enjoyed it but they were a little puzzled by the crowd. Although all the frogs went nuts at the front and we were going for it up top. The rest of the audience was a little subdued but always gave them a huge round of applause and cheers between songs, but little movement otherwise. I told BBB that it wasn't them but the place they were playing. Warrington wasnt used to getting such well known bands. The posters outside the venue spoke for themselves..you had Wheatus, and then..the Abba tribute band. So it wasnt surprising that the crowd didnt quite know what to do! It was certainly a different vibe than the previous nights crowd. BBB made a nice comment though, he said that every so often he would look up at Sonja and me and would think 'Well, at least those guys are getting it!!"
Sonja and I hung around for awhile, said our goodbyes to the band and set off once more for home. We found the car, we were amazed that we found that the car park had been left with the barriers up, so we didnt need to pay the £10 fee we were meant to. (always a bonus!!!) We headed home. I thought it was a little misty on the way home...it wasnt until I got in my house and it was still misty that I realised it was actually my eyes playing up! Something that would plague me all the next day before the Shephards bush gig. But thats the next report.....
I went to bed with wonderful happy memories of a great day again!!
To be continued....
Glenn
