O2 Arena, 2nd Dec 2012

Thought it was about time the gig had its own thread. What an amazing night!!

Couldn't try to compare it to Manchester the night before as I wasn't there, but tonight was absolutely brilliant. In the most generous thing I have seen in a long time, Guy gave his guitar away to a person in the audience whose birthday it was... best birthday present ever?!!

Spent all the queueing time with great company - so nice to see those of you again that I could. I lost everyone after the show - hope you all got home safe.

A few pics from me: (most came out blurry, I'm sure Queen Ali will have some ace ones though )

EDIT: (Eeek, big pics... Mods, feel free to adjust if they are too big. I can't remember how to do image scaling.)
MOD EDIT: Sorted Kim, no worries!

Fab photos Kim! There really has been a high standard of photographs over the last few gigs. xx

Kim wrote:

Thought it was about time the gig had its own thread. What an amazing night!!

Couldn't try to compare it to Manchester the night before as I wasn't there, but tonight was absolutely brilliant. In the most generous thing I have seen in a long time, Guy gave his guitar away to a person in the audience whose birthday it was... best birthday present ever?!!

I'd read on twitter he'd handed it to the crowd... the cynic's suggesting he'd not need it ever again... ;-)

Kim wrote:

A few pics from me: (most came out blurry, I'm sure Queen Ali will have some ace ones though )

EDIT: (Eeek, big pics... Mods, feel free to adjust if they are too big. I can't remember how to do image scaling.)

wow... fab photo's! really impressive, thanks for sharing...

I've posted a review of last night's gig on theartsdesk.com. I don't believe any other music press were there. My neighbour from The Times left halfway through. Sorry about the lack of decent photographs. Our photographer was unable to make it. Here's how it starts...

'Elbow are responsible for a remarkable conjuring trick. Earlier this year their song “First Steps” stirringly soundtracked the BBC’s Olympic credit sequence, and then at the Closing Ceremony they serenaded the athletes into the London 2012 stadium with “Open Arms” and “One Day Like This”. Their musical message of harmony and celebration - of higher, faster, stronger, cheerier - ought by rights to sound like the most grating of bromides. But no, Elbow have found the secret recipe for banishing cynicism, boosting endorphins, spreading the love. It’s no coincidence that their star has risen during a time of economic meltdown. At the O2, the last night in a national tour before they disappear for a bit, they distributed their inspirational cure-all to 20,000..."

Read more at http://www.theartsdesk.com/new-music/elbow-o2-arena-0

Jasper Rees wrote:

Read more at http://www.theartsdesk.com/new-music/elbow-o2-arena-0

good review that sir...

Thanks very much. Can you or anyone in this thread shed any light on why they didn't play "First Steps"? Dictat from Lausanne?

Jasper Rees wrote:

Thanks very much. Can you or anyone in this thread shed any light on why they didn't play "First Steps"? Dictat from Lausanne?

they've never performed it live... it wasn't an official Olympic movement tune so would be nothing to do with the Olympic organisation. im guessing its probably because it was a one off commission for the bbc and isn't relevant to the elbow live show... for me personally, it would be the last song i'd expect them to do.

Kim wrote:

A few pics from me: (most came out blurry, I'm sure Queen Ali will have some ace ones though )

Excellent pics - I got a few half decent ones, but I was stood about 5 people to your left, and had one of the numpty security guards stood bolt upright with his arms crossed all evening, and unfortunately his head is in most of the pics! Mind you, he was the one who gave you your set list at the end, so can't be all bad!

Amazing photos Kim!! It was a really great show. My favourite songs of the night were definitely Grace Under Pressure, Fugitive Motel, LOTFW and their new song Charge. It's a pity we have to wait so long to hear the studio version, but at least there are a few decent youtube live recordings of it for the mean time. And that must have been one of the most unforgettable birthdays for Marcus, such a genuinely big-hearted gesture. It made me love Guy and all of Elbow that much more (if that's even possible haha).

I remember you, kcdc! Will have to say hi next time.

Errant - true but... even if he wasn't gonna need it again for a long time, still a pretty awesome thing to do, hehe.

This one's for mitchy...

Aaagh Kim thank you so much for that photo,will spend hours gazing at it!so great to see you,sad it wii be at least another year :-(
Still buzzing.........

Kim wrote:

I remember you, kcdc! Will have to say hi next time.

Yes, most people do tend to remember me, especially if they're stood behind me - I'm the really tall one!! To be honest, being right against the barrier on Sunday meant I was able to lean on it for the whole time, so I didn't feel like I was getting in the way of anybody.

My mate said we should say hello, but we're both relative Elbow gig novices compared to you I think - it was my mates 4th time, but only my 2nd. I'm afraid being married and having kids tends to reduce the amount of gig cash!

Amazing pictures, Kim! We were the shy couple a few people to the left from you at the barrier, right in front of Mark's. After the show it all got crazy, so I missed saying hi in the end. :/

Elbow orchestra were lovely! Glad we made it early. It was also our first time at the barrier on purpose at a big show, I am glad Elbow fans are so amazing and respectful. Nice to be able to see it all too --- usually I miss most of the shows, being shorter than average.

kcdc, were you the one just behind us in the queue worried the doors weren't open at 18:35?

4th Elbow gig ever, in 3 different countries, but just the second time there is an encore and the first they play songs from Cast of Thousands, which remains my favourite. Hubby especially chuffed to listen to Grace Under Pressure --- Jupp was amazing as always. Fugitive Motel was a thing of beauty! But the one that got me was Station Approach. It may be about Manchester, but the feeling is so universal. Charged sounded very good. I can't hardly another year and a half for the new record.

I took only one picture with my iElbow*, and it was during Puncture Repair. Who thought Craig would blush so easily?

* that's how my SO named my phone.

natalia wrote:

kcdc, were you the one just behind us in the queue worried the doors weren't open at 18:35?

ooo, don't know, might have been me! I was commenting about the doors for the people upstairs being opened at exactly 18.30 but we were still stood there! We were at the front of the third row of the cattle fence type things just behind 2 other people - was that you?

kcdc230 wrote:

ooo, don't know, might have been me! I was commenting about the doors for the people upstairs being opened at exactly 18.30 but we were still stood there! We were at the front of the third row of the cattle fence type things just behind 2 other people - was that you?

Oh, so it wasn't you! I was in the middle of the first row of the cattle fence.

Sounded another great gig and top pics too Kim!

Here's a photo of the lucky Marcus whose birthday it was, shared to @elbowfans on Twitter. A lady called Helen (assume his OH) took it:

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A couple of great live pics just added to my O2 review on theartsdesk.com here: http://www.theartsdesk.com/new-music

kcdc230 wrote:

My mate said we should say hello, but we're both relative Elbow gig novices compared to you I think - it was my mates 4th time, but only my 2nd. I'm afraid being married and having kids tends to reduce the amount of gig cash!

Hehe, next time then. It's always really nice getting to know more fans, and especially the lovely lot that gravitate to this forum. A person's gig count isn't really a fair comparison, or reflection of their dedication. I count myself lucky to have seen them so many times, but then I am basically a miser for everything except gigs, and I don't have kids to absorb all my money... yet!

natalia wrote:

We were the shy couple a few people to the left from you at the barrier, right in front of Mark's. After the show it all got crazy, so I missed saying hi in the end. :/

Elbow orchestra were lovely! Glad we made it early. It was also our first time at the barrier on purpose at a big show, I am glad Elbow fans are so amazing and respectful. Nice to be able to see it all too --- usually I miss most of the shows, being shorter than average.

Definitely say hi next time, Natalia! Would be great to meet you properly. Yeah as soon as the gig ends it all gets a bit hectic, with people milling about and security trying to shoo everyone off. Glad you had a great time!! I am totally with you about the height thing - if I am not on the front barrier, I can barely see anything at all, it's quite ridiculous and a bit embarassing really.

mrswoman wrote:

Here's a photo of the lucky Marcus whose birthday it was, shared to @elbowfans on Twitter.

I didn't spot that he got a setlist too, nice! I was well chuffed to see that Guy's guitar still has the 'Trains Are ...Mint' sticker on it which me and Jonathan wrote in to Finest Hour about, after the 2008 Porchester Hall gig. He explained on the next show the back story about Oliver East.

Queen Ali wrote:

Would love to know the story behind Mark's face here

Have to be a bit self indulgent here as well - a while ago, Craig had a mini competion on his twitter page... 'name this instrument I'm making and win a prize' sort of thing. My best friend guessed correctly and he offered her and me after show passes to a gig of our choice!

Love that last pic, Ali. Very impressed with your new camera - the images are so crisp! I need to invest in one that deals well with low light, I think. I'd wondered how you'd gotten on at the aftershow party - glad it was good and you got to speak to Craig and Guy!!

Queen Ali: I agree with what Kim says, your photos with the new Lumix are astonishingly good!

I posted a link on another thread to my own photos taken from front 'Potterside', but no harm in adding it here as well:

http://www.flickr.com//photos/24599347@N00/sets/72157632188527134/show/

Going back to the gig itself, my highlights were definitely Fugitive Motel, followed by Mirrorball, Grace & Lippy Kids. If there is a complaint it is that the set didn't really seem to get going until Mirrorball; I think that 'The Birds was a stronger number to open on than High ideals - although maybe it was just this performance rather than the song. I also felt that Tower Crane Driver wasn't quite the soaring masterpiece that I've heard from them in the past. Doing The Night Will Always Win round the piano really works well, especially with Weather Top Fly following on, providing a means of gradually retreating back to the stage as they build up to the blistering series of numbers at the back end of the set.

What I am going to do for the next year or so until touring starts again I don't know...I suppose I do need to catch up with some other artists too, that seem to have been neglected over the past two years.

Regards all,

Phil.

Kim wrote:

Definitely say hi next time, Natalia! Would be great to meet you properly. Yeah as soon as the gig ends it all gets a bit hectic, with people milling about and security trying to shoo everyone off. Glad you had a great time!! I am totally with you about the height thing - if I am not on the front barrier, I can barely see anything at all, it's quite ridiculous and a bit embarassing really.

When I am back in the UK and make it to another Elbow gig I will not wait for the show to finish.

You all took amazing pictures, thanks for sharing!

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http://louderthanwar.com/elbow-london-live-review/

Here's my review of the O2 gig.