Hammersmith Apollo gigs

Come on lads n lasses, I know plenty of you were there !

How was it for you ?

I was there on Tuesday, and it was as good, if not better, than I expected. Great atmosphere, boys right on form, cracking setlist, beaming throughout.

No low points at all, but I thought Newborn, Lippy Kids (with good crowd response), Switching Off, Tailfly and FBB were epic, and great to hear TTOALOE live - what that could be with a long ol' jam at the end of it...

Anyway, made it back to Glasgow to hear second half of last night's show - continued beaming and told off by Mrs S to stop singing...

GraemeScott wrote:

I was there on Tuesday, and it was as good, if not better, than I expected. Great atmosphere, boys right on form, cracking setlist, beaming throughout.

No low points at all, but I thought Newborn, Lippy Kids (with good crowd response), Switching Off, Tailfly and FBB were epic, and great to hear TTOALOE live - what that could be with a long ol' jam at the end of it...

Anyway, made it back to Glasgow to hear second half of last night's show - continued beaming and told off by Mrs S to stop singing...

i must say that TTOALOE live was a surprise at how good it sounded to me... plus funny that they had a roadie on taking over from guy on his keys...

What a fab night at the Apollo last night. It's gotta to be up as one of my favourites. Guy's voice sounded amazing. When Black Rivers were on I was a little worried, the sound quality was poor, you couldn't make out the lyrics. However, the clarity in Guy's voice you just couldn't compare the two.

The opener was beautiful! Highlights for me were Newborn, Bitten by the Tailfly, The Birds, Fugitive Motel and lots more, it really was a special evening which didn't disappoint.

There were a few idiots trying to push in front, to one lady I objected and said in very agitated voice 'this is an Elbow concert for gods sake, no one pushes in at an elbow concert'!! Sounds ridiculous but true and laughable looking back. It did work her and her two mates decided to go back to their spot 5 rows behind us.

I hope the 10 folk at the front Guy was referring to during the gig were Forum members, if so nice to see you bagged the front row, well done. We were four rows back in front of the Potters!

Met a lovely couple who flew over from America to be there, the guy was about 6 ft 5 tall and 'no one was pushing in front of him I was glad to see! Originally from Manchester who had met the band and drank backstage with him, sadly I was hopeful he was looking my way but of course he recognised him! Lol.

Hopefully, the future concerts will include some of what was played last night, the crowd really did appreciate the earlier stuff looking around me anyway, we live in hope but I can dine off this one a while longer yet. Well done Elbow, you are still well and truly on the map!

I had such an amazing time at the Hammersmith gigs. Met so many really wonderful folks (and some awesome forum members!) I think last night's gig was my favorite of the three. Was front and center on the barrier next to some forum folks and we got a load of Garvey in our faces when he stepped into the crowd. Got to meet the boys at the stage door and they were all so lovely and Pete remembered me as the girl from Florida who froze in the Manchester queue, which made me laugh a lot.
Tailfly and Take Off were highlights for me every night. After seeing these seven shows, I don't know how I went so long without seeing them live before. I've definitely got the bug, already ready to fly over again at some point! One of the highlights of all the gigs for me was queuing (with exception of freezing my Florida butt off) and getting to hang out with the Elbow community. Everyone was so welcoming and fantastic, so thanks to all! Can't wait to do it again!

It was very, very, very, very excellent. So tired... too old for this queuing malarky. Took my daughter this time, who, naturally, loved it. Lots of high points - TTOALOE especially. It's not just the music, it's all the little bits that make it fab, including/especially the mistakes 'vomiting like crippled crows' etc. etc.. Very flat today. It's going to be some time till the next one. Thanks you Elboys for a superb week of wonderful music and lots of silliness.

ticky wrote:

It was very, very, very, very excellent.  So tired... too old for this queuing malarky. Took my daughter this time, who, naturally, loved it.  Lots of high points - TTOALOE especially.  It's not just the music, it's all the little bits that make it fab, including/especially the mistakes 'vomiting like crippled crows' etc. etc..  Very flat today.  It's going to be some time till the next one.  Thanks you Elboys for a superb week of wonderful music and lots of silliness.

Agreed mate - the comedown was very bad, personally speaking. Definitely my favourite gigs watching Elbow since the Academy and Apollo gigs, just after the release of TSSK. Chuffed so many felt the same way as me.

The comedown was rough for me as well this morning, so figured we could all use something a little silly from Thursday's show: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q5NHqQ-Z0C8

arkaz wrote:

The comedown was rough for me as well this morning, so figured we could all use something a little silly from Thursday's show: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q5NHqQ-Z0C8

As were in a sharing mood, has everyone seen this

http://ow.ly/i/8DvN3/original

I reckon most of the forum members who were there should spot themselves... I have spotted me.

We managed to see them at St John Hackney which was pretty intimate but this was a whole different ballgame, what a show, what a night.
The comedown was harder for me this time as being a JCL it was the first time I'd heard several of the older songs live... and how good were they, the sheer tenacity that Guy puts into the rise and ending of Newborn was summat to marvel at. Fugitive Motel is a particular favourite of mine but seeing it live has now ruined the album version for me
My wife dragged me out of the pub early so we could queue and we actually were stood in the queue next to someone who'd shared their views on twitter earlier that day. Everyone at the front were so friendly...
It'll be a long time before we get to see a gig like that again.

ticky wrote:

It was very, very, very, very excellent.  So tired... too old for this queuing malarky. Took my daughter this time, who, naturally, loved it.  Lots of high points - TTOALOE especially.  It's not just the music, it's all the little bits that make it fab, including/especially the mistakes 'vomiting like crippled crows' etc. etc..  Very flat today.  It's going to be some time till the next one.  Thanks you Elboys for a superb week of wonderful music and lots of silliness.

Hey Ticky! I can only imagine how amazing the show was for the two of you, and don't lie - you know queuing for a gig like that is worth it! I'm so happy to hear how fab the shows have been for all y'all. Hope I can share another one with you guys sometime, though I think you're right that this is the sort of stuff that won't be happening again anytime soon. Say hi to the family for me!

Lozzmeister wrote:

As were in a sharing mood, has everyone seen this

http://ow.ly/i/8DvN3/original

I reckon most of the forum members who were there should spot themselves... I have spotted me.

Nice! Everyone looks great from here!

Hello! I flew over from Seattle for the Wednesday and Thursday shows.  Totally worth it.  Made it into the front row for both shows, what an experience.  I had seen them last spring in Vancouver and Portland and had equally amazing experiences.  (Although it was a lot warmer in the queue!)

I met a fan from Minneapolis, and another from Boston (currently living in London), as well as a woman from the Netherlands ... I do recognize the fan from Florida - sorry I didn't get the chance to meet you!  (I was feeling kind of anti-social in the queue Thursday night and was concentrating on keeping warm! Ha ha.)

WHAT A BAND.

Guy's blocking me in that picture!

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Thursday night was just stunning, the gig was worth every single second of my (short-in-comparison-to-others) journey. I went to queue just before 5 pm and a bunch of devotees was already there: I must apologize, I should have tried to ask if there was someone from the forum there, but I'm a shy girl (and I don't feel very confident with my spoken English...). Anyway, everybody in the queue seemed to be very nice. I was just behind a couple of Spanish guys and had about 15 people before me, so I was hopeful to get a good spot inside. Once the doors opened, I tried to get in as quickly as possible (in a good-mannered kind of way, of course), but the security man in the middle of the stalls shouted something (I suppose he was saying not to run...), thus distracting me... that cost me the front row! But I cannot be disappointed, I had a good view from the second row (slightly on Pete's side). I cannot spot myself in the picture Lozzmeister posted, since Pete is covering me, but I was just behind the lady you can see under Pete's armpit. I can spot people who were queueing with me, though: the girl with the unicorn jumper and the girl at her right, the lady with the "Stick please" paper, the curly redhead girl wearing glasses between Mark and Craig, and the tall man between Jupp and Pete.
When our boys came on stage I just forgot about everything and only enjoyed, maybe too much...I apologize if I bothered someone with my arms waving/pointing/dancing...I didn't mean to, I just lost my self-control. Anyway, someone was even more excited than me when Guy came to sing GFD towards us: I was pushed against the poor lady in front of me!
I was so happy to hear old stuff: I mean, I had lost all the hopes to witness a live (superb) performance of Newborn in recent years. Now I'm over the moon I've had the chance at least once in a lifetime! I loved also Bitten By The Tailfly, which came out as a total surprise to me, Mexican Standoff, Anyday Now, Fugitive Motel, This Blue World... oh God, was there a song I didn't love? A special mention goes to TTOALOE which is damn good live, and yes, Lynne, I was among the ten who shouted the title, and I actually sang the whole song out loud: it was so enchanting. At one point Guy laughed a bit and missed the lyrics of the following verse...I had the impression that he laughed because he saw me singing each word like a crazy one...oh, just let me think so, if true it would have been funny, wouldn't it? And then he pointed at me a couple of times during that song, this proves my theory
I post the video my sister took and it is for you Chrissie, since I read in another post you were pleasantly surprised by the live rendition of this song. (I'm sorry it is recorded vertically, but it's better than nothing).
P.S.: arkaz I think the waving arm in my video is yours, isn't it? If so, thank you for letting me take a picture of the setlist!


maybe tomorrow I'll be able to post some pictures too...

Queen Ali wrote:

I can see me wiping away a tear in that picture. Amazing What a bloody great set of gigs that was though.

Aww, I love this. So many emotions. I look like a crazy person in the pic.

And Blaise, yep, that is my arm. How embarrassing! Sorry for taking over your video with my awfully timed fist pumping! And not a problem about the set list!

blaise83 wrote:

I was so happy to hear old stuff: I mean, I had lost all the hopes to witness a live (superb) performance of Newborn in recent years. Now I'm over the moon I've had the chance at least once in a lifetime! I loved also Bitten By The Tailfly, which came out as a total surprise to me, Mexican Standoff, Anyday Now, Fugitive Motel, This Blue World... oh God, was here a song I didn't love? A special mention goes to TTOALOE which is damn good live...I post the video my sister took and it is for you Chrissie, since I read in another post you were pleasantly surprised by the live rendition of this song. (I'm sorry it is recorded vertically, but it's better than nothing).

THANK YOU! Oh man, I did enjoy that - I really appreciate you posting that video, you totally made my day! So thanks to you blaise83 (and thanks to your sister as well)! Sounds like you had a stupendous time and I am so happy to hear it.

Chrissie, you're absolutely right: it was definitely a stupendous night for me. Happy that you enjoyed the video.
To lighten my back-to-work-Monday and to fight the withdrawal symptoms, let's share some pictures:












What a gig!! You cannot help but love them...

great photos!

Finally uploaded my pics today, figured I'd share in case anyone wanted a look (just iphone pics, but I quite like the few I got of Mark in the green light)

https://www.flickr.com/photos/131200735@N07/sets/72157650475439848/

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Such great pictures everyone - thanks for sharing them.

If music gets better than this, then I'm a sheepdog......faultless clip from Hammersmith.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NHRdF_l773M

Guy's voice is just getting better and better with age.

Wonderful pictures Queen Ali, I so love the Newborn one. I hope Guy will keep the habit of playing guitar/melodica/any kind of instrument he wants: he looks so into the song when he sings and plays at the same time.
And what a flawless performance of Switching off! I think that Guy could read your sentence of death and make it sound like the most wonderful thing you could possibly hear in your entire life...
I really enjoyed the gig (even if... I envy a bit those who heard McGreggor live in Manchester... who knows? maybe one day...).