Izzy Brooks hits the road and tries to survive a tour with Manchester's Longview.
The evening starts auspiciously, the band arrive late looking spaced out and jet lagged. As the guys take to the stage there’s a smattering of applause from the milling mass of fans here to see Easyworld and whoops from the ten or so hardcore Longview fans in one corner. We receive some glares and proceed to spend most of the set staring at the ground.
Despite tiredness beyond tiredness the guys do us proud. Doug strikes rock and roll poses reminiscent of er.. well someone very rock and roll and Rob bounces as per usual. Guitar riffs are raw, harmonies are solid and despite the changes in arrangement to favourite tracks all is well in Longview world. Backstage there is trauma as Matt’s drum tech
We’re treated to Rob’s take on an American accent (“We could start our gigs with some Hick dancing!”) and there is a strange and far too lengthy discussion about “If cows made music in their head – what would it be”. I suggest The Magic Roundabout theme, but this is dismissed as it’s a cover and would not be allowed. Only Douglas Morch could start a conversation like that! So rock and roll...It’s great to have them back.
Manchester Roadhouse. Wednesday 22nd January - I’m still coping.
So here we are again. In Manchester this time at the Roadhouse, which is small and sweaty to say the least, expecting an “intimate” atmosphere then. Doug’s family are in attendance and Doug reveals he his quite nervous. The set is great, possibly due to the atmosphere, it’s a sort of hometown gig for the guys and clearly sections of the audience are partisan. We whoop and holler and sway ineffably to the slower songs.
Thankfully Doug later recovers his impish mood that we all know and love and starts stalking various and sundry with his camcorder. There is some particularly interesting footage of Matt clutching a clearly nervous Sherbet Girl – Longview board regular punching the air and shouting “We’re gonna hound the hound”. One day I will discover the origins of this strange chant the band is so fond of. But for now. It’s another walk into a cold winters night and the prospect of the Nottingham Rock City gig looming in the next 24 hours. We go home at a damn respectable time for us lot.
Tomorrow will be heavy. It’s my birthday.
Nottingham Rock City. Thursday 23rd January - Just about surviving.
I like Rock City oh yes I do. Apart from night’s I have spent there getting absolutely wrecked and dancing like a dervish, it’s a good live venue. Longview is playing in the basement and it’s got possibly one of the best quality of sounds that you will here in this sized space. This is evident in the soundcheck, short and sweet with a little tweaking here and there; we just know its going to be a good one.
It’s a good gig despite my camera running out of power after taking just one picture, but the set is cut short by one song due to problems with Doug’s amp. Well basically it blew up and he borrowed Little Nikita’s. We should be grateful we got 5 songs I suppose but hey I miss hearing I Would. Never mind I get When You Sleep played for me in honour of my birthday and post gig I hit the alcohol with much gusto. We plod up stairs to the club and indulge in some more drink and crazed dancing. Doug showing a particular talent for dance moves of someone performing on TOTP circa 1980’s.
Later in the wee small hours Steve the guitar tech threatens to smash up my ickle Zara’s beloved Fender and Doug offers his hat in exchange for the privilege of doing this live on stage the next night. Me thinks we were all far too drunk to be in possession of musical instruments at this point. Roll on Leicester.
It’s Friday, it’s Leicester. I’m feeling a tad rough. Well never mind I’ve been in worse states. I’m looking forward to tonight partly because I am developing quite a fondness for the first band of the night, Little Nikita, as the week goes on. They are quiet good you know.
The Princess Charlotte affords me probably the best view of the band so far as I can stand on a little raised bit to the side of the stage. This is useful as I’m such a midget. I spy the set list and see we are in for 7 songs tonight!!! 7! My what a treat. Electricity gets it’s first outing of this tour tonight. The band are great, I don’t think the sound in the Charlotte is particularly great but it’s the sign of genius of our lads that they can still pull off a stunning set. Tonight is probably the best atmosphere so far, each song being received with rapturous applause and every second you can spy an Easyworld fan nodding their heads and smiling as they come to the realisation that “Hey these guys are really good”. The set closes with I would and I have that prickly hair, tears pricking the corner of my eyes sensation again. God I love that song.
Later we wander round the venue and can see Rob, Doug, Aidan and Matt receiving attention from loads of new faces. Beaming faces…that say. “Fucking hell you are great”. For some reason I feel very proud. It’s nothing less than they deserve. Best night of the tour so far. Fantastic.
It’s years since I last visited Liverpool and I am dreading the journey there as I have no clue where I am supposed to be going. Zara is asleep under her hood in the passenger seat, being as navigationally useful as ever. By some sort of miracle we glide into Liverpool and straight up to the car park by the University without mishap – some saint is looking after us tonight. By looking around outside the venue I spy probably the youngest audience yet and I reckon they all for Easyworld, it looks like me and the Zster are the only ones here to Longview. Inwardly I feel apprehensive, I can sense this is going to be a difficult audience and gig tonight.
I’m correct. Longview take to the stage and it doesn’t take long for the heckling to start. Some daft ape behind me keeps shouting “Jesus..look it’s Jesus” at Rob. This may be because he’s very tall – I don’t know, I’ve never noticed a striking resemblance between our Rob and the lord our saviour. Another heckler bellows “Oh look the bass players got glasses on huh huh huh”. I have to restrain Zara from committing a violent act and Doug later says he nearly cracked up laughing at that. The sound is “boomy”.
Later the band proclaim that they enjoyed the gig, but we have our doubts. The bar is quiet and there are not so many people milling about this time. I flit in and out to catch a bit of Easyworld who sound on form tonight. The gig over with we retire to the outside steps to decide on what to do next. Zara wants our local friend to take us out for a night on the tiles in ‘Pool. Doug appears and heads off with a friend to a bar we recommend. Rob is going cause he’s tired but not before he manages to get himself locked out of the venue beer in hand. Much banging on the door proves fruitless as does Rob shouting through the door “I’m in a band ..let me in”. He then offers to stick his pass under the door so “they” (the mysterious they being the doormen??) can see he is. We say don’t cause then you’ll lose it and get back in at all. I am laughing my socks off at this as Rob strides off into the night muttering about going round the back.
Rob safely ensconced back in the venue we stride off into the night ourselves for a much-needed day of rest on Sunday.
I was going to go to the Norwich gig, but I fell ill the night before, that and the fact that upon entering Norfolk I get tractor anxiety didn’t encourage me it was a journey worth making. So wouldn’t you know it the next night in Cambridge the band are exclaiming on a far too regular basis about how Norwich was their best gig so far and how we should have been there! Typical. I am trying to get a few lines out of Doug about the gig but he’s a busy guy playing his guitars and stuff so it might not ever appear. Be warned.
Cambridge Boat Race. Tuesday 28th January - Feeling rejuvenated.
It’s Tuesday. Is it? I do feel better but am still having trouble keeping up with what day it is. I know what city we are in though. Cambridge. The city of a million and one cyclist's, most of them idiots just happily and dreamily peddling round the dark streets WITHOUT any lights on. They really need to offer a course on bike riding safety matters at one of the educational establishments there.
We manage to locate the Boat Race amazingly without killing anyone but end up getting flung out to some district behind it. Becoming increasingly tired of driving as I am I park up on a residents street “I don’t care I’m from Leeds, I’m inconsiderate scum remember!!!” in a suburb aptly named Jesus. Cue many jokes regarding Longview’s Liverpool gig. The Boat Race is interesting…not what you might imagine it to be. And I’ll leave that there. I immensely enjoy Little Nikita, that band rock!!! But so do Longview. It’s a small venue so we are quite close to the stage. The guys come on to applause that says there are a few more Longview fans in here tonight. Some girlies to the left of me swoon at the sight of Mr Mcvey. This make me laugh a lot…but at least they are not shouting biblical references. The sounds ok in here, not brilliant but I really enjoy it. I missed seeing them the night before and I’m glad I risked several Cyclists lives to be here tonight. Still love I Would. It still sends shivers down my spine when Doug and Aidan’s hushed backing vocals come in. Later we are treated to the “Last night was great you should have been there – why weren’t you there etc???” comments. Which makes me do my tortured wrinkled nose sulk for two minutes. Normal service is resumed when we nick a load of posters promoting the new single Nowhere, I don’t know why I already have a mass of them and Zara cons the blue display T-shirt complete with gaffer tape out of Doug. “I’m using it for pyjamas” she says.
I make my apologies for not being able to attend the next to nights gigs in Bristol and Portsmouth respectively, (my car just wouldn’t get me there basically) and am told off…”Call yourself a true fan” exclaims Matt! Bah. Later we bump into the guys at Cambridge services whilst we are getting fuel (petrol for the car, caffeine for us), they are staying at another quality hotel/motel type thing – it’s hilarious. They are forced to go shopping in the petrol station nearby for crisps and dips. Then something good happens and I get a little treat which is my secret cause I don’t have that many secrets. It makes the 2-hour drive back up the A1 almost pleasant.
I have spent 5 hours on a skanky coach for this. I have trundled with the Zster and a couple of friends with a sack full of outfit changes on my back through Victoria station, the underground and the nice streets of Bayswater to our hotel for this. My stomach is hurting again. Someone ventures the possibility of a perforated ulcer. Nice. We settle in a nice pub in Highbury pre gig only a little alarmed at the queue forming outside the venue already. Let them queue I say, I’m going to drink wine. We end up in the queue ourselves only to be offered tickets by the unlikliest tout ever. You know who you are!!! Inside it’s not as bad as I have been led to believe it would be. It’s busy as well.
Little Nikita are up first as per and they yet again ROCK. They have some of the funkiest punkiest guitar riffs I’ve heard in quite a while and for a moment I forget that I am here to see Longview. Doug on passing me asks me whether I enjoyed that and I nod more than enthusiastically and exclaim my delight at what just went on there. Doug nods and says, “I don’t know how we are suppose to follow that”
But they do. It must be the first time I have ever seen people jumping to Longview. But I did see it happen. Not sure about the arms in the air moments for Still and I
Later Matt the drummer rescues our cameras and safely installs them on the tour bus as we are still not allowed them back. I say safely but the last time I let something of mine go on the Longview bus I didn’t see it for another fortnight as it went on an impromptu tour of Britain with them. The upshot of the night is me and Zara get very drunk, dance like crazed idiots and talk rubbish to a variety of people. The bands sound engineer is the best agony aunt ever and that’s official!! We depart at around 2am, it takes Aidan’s direction to get Zster and me in a taxi going somewhere. We are dithering, drunk and Zara wants to go back inside and dance some more.
Finally we hit Bayswater and the sleepy quiet of the street where the hotel is. It’s snowing and we spend quite a while standing in it and reflecting on the fortnights events! Conclusion. Well we didn’t really come to any. It’s been great and exciting and tiring and emotional and we’d do it all over again like a shot. Just watching the band grow more and more into their songs and performances. Words can’t describe it and we’re certain it won’t be long before many more people will feel the same.
Izzy Brooks
fizzyizzy@btopenworld.com
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