Well, the Brum gig was just fine! The set list was as expected and, while we can all think of tracks we'd add or ditch, it suited most of us down to the ground.
My seat was in the fifth row at floor level, but we ended up standing throughout after security allowed the first three rows to venture forward to the crash barriers. No great burden for most of us, but probably a pain if you need to sit for health reasons and a few middle-aged legs had begun to wilt by the half way mark!
BF was on good form; while it's true that he can no longer hit some of the high notes, he knows this and doesn't try. I think the backing singers are used cleverly in this regard and there is still much to love about the old boy's voice, IMHO.
Having got used to twin (and sometimes triple) guitars and keyboards on previous tours, I was surprised that the same apparently now applies to drums and saxophones!
While Tara Ferry was introduced as a percussionist, rather than as a drummer (he appeared only to have a snare drum, a drum pad and one cymbal), it's a complete mystery to me why anyone should think that TGPT needs any help whatsover! The closing moments of FYP, the closing tune, still raise the hairs on the back of the neck...
Equally surprisingly, Jorja joined Andy for a couple of saxophone burn-ups; it was effective, but he didn't look in too much need of assistance to me. (For the real trainspotters out there, Jorja played alto & tenor, while Andy did likewise plus curved soprano & oboe!
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I was interested to read about the Manchester sound problems and the (possibly scuppered) CD and/or DVD recordings. There was certainly filming aplenty at Birmingham, so start saving for those next live releases!
For those going to Nottingham & London, you should find some nice merchandise. Really nice programme (albeit at £15), a wide range of t-shirts (incl. Kari-Ann, FYP, Country Life, F&B and Avalon, all at £20), coffee mugs of the first two album covers (£7 each; only available post-gig in case we used them as missiles apparently!) etc.
The best bargain appeared on the three merchandise stands only after the gig: black & silver FYP posters bearing the list of tour venues and signed (in silver marker) by BF. These were individually numbered in a limited edition of 150 (I assume that's 150 for each gig or they'd have sold out last week!) and only £15.
The poster was the cherry on the icing of the cake for me; once framed it'll be a nice companion piece for the framed inside cover of my FYP album, which is fully autographed by all five band members (including the reclusive Eno). All that remains is to work out how to persuade Mrs S to let me commandeer sufficient wall space; I can feel an expensive purchase of flowers looming...
