Skindred - o2 Guildhall Southampton - 15th October 2021

 615 Days. That’s how long it had been since the ET crew last were at a gig, this being the fantastic Sabaton at Wembley arena, alas no write up for this one, with hindsight we should have done one, but oh well, we can now bring you a blog post written from a recent gig rather than from memory and what a start we have! The amazing Skindred at the o2 Guildhall in Southampton. Not only are these guys a particular favourite of the ET crew, this is a brand-new venue for us so get comfy, maybe grab a brew for we’re about to tell a tale of Pizza, Scholars, Reggae Rock and a Lord of the Rings themed pub!

The day had arrived. Friday 15^th of October. A date which the ET crew had been looking forward to since the return of live music was announced by BoJo and Skindred had announced their show time tour taking in various UK cities. Now, regular readers will know that we usually take in most of our gigs in London and there was indeed a stop over at the roundhouse for the Newport reggae rockers, however on further inspection of the schedule a date in Southampton was discovered a city which the ET crew had fancied for a gig for a long time. With the day booked off for the two of us it was a leisurely noon departure for E heading south picking up T enroute. In typical ET crew fashion, we already had a problem, a crash on the A34 forcing us to take a detour. This detour consisted of narrow country lanes in parts of Hampshire we’d never find again let alone tell you what they were called.

Before too long even with the detour the ET crew were soon arriving into Southampton and their digs for the night. All settled in and with 4 hours until stage time, it was time for E to don his battle jacked for the first time in just over a year and a half and for the crew to head out the door and onto a bus trundling towards the city centre for a bite to eat and the first pints of the night. With E knowing Southampton from visits for football a place called the stable, a wonderful pizza and craft beer place was selected. The pizzas didn’t disappoint and nor did the beers! T had a pint of the stables own Pale Ale and E opting for a pint of Iford Wild Juice cider. If you ever find yourself in Southampton and are hungry and/or thirsty this place is a must!

For the first time in 615 days!

Suitably fuelled for the gig and with time still to kill, it was up Above Bar Street to a Greene King pub, the scholars’ arms. This huge pub had a mix of old styles wooden panels and a disco ball! It was in here we came across our first fellow Skindred fans of the evening, not really surprising given this pub was literally across the road from the o2 Guildhall! Settled down at a comfy table it was a couple of Pints of San Miguel for T and a few Bulmers for E. Now, this was where we had to overcome challenge number 1 of the evening, the new digital Ticketmaster system! The task seemed simple, E had to transfer 1 of the 2 tickets he had purchased to T, sounds simple enough right? Wrong! Not only does the Ticketmaster app make you sign in twice to transfer a ticket and take absolutely ages to send the request, signal in the pub was terrible and with T not having a cloud wifi account installing the Ticketmaster app took absolutely ages. T managed to remember his Ticketmaster password and logged in E sent the transfer request and T accepted it. Success! Or so we thought, T now had to add the ticket to his google wallet and with his phone being a Samsung and ticket master not supporting Samsung pay, more setup was required! What was wrong with paper tickets!!! Not only to gig goers have to jump through all these hoops just to get in the door, we lose a memento of the night. 

Fuel for the Evening

Tickets finally transferred and with further drink needed, the crew decided it was time to cross the road a tad earlier than normal to grab a beer and checkout the second support act, Raging Speedhorn. Past the covid and ticket checks, the ET crew set foot in the o2 guildhall for the first time. This venue very much had an old-fashioned theatre feel complete with old fashioned lighting and an interesting looking carpet. A couple of Carlsbergs purchased it was off to find a spot for a band neither of us had come across before Raging Speedhorn. Before long on they burst in a cacophony of noise and light. We were back! Whilst this group may not have been the ET crews cup of tea, the feeling of being back at a gig after so long was unbelievable and seeing the sight of a mosh pit breaking out meant we were well and truly back!

Here we go!!!

Shortly before the end of the Northamptonshire groups set, it was off for a draining of the tanks and a couple of vodkas before the main event of the night. On re-entering the main hall, a spot right at the front and in the centre was found, what a way to begin our gigs again! Soon the lights dimmed and AC/DCs thunderstruck came over the speakers, the crowd enthusiastically joined in and then at the conclusion of the AC/DC classic, the sound of the Welsh rockers famous imperial march dubstep remix came over the speakers. This was it, the moment we’d been waiting for, for 615 days since Sabaton at Wembley. A headline set at a live gig! Benji began with his usual dance moves and then began the set with Stand for Something of the bands Shark Bites and Dogs Fights album. The energy in the crowd was unreal. A mosh pit instantly broke out and the ET crew with their position at the front were soon being battered with those partaking. A few more crowd pleasers of Rat Race, sound the siren and pressure kept up the energy which we’d oh so missed during covid. There really is nothing like the atmosphere at a live gig!

We're Back!

Now, as regular Skindred attendees will know Benji always likes to wind the crowd up with his T-Shirt gag… For those not in the know this consists of waving a Skindred T-Shirt about saying “Who wants a T-Shirt?” the crowd then unexpectedly get excited only for his to say “25 quid at the stall, f*** off!”. It was then time for another Skindred tradition, the sandwich challenge! Again, for those not in the know this consists of a member of the crowd joining the group on stage and attempting to eat a sandwich in 30 seconds in the hope of winning a pair of Slipknot tickets. We’ve seen Skindred 3 times now and no one has ever completed it. This time was no different and the participant didn’t even make it half way through.

Front and Centre!

On with the set they went with some more crowd favourites of That’s my Jam, Ninja and Kill the power before an unbelievable moment. Benji asked the crowd to listen to stop and listen to the lyrics of their next track and acoustic version of Saying it Now and remember those who had been lost during the pandemic. As regular gig attendees we’ve never seen a crowd of rock and metal fans be so calm during a track. It was a truly touching moment and a perfect track to remember all those who are sadly no longer with us. This will go down as one of the most touching and special moments the ET crew have ever experienced at a gig. Absolutely unbelievable for the Skindred boys.

Following the incredibly touching tribute, the band finished their main set with Nobody and then it was time for the encore! A curveball was thrown with a cover of Slipknots Duality and then it was time for the final Skindred tradition of the night, the infamous Newport Helicopter! For those not in the know, this consists of the crowd taking their t shirts off (a very welcome opportunity in the heat of the pit!) and spinning them round above their heads, it truly is a sight to behold and this was no different! That was then that, the end of the ET crews first gig since the beginning of the pandemic and what an amazing feeling it was to be back. Out into the delightfully cool air we went for it was not time for part 2 of the evening...

With T having a wedding to attend the next day and an early departure (by our standards!) the next day a semi sensible night was to be had (how we manged this we’ve no idea). First for the group it was back over the road to the Scholars Arms for another San Miguel and Bulmers. It was here we got chatting to a pair of locals who as it turned out were panning on attending most of the ET crews 2022 gigs. We’re not stalkers, honest guv! Whilst chatting to this lot, the playlist in the pub couldn’t be more in contrast to what we had just witnessed in the guildhall and consisted mainly of 90s and 00s pop. Oh well, this is great when you’ve had a few!

Quenching the Thirst

With the clock nearing midnight, the group decided it was time to head to another Southampton venue we’d been wanting to check out for a while, the Lord of the Rings themed pub, the Hobbit! Onto the bus it was and before long the group were in the queue to enter. Now, for those familiar with Southampton what is likely the UKs worst nightclub, Jesters is next door to the Hobbit. This is not a venue we ever have the desire to enter and this was reenforced by the sight of 3 bouncers pinning someone on the floor waiting for the police to arrive. Past the bouncers and with the ID scan complete and £2 entry fee paid we soon standing in the main bar. The Hobbit serves a lovely range of Lord of the Rings and Dungeons and Dragons themed cocktails. These were to be sampled later and the first drinks of the night were a vodka for E and a fireball and apple juice for T plus 2 obligatory Tequila Roses. It turns out that the playlist at the Hobbit was right up the ET crew’s street consisting of Rock and metal ranging from old school classic to 00’s punk. This, coupled with the fact the Hobbit has Southampton’s biggest beer garden means that this will almost certainly be a regular haunt of the ET crew on future visits to the South Coast! On conclusion of our first drinks, T was unable to resist temptation and went for one of the cocktails (can’t remember which one sadly, but it had amaretto in!) with E being the driver the next day, it was a single vodka and lemonade for him which was his last drink of the night. T’s cocktail arrived in a pint glass and, according to him was amazing. With half an hour until our self-appointed curfew it was time to check out the dancefloor of the hobbit in which the DJ was spinning all of the music for the pub. This will go down without a shadow of a doubt as the ET crew’s favourite dancefloor we’ve been on. Regular readers will know we tend to end up in places like Popworld where the music is at polar opposites of the gigs, we go to but amazing when you’ve had a few. This was music which was right up our street and fantastic when you’ve had a few with the likes of Slipknot, Sum 41, Limp Bizkit and Nirvana all featuring. We could easily have stayed here until the 3am closing time, but alas 1am rolled round and it was time to be sensible for once. With a quick pip stop at the kebab and chicken shop next door the crew were soon back at our digs for the night and tucked up in our beds.

Fireball!!!

Spinning the Tunes! 

The next morning with a 10am departure the group awoke. This was where we realised how out of gig practise, we were with E suffering form back, foot and quad ache and T having a sore neck. Still, powering on the crew were soon in E’s motor and heading North. It was then into T’s local spoons for a quick breakfast before the group bid our farewells with T off to the wedding and E heading home. Southampton is sure to become a regular gig venue of ours. Next time we’ll be able to have a proper night out!

E