Monday. Traditionally one of the worst days of the week with work and what not. However, this particularly grey Monday even by British standards was about to be brightened up significantly by the ET crews latest exploits, mainly a Halestorm gig in Southampton! So, grab a brew and get comfy for a tale of pizza, pint cocktails, chicken shop rage, and a gig thrown in. We do spoil you lot!
E was the first to arrive at Southampton central and was shortly
joined by T who was already hungover having a night of Vodka (this was a sign
of things to come). Not wanting to waste VDT (valuable drinking time for the uninitiated)
and to give T a chance for some hair of the dog, the ET crew were soon
depositing our bags in our digs for the night and munching on pizza hut pizzas
washed down with a few San Miguels. Now, readers of our Skindred post will note
last time we visited Southampton we took in the Stable pizza and cider place,
but alas this is no more. No doubt another hospitality industry casualty of the
pandemic. Suitably fuelled up and with two hours to stage time it was into O’Neils
opposite the guildhall for a pint. On our arrival all the clientele were engrossed
in the TVs showing the netball. Answers on a post card as to why this was the
case…
Next up it was down the road to the Scholars Arms, a large
Greene King pub also opposite the guildhall for a couple of G&Ts and the
first shots of the night. Now, as some of our readers will know, E is partial
to a pub games machine sticking to form a quiz machine was found with the obligatory
silly multiple-choice answers in the early rounds. With the group winning a
whooping £3 after a few rounds and with time marching on, it was decided that
it was time to head over the road given the early stage time due to no support
act. With the obligatory security and ticket checks complete the group were
then faced with a rather large merch queue. Not wanting to waste more VDT, E
headed off to the bar to procure refreshments whilst T and A held the queue. Before
long E had returned 3 drinks heavier and £28 (bloody gig prices) lighter to
find the queue had moved, as A put it “not even a centimetre”. It became
apparent that said queue had now grown to such a point that it was now blocking
the entrance. As a result, the security instructed the queue to move and for us
to “queue in the hall or something”. Can’t argue with that instruction!
Merch finally procured it was then into the main hall via
another stop at the bar. A suitable spot secured the lights were then dimmed
and onto the stage the Pennsylvania 4 piece came. After a brief argument about
how was allowed to sit on the sofa, the band began the acoustic part of the
show with I Get Off. A nice gentle introduction to the night ahead! After a brief
interlude to thank the crowd and exclaim that the UK had the best rock fans (we
do!) the set continued with the crowd pleasers of Mz. Hyde and Familiar Taste of
Poison. It was then time for a huge curveball, an acoustic version of Bet U Wish
U Had Me Back, a track which hadn’t been played live since 2015! The crowd and the band were absolutely loving
the set and hearing their acoustic side was a real treat for the capacity Guildhall
crowd. Following this curveball and a rendition of Rock show, it was time for the
rest of the band to take a back seat and after a minor technical hiccup (who
knows what but Lzzy exclaimed I won’t do that again!) a solo keyboard version
of Dear Daughter. If only we’d bought our Zippo lighters! It was now time for
another curveball, Lzzy explained that they love to do covers from the various
different countries they visit. The track began and the group soon realised
that it was a cover of Adele’s Someone Like You! Now, Adele isn’t exactly our
cup of tea, but we can’t deny she’s an incredible singer and produces some
amazing stuff however, Halestorm absolutely smashed the cover making it their
own whilst still retaining the power of Adele’s lyrics. Top stuff! Closing the acoustic
part of the set with the suitably titled Raise your Horns it was now time for a
short interval before the electrics began! What a start to a gig. Halestorm
were effectively their own support act getting the crowd well and truly warmed
up for them to go heavy!
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| Acoustic Beginnings! |
Following a quick drinks break and stop to drain the tanks, the ET crew were soon back in position in anticipation of what was to come. The lights were once again dimmed and on they burst with Back From the Dead. The Southampton crowd were absolutely loving it! The energy built by the bands acoustic warm up was clear for all present to see and feel. Each track was a crowd pleaser including favourites such as Do Not Disturb, Love Bites, I like it Heavy and Freak Like Me. We also can’t not mention the absolutely epic drum solo from Arejay which went on for several minutes with him pulling out all sorts of tricks with the sticks and finally finishing with some cricket stump sized sticks! How anyone can go on and continue a gig following that we’ll never know. We’d be knackered after about 10 second.
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| Plugged In! |
It was now encore time! Returning to the stage and toasting the crowd with the appropriately titled Here’s to Us the 4 then began a rendition of the new The Steeple closing with I miss the Misery and an epic extended outro consisting of another mini drum solo.
Feeling suitably pumped after what had been an epic gig it
was now time for the ET crew to head for Southampton’s legendary Hobit pub. This
is where things in typical ET fashion took a downward turn. On our arrival we
were greeted by a friendly bouncer (this isn’t sarcasm, he genuinely was!) who
informed us that because the Hobit was so dead they were closing 20 mins from
now at 11. Fortunately, we were allowed in for a quick pint-sized Dungeons and Dragons
themed cocktail (can’t remember the name), before it was time for us to make
the short walk down the road to the shooting star with its 3am license. Upon
our arrival, it became apparent that this pub also did pint sized cocktails,
this time following a space theme. Following a selection of Asteroids, Apollos,
Solar Flares and Event Horizons the group decided to slow things down a bit and
head back for spirit mixers…. This is where things took a further downward turn
as we were informed by the bar staff that on Mondays doubles are sold for the
price of singles. Oh well! It would be rude to have a single measure in that
case then! Before too long the ET crew were in need of food and with a packet
of salt and vinegar disco and cheese and onion crinkles not filling the gap suitably
the decision was taken to have one more double and then head up the road to
chick o land. Upon our arrival, it became apparent that an adult human female
was having a row with the bloke behind the counter. We caught the end of the row
and heard the bloke go “yes, I know, you’ve told me 10 times now”. In our suitably
sauced state, we found this to be utterly hilarious. Fortunately Unfortunately
said adult human female didn’t see the funny side and proceeded to accost us
with a tirade of expletives leaving us to laugh even more and for the bloke behind
the counter to go “It’s now 16 times”. Eventually she left and the crew were
soon munching on chicken, chips and a kebab. With the time now gone 3am and no
night buses running it was time for a quick uber back to our digs to pass
out for a well-earned rest. The next morning it was time for a quick bite
to eat in Popins café before the crew went their separate ways back to the
north and royal county. Who says you can’t have fun on a Monday?!
E
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