A bit late this one, but wtff. The venue was the Nottingham Ice Stadium, and the position was seated. This can hamper any concerto whatsoever, but in a cowshed like the Ice Arena it could have been double bad bollocks. After having queued at a bar which said 'beer only' above it, it was somewhat disappointing to be told that if we went to the bar 10 yards down we could get a pint for a mere £2.40 rather than £4.80. I didn't argue, but I did miss the first two songs, one of which was 'Dead Leaves And The Dirty Ground', which was fuggin' annoying. We were seated back, and to the left. Back, and to the left. Back... . . Anyway, we had a decent view, not too far back, but the luscious Megalino was mildly obscured by some lighting, which sucked. Apart from when she came stage front to bellow out 'In The Cold Cold Night' in a mildly erratic way (bit shouty). She sure is a stone fox though, with legs like velvet and hair like a B52. Meg rox!

It's been said before, and I'll say it once more: for a 2-piece, they make a fair racket, do the Stripeses. I've not a heard a guitar up quite this loud since the 'Second Coming' Stone Roses tour, and boy does Jack do the blues better than Squire. An early set 'Jolene' was a decent treat, as well as a 'Fell In Love With A Girl' that eased down a couple of gears in a nod to the fucking awful remake by that godawful bland waste of space Joss Stone. Any time I worry if I'm getting old, I listen to her, think she's shit and stop worrying. Jeezus. Set highlights, for me, were an amazing 'Death Letter', an AWESOME 'Hardest Button To Button' and the second half couplet of 'You're Pretty Good Looking' and 'Hello Operator' (still one of their best).

My only regret from this fine event was that it seemed to finish early; a storming '7 Nation Army', mind, but still a few 'aww...i wish'-es left unfulfilled. Oh, and due to the seating malarkey and inability to dance, I hand drummed a bit too hard and bruised my legs. Silly billy. Overall, a roister, and another band I want to see in my lifetime finally chalked off.