London 29th October 2008 - The Luminaire, Kilburn

This is a great venue. The sound is great and perfect for seeing your favourite band on an intimate scale. We were staying across the road in the Black Lion pub which just so happened to be where the band were meeting before the gig. So we met Jeff, who has some of the rarest JJ stuff on the planet, outside the venue. He'd flown over from the States just for the gigs and had watched the soundcheck earlier on. We went into the Black Lion and according to Iain there were loads of people from the early days there. Gen was also in attendance but Tony would be taking the drumsticks later. The support band Master & Servant weren't bad, definately much better live than their myspace tracks suggest. JJ came on and hit us with that old familiar sound. The setlist is below. It was nice to hear Culture Vulture live and also unusual to hear Bring It On Down without an added middle bit (except for about 45 seconds of acid house!). A great night, the band seemed very relaxed especially if you consider they only had 6 rehearsals, only 2 of them with Al. Two t-shirts were on sale, one red, one white, same design. Many thanks to Wayne for sending me copies of the Luminaire flyer and poster pictured here, click on them for bigger versions.

Setlist:
What Would You Know
Real Real Real
Caricature
Move Mountains
All The Answers
Bring It On Down
Welcome Back Victoria
Message
Right Here Right Now
Culture Vulture
International Bright Young Thing
Zeroes and Ones
Info Freako
Idiot Stare
Encore
Never Enough
Who? Where? Why?

Photos: A larger version can be viewed by clicking on the particular photo.

 

Birmingham 30th October 2008 - Birmingham Academy

This used to be the Hummingbird and is not a bad venue. The band came on at 8.20pm and played a 40 minute set. The reception from the crowd was fantastic, even Mr Miles Hunt was watching from the back. He was given a loud cheer when requesting the crowd to give it up for JJ during the Stuffies set. Mike mentioned that it was the 19th anniversary, almost to the day. of Liquidizer. Another fine performance by the chaps. The VIP tickets got you a laminate, a free drink, 4 more songs from the Stuffies and a signed poster.

Setlist:
Who? Where? Why?
Never Enough
Real Real Real
Move Mountains
Right Here Right Now
Bring It On Down
International Bright Young Thing
Zeroes and Ones
Idiot Stare
Info Freako

Photos: A larger version can be viewed by clicking on the particular photo.

 

London 31st October 2008 - Shepherds Bush Empire

This venue is on 4 floors. The best floor is the main one downstairs as the sound is best there if you stand near the stage and not at the back. The band came on at 8.20pm and played a 40 minute set. The reception from the crowd was again fantastic. Miles Hunt was watching again. We met up with Jeff again, spoke with Iain and had a great night. The set was the same as the previous night. The VIP tickets got you a laminate, a free drink, 4 more songs from the Stuffies and a signed poster.

Setlist:
Who? Where? Why?
Never Enough
Real Real Real
Move Mountains
Right Here Right Now
Bring It On Down
International Bright Young Thing
Zeroes and Ones
Idiot Stare
Info Freako

Photos: A larger version can be viewed by clicking on the particular photo.

 

October 2008 - Bonus Pictures

These pictures were very kindly provided by Tony Arthy. They are soundcheck/aftershow/pub moments from the October dates.

Photos: A larger version can be viewed by clicking on the particular photo.