Sue's Family, Flowers and Fun Stuff: Friars Again - Ever Fallen In Love With Someone ..........

Monday 27 December 2010

Friars Again - Ever Fallen In Love With Someone ..........

So we have been off to Friars again, this time it was for punk royalty (if there can be such a thing) Buzzcocks, Eddie and the Hot Rods and 999. The Buzzcocks really do deserve their place at the very top of punk hierarchy as they can honestly say "they were there", they were at the legendary Sex Pistols gig at the Lesser Free Trade Hall in Manchester in 1976. It was also the start of Friars Phase 4 when it moved to The Waterside Theatre, just a few hundred yards away in distance but millions of miles away in many other ways.

The new theatre is a fantastic venue, part of The Ambassadors Group, so will be much more used for traditional theatre and comedy than as a music club. It was also the first event to be held in the theatre, just ahead of the glittering and star studded opening event a couple of days later. The theatre itself looked amazing, both inside and out. It has a rather innovative floor, which raises and falls to allow access to the stage and differing heights for different performances. Backstage and in the dressing rooms, everything was brand spanking new, even if there were one or two problems with the loos!!

I really wasn't sure what to expect, but enjoyed the evening, meeting up with friends old and new, highlight of the night was of course "Ever Fallen in Love (With Someone etc)", a true classic and best band were Eddie and the Hot Rods, watching any band from the wings is exciting but they were for me the best band of the night. Other highlight would be Mike interviewing Pete Shelley and one of 999 for Bucks TV and of course his now customary role of presenting awards. As always much more about the gig, reviews, set lists and loads more (and much better photos) can be found on Mike's site at http://www.aylesburyfriars.co.uk/.

Some pictures of the day and night, starting with the brand new pristine dressing room ....

a view of the new interior which looks amazing, lots of wood and texture, gives it a really unusual look, it looks as though it will be a great place to watch a play or a musical .....

the stage, dropped to allow access for loading in........

999 as seen from the side of the stage .......

Mike with the legendary Pete Shelley

The Buzzcocks - I watched most of their set from the balcony .....

Steve Diggle of the Buzzcocks - he had some interesting opinions towards the end of their set!!

Oh no ! Not again, he's even managed to get into the new venue, it's that man again lurking waiting to present a Heroes Award!!

and a couple of additional photos taken from Mike's Friars website where you can find a lot more details, reviews, set lists etc from the gig - photo credits for the following photos Russ Naylor and Michelle Needs ...

Eddie and the Hot Rods

The legendary Kris Needs with David Stopps - great photo (I did have to have a quiet word with Kris due to his being responsible for getting my husband hooked on 'Jingle Jangle Jewellery' - once it gets into your head it's there for days!!)