Norwich can be a strange place for gigs. More specifically, the crowds at the gigs. It's seemingly all or nothing with them. I've been to gigs where the crowd have been on fire, absolutely going ballistic. But, there have been times where the majority of the crowd seem to have been disturbed from an hours long slumber, and...just...stand...there.
The times I've seen Ginger (or The Wildhearts) in Norwich, it's seemingly the latter. The people at the front jumping around and having a great time, everyone else stood there. Fair enough, I guess, you pay your hard earned money, you can react how you like to the performance (or not, more on that later), but you do have to clap and cheer if you like what you see.
This time round, Norwich was thankfully a little more engaged. Whilst a lot of people at the back were doing their best tree impressions, loads of people were having great fun, and everyone witnessed a truly insane gig, one of the oddest I've seen, but also one of the best.
Things were off to a great start with the first support act, Exit_International, hailing from Wales. Their mix of huge old riffs (a common theme for the entire evening) and screaming, mental vocals are not my usual cup of tea, but I thoroughly enjoyed their set, and was disappointed when it came to an end. I shall be picking up their new album, 'Black Junk', as soon as possible.
The same can be said for Hawk Eye's (Formerly Chickenhawk), not usually my bag. Whilst I enjoyed the previous band ever-so-slightly more, I really dug Hawk Eye's and they provided some memorable songs and memorable moments, namely a quick Phil Collins 'Easy Lover' sing-a-long, and a fantastic instance where singer/guitarist Paul hopped the barrier, mic stand and guitar in tow and performed an entire song in the crowd. Not seen that before!
After that, it was time for Ginger & Friends, and while I'm not going to reveal what he played until after the tour has concluded (check back here after Sunday, or if you are reading this at a later date, just scroll down) there is plenty to say.
In my opinion, Ginger has assembled the best lineup I've seen him with (and that includes the stonking 2009 Wildhearts lineup.) Denzil, Rich Jones, Chris Catalyst, Victoria Liedtke and the simply brilliant 'Random' Jon Poole made up the cast and they performed a fantastic set of Wildhearts hits and rarities (think I'm OK saying that.)
As usual though, some of the best moments came in between the songs. Anyone who has seen Ginger live knows what an amusing guy he is, and surrounded by his mates in the band, he was on fine form. A bizarre song from the mind of Jon Poole was given an airing. It's hard to write about here, but just YouTube 'The Leafy Hand', and you may get a bit closer to getting it. A heartfelt rendition of 'When A Child Is Born' by Johnny Mathis was also hilarious, except all the words were changed to 'Massive Cock and Balls'. You had to be there.
Also par for the course for a Ginger gig is song requests that will never happen. I honestly believe some people think that a band comes out on stage with no clue whatsoever as to what they are going to play. This is not the case. Anyone who follows Ginger on Twitter or Formspring knows that the songs are rehearsed in advance, as some are quite hard to play, then whittled down to make the best set possible.
So, the couple of people constantly screeching for 'Miles Away Girl' were going to leave disappointed. Even if it was for the lady in questions 3 year old daughter ("I don't care if it's for your Grandmother whose in a coma, I'm not fucking playing it!", was the classic response from Ginger.)
This all led to a hilarious situation at the encore, when Ginger refused to play anything people shouted out. Even the person who shouted out the next song on the set list, that was abandoned for just some general pissing about. This may all sound rubbish to some people, a band not playing as many songs in an encore, but you just need to understand, Ginger gigs are not like regular gigs, they're better!
This didn't please some on Facebook, moaning about not getting the last couple of songs, due to the rather loud couple of audience members, but what they don't understand is what we are seeing, the band having a laugh instead, messing around with other songs, is all spontaneous and won't be repeated! And it's great fun!
Nothing at Norwich, of course, was like the following night in Bristol. I won't open that can of worms again, but it seemed to get very chaotic at the end, and a lot of people in the crowd seemed to come off very badly, whether it be on the night or the next day on the internet.
Incidents like that, and minor little quibbles like Norwich, I can see why Ginger is taking a break from touring after these dates. To be honest, I've seen him 3 times this year in one form or another, without having to leave Norwich, and each time has been wildly entertaining. And this most recent gig ranks up there with one of the best I've been to, certainly the best in Norwich, and I've seen a lot here. A fine way to end the gigging year, and indeed, Ginger's touring run for the foreseeable future.
