A gig in the afternoon during a winter World Cup. Searching for a December gig, we stumbled upon an Afternoon with Paul Smith. A great opportunity presented itself to get tickets, but I was marginally concerned that England would slump to second in the group and be playing at the same time. Instead they showed their class against Wales and it was game on at the Sage.
We arrived early afternoon and had a coffee in the Sage cafe. Andrew and I both needed food. Ste was lucky he’d eaten as the sandwich and salad game the sage had on offer was very much below par and below value.
We weren’t quite sure what to expect from this. The description wasn’t clear. We took our seats at 3 and Me Lost Me took the stage. She chilled us all out with some noise-scapes and dreamy vocals during a short set.
Hayden Thorpe was up next. Another stripped down set with dreamy vocals. He was on for much longer taking us into an interval. I’m not familiar with Hayden‘s solo material and don’t know Wild Beasts that well, but the set was enjoyable and had a calming effect.
Paul Smith was up for the headline slot. He explained the event was intended to fit with a folk theme for the day. He’d been asked to play and had curated the line up and guests.
It’s the first time I’d seen Paul Smith and I’ve never seen Maxïmo Park either. Ste had seen Paul but not Maxïmo and Andrew had seen Maxïmo but not Paul! He regaled the (very polite) audience with stories related to and unrelated to the songs. He made jokes and created a nice atmosphere for a special little gig. He brought out the support acts to play with him and a series of guests.
The signs suggested that the gig would end at 5.45pm. That was handy as Ste needed to leave before 6 to get home. As the gig went on it became apparent this end time was ambitious so Ste was sweating a bit before deciding he needed to leave. He missed the final three tracks, but made it home in time!
This was a real treat of a gig. A first for an afternoon. A really chilled affair with a special atmosphere.
We normally try and have a meal and a drink when the three of us get together for a gig. We only managed to attend 6 as a group of three this year, but we ended it well. Not enough time in Newcastle to grab food, so we had an Indian takeaway and a beer back at Ste’s to sign off the 8th consecutive year of a gig a month. I managed 18 this year, which was decent considering the first month was virus ridden. Some real treats.