Taka wouldn�t stop jumping up and down, which I was really impressed with! hehe!, and Grant Nicholas even started to watch me sing along to �Yesterday Went Too Soon�, which seen Grant's guitar go out of tune to start off with, which caused him to say �This sounds f***ing terrible don�t it?!�.
When he started to see me sing, a massive tingle went down my spine, and I just thought �carry on singing!�. Soon after I started to love it as I knew I was showing to Grant and the guys how much I�m dedicated to Feeder- for a start if you know all the words to a song, you must be!. Soon after that song, they did �Oxygen�, which sounded amazing live and loved the effects on the guitar near the end. On record it isn�t exactly captured the same way, but still sounds great anyway :-).
I just wanted another sing-along moment, and this time it happened again after �My Perfect Day�, which really got the crowd going- for a start they fell onto my mates and myself and we had to push them away!. The other song I sung along to with the guys watching, was �Cement�. My lungs were wearing out, but I didn�t let that stop me- you could see how much I was loving this gig.
After hearing for the first time in my life, the 7 minute live version of �Descend� and �Shade�, which both amazed me and both love to hear again (I did get to hear �Descend� again at V2003), Feeder left the stage, only to be chanted back on again for the encore!.
Before the encore, the guys were throwing cans of beer into the crowd, and when Jon had his turn to throw one, we were all shouting to him saying to throw it towards us!. When he launched it the weight of the can took it down, and landed in front of this group of girls. One of my happiest memories of the guy :-).
The encore consisted of both �Can�t Dance To Disco� and �High�. �Can�t Dance To Disco� I�ve heard before, and hopefully I�ll get to hear it live again in the future, and �High� the song everyone loves closing off the night. It was a really emotional end to the show, which most of the crowd chanted along to as Grant said he wanted to hear us sing! lol. One girl on the nearby row of stairs leading to the mosh-pit was even waving a lighter!.
After the show, and Feeder ended for the night. We went back to the bar and locker rooms to collect our stuff, and then met up at the stairway from that room. Soon after Laura collected a poster she took off the wall, and we were on our way. On the way out we were given flyers advertising the forthcoming album launch nights for �Echo Park�, as I constantly thanked Laura in my excitable voice for inviting me over to Leeds!.
Soon after we went over to the train station and got some stuff in McDonalds, and waved goodbye to Steph who was feeling a little ill! :-(. We seen some peeps wearing Feeder tee-shirts, one of which uses the Echo Park Feeder logo, which is yellow on a blue tee. I really want that one too!. Another thing is, we know where those people have been!.
Soon after we went to this club in Leeds, where once again we seen more people wearing Feeder tees!. This must have been the biggest night out all week!.
Then at 12:30am, Laura drove us back to the uni as she said goodbye to Dan and myself, and gave me a big hug saying that she�ll e-mail me tomorrow. She had to go to a lecture the next day and so wouldn�t be able to see me off.
The next day, I got the bus with Dan back to the place where Laura and I first met- the bus station in Dyer Street. He waited for me to see if I go safely, and said my goodbyes and thanks for letting me use his room. He said �yeah!, anytime!�. Steph even said �We�ll see you again yeah?�.
On the way back to Victoria Station, the journey went smoothly. But on the way from Victoria to Hastings, a car hit our coach and we waited for 15 minutes for the driver to stop arguing with the car driver, before we finally went off. I left at 9:50am, and then returned at 6:50pm- a very long 9 hour journey if you ask me! lol. As a matter of fact, the longest journey I've ever done in the UK alone at the time!, not forgetting on a coach!.
I travelled longer to see Easyworld in Newcastle Uni in 2004 for 10 hours, but I have travelled a lot more hours in total to see Feeder from all the gigs I have seen them at including this one! :D. This was just the start of it all! :D.
I e-mailed Laura about everything, and said she was sorry to leave me with Dan and said �thanks for coming!!!� :D.
Today, Laura I believe is in her last year at uni, while I've only just finished! lol. In late 2001 Laura started getting busy and everything got hectic around her. We haven�t spoken very much since then but still send each other Christmas cards every year.
I e-mailed her a long message, saying how much I miss her friendship, and still remember the days in Leeds. She texted me asking if we�re still friends which was really sweet of her :-).
So, all in all- thanks a million to Feeder for your amazing show, Laura for your amazing friendship and company, and Laura�s mates for making me just as welcome!.
2001 will always be on my mind! :-).