Drove down in the morning with Jez and Chugg, and, yet again, we managed to get lost before we even left Manchester, it was Jez’s fault though for not getting on the M6 when he was supposed to.  The drive down was fairly uneventful, we got to Norwich, checked Jez and Chugg into their B&B and then went to meet Su and Lori at the Uni.  Once we met them we made our way into the Union Bar as we had about 3 hours to kill.

When we finally made our way to the venue, Su ended up having to buy a ticket off a tout and Lori spent 30 minutes standing outside the venue waiting for the person with her ticket to turn up.  Inside, the venue was absolutely tiny and about as crowded as I’ve ever seen a place.  Furthermore, I discovered that my camera battery, which was new before the tour, had died.  I had to borrow Chugg’s tiny little camera off of her before being physically led into the pit by security as the crowd wouldn’t part to let me through.

The set was, yet again, pretty similar to other nights although “Scratch Card” (“Oh lordy, oh lordy, really I must learn some self-control”) made its way back into the set along with another brand spanking new one, provisionally titled “English Beefcake” which has an acapella bit in the middle with Tim and Michael singing, which Jez reckoned sounds a bit like the Bee Gees.  I’m unconvinced by this one at the moment.  Otherwise, what a brilliant show!  The sound at the UEA is fabulous, even though I ended up having to stand at the very back and couldn’t see a single thing.  The drunkest people ever anywhere were stood near me dancing like idiots and banging into us repeatedly.  One girl went absolutely mad when they played “Born of Frustration.”  Su and Lori later reported they saw a massive catfight between 2 girls that had to be broken up by two guys stood nearby.  Overall, though, the vibe was good, the band were on top form, and Adrian actually showed a bit of animation by jumping up and down – the only thing I could see all night.

 After the gig and after helping Su sell some fanzines, I got into the car with Anthony for the 5 hour drive home, as I had to be back in Manchester on Sunday to make use of my Doves tickets.  It wouldn’t have been a bad drive either if it weren’t 1) late as hell and 2) icy on the roads.  Glad for a day off now cause I’m completely shattered. (Justhipper)