THE BLUETONES + THE BONITTS + BLUE SAND.
AT HULL ADELPHI. 17/06/04.
Until the other night, it had being 18 long months since we had last ventured to the Hull Adelphi. We were there to see The Bluetones play a special intimate one off gig in front of just 200 people.
Opening up proceedings were Blue Sand, a four piece indie/rock band from Withernsea near Hull. They have a shit name, but don't let that put you off, they are actually a rather good band with lots of potential. They don't offer anything new or exciting, but if you like your indie, you will like Blue Sand. Enough said.
Next up were The Bonitts, another local indie/rock act. They chose to open up with a catchy instrumental. I was very impressed with these guys. They put on a great little rock 'n' roll show and reminded me a little of The Music. One song remained me lots of The Vines. They went down well with the crowd and already seem to have a big local following.
It wasn't them I was here to see though. I was there for one reason and one reason only, to see The Bluetones. They strolled on to the tiny Adelphi stage at 10.15pm, way past my bedtime, and opened with 'Solomon Bites The Worm'. It was really weird seeing such a well known band playing such a low key gig in such a small venue and for no apparent reason. I don't know why the band chose the Adelphi for this one off gig, but I certainly aren't complaining.
'Liquid Lips' was soon followed by 'Are You Blue Or Are You Blind?'. Frontman Mark Morriss, kitted out in some flowery shirt and tie, really seemed to be enjoying himself. He spoke with the crowd after nearly every song during the 80 minute greatest hits set.
After 'Fast Boy' came the classic 'Cut Some Rug'. The lively, sweaty crowd happily sung along to this and almost all of the other 16 tracks performed. The hits kept coming. Mark told the crowd how 'Keep The Home Fires Burning' reminded him of Yorkshire and in particular, Hovis bread.
He asked who had seen the band when they first played the Adelphi nearly 10 years ago and introduced 'Bluetonic' by saying 'This is one of the tracks we would have performed that night'. He also spoke about how they normally end with 'Slight Return' or play it during the encore and how tonight they chose to 'Casually slip it in 49 minutes into the set'. It still sounds so so good, even after all these years. When you mention The Bluetones to people, they automatically think of that song. It's a real shame. What those people don't seem to realise is that the band have many more tracks either just as good as 'Slight Return' or even better. Tracks such as set-closer 'Turn It Up' for example.
The great thing about the Adelphi is that you never know what is going to happen. Once the band had left the stage, the stage was invaded by a slightly drunk topless guy who went over to speak into the mic in an attempt to make the crowd chant for an encore. He later revealed how he was madly in love with Mark. Bless.
The band returned to play the purchase insentive track, 'Big Score', from the recent 'Best Of' album. It was followed by 'One Speed Gear Box', after which Mark thanked the crowd for coming and joked that 'It's you people that keep my kids in clothes'.
They concluded with 'If�', one of the biggest crowd pleasers of the night. It was the type of gig were everyone left grinning from cheek to cheek. A great night was had by all. It will be remembered for a long time. The Bluetones aren't as well known as the once were, but they are still just as good and never fail to entertain. Shed Seven have gone, Cast have gone, Pulp have gone but The Bluetones are still going strong.
BY MR MARTYN. JUNE 2004. |