is that he's wearing the same shirt as Tuesday night at the Bristol Academy.

I really enjoyed the show at Bristol other than the usual fuckwits engaging in loud conversations at the expense of those who wanted to listen to the band.

Oh, and the O2 Academy in Bristol is really a very poor venue - too small, overcrowded, no view for anyone less than 2m tall.

Very excited about going to see them at Hammersmith Apollo on Wednesday next week.

I know a few members of the Massive have got tickets - anyone fancy meeting up beforehand?

I'll be in The Blue Anchor, just along the river (directions here) from about 6.30pm. Contact me through the site, or on twitter (@drakeygirl) if you want my mobile number.

See you there!

I saw them four years back on the Crane Wife promo tour, on that occasion at the delightfully intimate Southampton Uni Students' Union; a fantastic night.
This time I, too, had the misfortune of enduring the *dreadful* O2 Academy in Bristol, a sticky, dank pit of a venue which was ridiculously oversold.
Myself and my partner have to go to painful lengths to get ourselves to gigs these days (grovel to leave work early, organise/pick-up babysitter, mad panic to feed/bathe/bed three children before frantic and inevitably late departure, 100-mile return journey, arrive at gig just before main act take to the stage, no chance of a pint, no chance of a decent view, blah blah...) so Tuesday's experience has left us truly wondering if it's worth all the hassle these days.
Much though I cringe at the term, I'll employ it to describe the Decemberists on that night... "meh". It had the not entirely engaging air of a hits tour; yes, they delivered a lot from the new album, which I've enjoyed, but as a whole it lacked the feeling of a coherent effort. Makes me wish I'd seen them they were touring the Hazards show when, by all accounts, they really put their heart and soul into it. Additionally the sound was so weedy and generally shite that I couldn't really appreciate Meloy's usually pithy asides and banter, but the "comedy" routine pre-encore dragged painfully.
Or was it just grumpy old me?

We, too, battled our way to and from deepest Wiltshire. Bugger, eh?

Regards drummer John Moen's interminably "hilarious" knockabout routine, I was left wondering what had happened to the band's quality control filter; this had been preceded by a similarly tedious episode in which a girl from the audience was pulled up onto the stage and given Chris Funk's guitar to "play" for what turned out to be a wearisomely protracted spot. If it hadn't been for the fact we were marooned down in the far left corner of the auditorium beneath the stairs (we were splashed with beer from above throughout... nice) I'd have suggested making a move for the exits.

As I said... meh. It was a throwaway performance. The occasional highspot (Grace Cathedral Hill) when you felt Meloy & Co were actually giving it something but otherwise I was left underwhelmed and a tad bored. This business of posting the night's exact setlist on Facebook before the gig is a bit odd too... my fault for looking, I suppose, but the veneer of spontaneity was lost. And was it me, or was the sound really, *really* rubbish?

I too had the pleasure of the O2 academy. Firstly, the branding and priority queue was not the best of starts, but I was there early enough to get to the front barrier. From there, the sound was good and enjoyed the gig more than the Hazards shows in London; thought Blind Pilot were excellent and the Decemberists set was a really enjoyable mix from all their albums

But from other friends that were further back I've heard similar things to above - too crowded and too many talking all the way through.

Am very tempted to make the trip to London - so if anyone hears of a spare standing ticket...

My wife and I took our twelve year old daughter to her first gig proper at the Manchester Acadamy and we had a great evening.Not too packed,fantastic sound quality and they let my daughter and wife go up to the disabled balcony because there was some spare room and she was struggling to see anything fromm the back.Thought the band put on a very entertaining show.The Bristol show sounded very uncomfotable though and I for one am coming very quickly around to idea that at my age (47) it's seated gigs for me and the option to pay an extra pound for the privalige of slapping the chatterers at the back of seemingly every gig I go to now.