First major gig since Covid, at Utilita arena Birmingham!

[Marco]

The princess WANTED to see Erasure, one of her fav bands from the 80s, and also taken shopping of course lol, so we booked up and stayed overnight in the UK's second largest city (down early Sat morning on the train, back teatime on Sunday), which beforehand we'd only just passed through - a great time was had!

I have to say we were both very impressed with Birmingham city centre, which had all-manner of interesting shops, pubs and eateries (and the people were very friendly), including some rather nice architecture, both old and modern. It also had a very cool, chilled out vibe and nightlife, down by the canal:



Some different shots:











Chinese quarter, where we had lunch:



Arena rom the outside:



We arrived early, in order to avoid queuing for long to get in (with Covid checks, etc), and just chilled out to some choons the resident DJ was playing (all pretty cool mixes of classic 80s tracks)... At 6.30pm, the arena looked like this:



And by 7.30pm it was like this:





...and continued to get more and more rammed (approx 25,000 people in total) until the gig started just after 8pm. Although I'm not a massive Erasure fan, Del LURVES them and was like a kid in a sweet shop, dancing about and having fun some other girls sat beside us she'd been chatting to, so if she's happy, I'm happy - and it was a good night

Even at the rip old ages of 57 and 61, respectively, Andy Bell and Vince Clarke still had their mojo! And the stage set was superb... Sound was LOUD as fuck!! And pretty decent quality too, with bass that rattled your ribcage! Del took some vids on her phone, which she's still to send me, so will take a few screen grabs from those and post them later.

Marco.

[Alex_UK]

Looks like you had a great time! Used to stay in Birmingham city centre a lot 25+ years ago, seems like it has improved dramatically in that time!

[struth]

only part of birmingham ive been really was Solihul, and that was an auful long time ago. 50 years i guess, staying overnight for a flight.

good pics. glad u both had a good time

[Ali Tait]

Great to get back to some live music, my first was Elbow in Leeds with my daughter a few weeks ago. Great gig and we went out after and got shitfaced lol. A great weekend.

[struth]

Great to get back to some live music, my first was Elbow in Leeds with my daughter a few weeks ago. Great gig and we went out after and got shitfaced lol. A great weekend.

this is setting a good example? well yeah i suppose it is really lol

[rmcin626]

25,000 people far too big a gig crowd for me, stopped going to the big gigs many years ago, went to see Dylan at Earls Court, we so far from the stage you needed binoculars to see the stage, could have been anyone up there. Of course the big screens help now but I have a big Telly if I want to watch someone on a screen.

[Marco]

Looks like you had a great time! Used to stay in Birmingham city centre a lot 25+ years ago, seems like it has improved dramatically in that time!

Churz, dude. All in all, it was good weekend. Found a couple of superb (and very authentic) Chinese restaurants in Brum's version of Chinatown, but forgot to take pics of the food Was just chatting away and having a laugh with Del, and it skipped my mind. Even grabbed some provisions from the local Chinese markets, so will be doing a bit of oriental cooking soon!

But yes, the city seems to have changed and improved over the years, which is the case for most in the UK. I'd thoroughly recommend spending a long weekend there, as there's a cool cosmopolitan vibe going on and plenty to see and do

We're fortunate in that we can get s train there (to New St) direct from Wrexham, so no changes, and the journey takes less than a couple of hours, Hotel was within walking distance from the station, as was the gig! Defo wouldn't entertain taking a car there, as there's emission/congestion charges in force, same as London, and like most major cities, in general it's a nightmare to park.

Marco.

[Marco]

Great to get back to some live music, my first was Elbow in Leeds with my daughter a few weeks ago. Great gig and we went out after and got shitfaced lol. A great weekend.

Nice one, mate. You can't beat it, can you? Your daughter must think her dad's cool, as for teenagers that would normally be a strict no-no! Hope you didn't embarrass her, lol!

Jeez, even Del wouldn't want me anywhere near her on a night out with her (much younger pals)

Marco.

[Marco]

25,000 people far too big a gig crowd for me, stopped going to the big gigs many years ago, went to see Dylan at Earls Court, we so far from the stage you needed binoculars to see the stage, could have been anyone up there. Of course the big screens help now but I have a big Telly if I want to watch someone on a screen.

Lol, showing yer age now, Robin!

The arena was absolutely rocking when it was full, but not a patch on the AO in Manchester, similarly so, a few years back when we went to see Rammsetein!! Fuck, that was something else... You know how we talk about 'trouser-flapping' bass? Well, that's *exactly* what happened at one point with the legs of my jeans!!

Marco.

[rmcin626]

Lol, showing yer age now, Robin!

The arena was absolutely rocking when it was full, but not a patch on the AO in Manchester, similarly so, a few years back when we went to see Rammsetein!! Fuck, that was something else... You know how we talk about 'trouser-flapping' bass? Well, that's *exactly* what happened at one point with my jeans!!

Marco.

Definitely getting old, the Hydro holds just over 14,000 which is also to large for me, have been to the Armadillo a few times, which was ok