The Charlatans announce UK tour

Oh, I will post my review here.

Which one are you going to? Leeds?

Opps, I meant the review I did from the last tour in may. There is nothing near me so I doubt I will go. Anyway. My review from last time.


It's hot and sticky, very sticky. The people around us are all in summer gear. Shorts and summer dresses are the uniform for the crowds that are about. Not me. No one deservers to see my pasty white pins. So I am sweating my bollocks off in my jeans and we still have a mile to walk till we get to the Uni. After our slow heat induced trudge we get there. First we have the obligatory search of the girls bags and then we enter "The Venue" The wall of oppressive heat nearly knocks me back but I bravely fight my way through to the bar. The 20 minuet queue for beer gives me the chance check out the support band. My god they were dull. What a dirge. I really should have found out who they were so I could avoid them in the future.

I get my beer. Its warm. This is not going well.

As expected the crowd is mainly of an age. 30 somethings. Lots of balding blokes, or blokes with haircuts that are really meant for people 10 years younger. (I fall in to the first category) Beer bellies abound and squeezed in to clothes meant for people 10 years younger, or nicely fitted in the labels of the day. Fila, Fred Perry and the like. The piest de la resistance was the chap in the Destroy (remember that label?) t-shirt complete with holes that showed it's probable 18 years of wear.

The dull band leave the stage. Thank god. This gives us time to get more beer. We decide to double up to save time. Most of the stuff on draught has now run out so we are on cans. At least these are cold.

As we get our beer the Charlatans take to the stage. Timing. Like most of the people at the gig I am there for the old stuff. The nostalgia. To forget that I no longer have long hair, that I know longer fit in to a size 28 jean. I want to forget that at not far off 40 I probably look a bit daft dancing to the younger members of the crowd. So I wanted them to start with a big song from the past to get me going. They don't. It is stuff from the new album and whilst played perfectly as you would expect from a band still going 20 years on, it does not get me or the crowd bouncing. Still, it is very good.

We have to wait a while for the first biggy, but when it comes the riff is unmistakable. Suddenly they baying mob come to life. We smell the blood of a hit from years gone by. Tim whines out "How high" and we are off. I am 26 again. I sing along word for word even though if you ask me to quote the lyrics now I would not be able to. This is like a repressed memory and the Charlatans are my psychiatrist.

Hit after hit now follows, interspersed with some newer stuff that now we are going is received as well as the older tracks. Why did they wait 20 minuets to get us going is the thought in my mind.

Never mind. This is top notch. Weirdo, The only one I know, Indian Rope. The list goes on.

This is a brilliant gig. I have forgot how hot it is and it doesn't matter that I could ring my clothes
out. My mate who claimed to have never heard a track by them confirmed he in fact knew 6 tracks, and they did not play North country boy or more disappointingly my favourite track, Then.

If you like your indie music you must try and catch the Charlatans over the summer as they are clearly showing the likes of the Kooks and Razorlite how it should be done.

On a side note. Leicester Uni. Us 30 somethings are fatter that your usual clientèle. So you can fit less of us in there. Sell less tickets and then you will fit us all in. We also are more likely to drink beer than take drugs. (we have already done that) So get less bottled water and more beer in. Oh, and more bar staff too.