Half Man Half Biscuit @ Cockpit
By Dave ProcterIt's been a while since this band have graced any stage in Leeds, and it's an obvious welcome return judging by the full house that's in front of them, even at 14 quid a pop. The average age is deffo higher than your normal gig in these parts, but looking round, it's good to see the same faces that have been to every Half Man Half Biscuit gig in Leeds since I've lived here, and some new blood to bring the average age down a bit. It's getting on for 20 years since I first thought "what the fuck is this genius?" while listening to the C86 album, and it's nice to see somewhere in the crowd that there's 1 punter actually wearing a Dukla Prague away kit. I've got the setlist scribbled down badly on pieces of paper I couldn't see while watching, so Mark Sturdy's version on the forum is useful for references of the night. Suffice to say, 100 minutes flies by, there's plenty of sarcy, pisstaking bedroom poems, but as always, the best bits are between songs - hearing half the crowd joining in with Nigel as he shouts "who the fucking hell are Slipknot" is class, but he betters that with "is your child hyperactive, or is it just a twat?" Top tunes of the night for me are "Outbreak Of Vitus Geirilitis", "Len Ganley Stance", "A Lilac Harry Quinn", "Fucking Hell, It's Fred Titmus", "Everthing's AOR" and set closer "99% Of Gargoyles Look Like Bob Todd". Encores, of course, and a bit of a subdued "Trumpton Riots" closes the night. I advise anyone who hasn't any idea what this review means to rectify this asap. The Probe Plus website should help.
