Second Burning Hell gig of the week
I was astonished at the marvellous set-up they have at Mickleton Village Hall. It ain’t like no other village hall I’ve been in. They’re obviously proud of the acts they get to play there, and they’ve lined the walls with posters of past acts. Plus a full bar, and a pie-and-pea supper was the icing on the cake, or the peas on the pie. PSA for vegetarians: flesh pies only, though they’d probably be accommodating with some warning. We ate beforehand, otherwise I’d have had the pie and Peter would’ve had the peas. It had the air of a decent working mens’ club, with a crowd that most bands would love - quietly appreciative at worst, and prepared to dance, sing along, whatever.
We arrived early, and sat through the perfectly-adequate support acts. Can’t remember the first guy’s name, but his stand-out song was one about being a parent in the Facebook age, and made him sound about a million years old. Pretty much unobjectionable, and decent enough for a first support.
Second up - the Dan Webster Band. Bit of an egotistical name, I thought, especially as he was clearly outclassed by his band of mandolin, double bass and cello. It’s always good to see a bit of slapping-the-strings double bass action. But they were proper musicians who were just playing with him for the gig. Lovely warm sound, annoying strangulated American accent which meant you couldn’t hear the words. Strictly OK, and definitely at the right spot in the line-up. Peter was gently heckling him during his mid-song banter when he’d have better spent his time actually tuning his guitar. Dan, not Peter.
Finally The Burning Hell. The sound wasn’t perfect, so it was hard to pick up some of the words when Matthias was verbalising at a million miles an hour during Grave Situation and a couple of the newer ones, but that’s a minor quibble which I’m only mentioning as the raffle ticket paid for the sound tech. They were fantastic, again, a similiar set to Tuesday but different enough that I don’t think I’ll be bored on Monday. They even finished their first encore with a cover of La Bamba which had the whole place bouncing. I reckon that’s a local favourite which they were asked to play, and it bloody worked. The band even got the guitarist to sing - I’ve never heard him say a word onstage, and I don’t think they ever bother miking him up, so I was fairly surprised. He could sing pretty well, too, but maybe his nerves explain why he was rarely seen without a pint in his hand all night and looked a bit more out-of-it than usual onstage. Mind you, La Bamba is a great boozy song, so it all worked out. There was some amazing dancing on the go, too - I assume this was in reference to the line in Wallflowers, “when I dance, people think I have some rare syndrome or disease” and if so, it was well done.
After the first encore that everyone knows is coming, there was a second, proper encore, and the audience en masse decided that they’d make their cabbies wait rather than leave early. It was Grown-Ups, for those who know the band.
Yes, I loved it, and they were great even by their high standards, though there was a little part of me watching Uncle Peter to see what he made of it. If he really didn’t enjoy it, then he’s an accomplished liar and not to be trusted under any circumstances. That might be true anyway.
(Jonah on bass was Peter's comment -
I can't see it myself 
)
