Another venture out to Birmingham this evening to see KING KING as part of their latest 2022 tour of their 2020 album Maverick.

It’s with a strong cocktail mix of excitement, inquisitiveness and apprehension myself and MPM photographer Manny hit the road and head into the heart of the Black Country, our destination is KK’s Steel Mill in Wolverhampton.

The UK may have been sandwiched in between Storm Dudley and Storm Eunice, but that seemed nothing compared to the whirlwind inside Nottingham’s Rock City on Thursday night when Echo & the Bunnymen’s 40th anniversary tour swept into town.

After last months ‘Road Trip’ north, and my brief journey over to the ‘Emerald Isle’ to help reduce the level of the Guinness Lake, MPM Tog Manny and myself are back on familiar turf, with a short run to The Bodega situated in the Hockley area of central Nottingham.

I’ve never quite got into the habit of going to gigs on Sunday nights – the looming work week ahead has always overshadowed my enthusiasm for a late night, especially when the venue is an hour’s drive from home.

So, at last we get to point the vehicle towards a Mecca of live music once again. This time Waldorf and Statler are without Waldorf, the scribe has fluttered off with his wife for a long weekend in Dublin, so no doubt he’ll be trying to drink his body weight in Guinness yet again!

A battleship-grey afternoon greeted the early-doors arrivals as the curtains were pulled wide open upon the second day of HRH NWOCR.

Two years, four dates and finally the show is on! The second Steelhouse Awayday is upon us with the force of a super-heavyweight pugilist landing the title-winning punch.

After bunking off work early for the 120mile drive to Manchester and the 17:00 ‘Doors’, MPM Tog Manny and I make our way north. The car is suitably stocked with Guinness, diet coke, sour sweets, and excitement.

Five years ago no-one would have dared to imagine that this point in time would occur. For sure the green shoots of an underground rock revival were there to be seen.

So, 2022 kicks of with uncertainty, bands are pulling out of tours left right and centre. Music fans are now having to wait to see if their favourite bands are going to venture out and play live or not.

So, Christmas is out of the way for another year. Retail has no doubt boomed as it would seems that that is what Christmas is all about nowadays, the true meaning and the baby Jesus have now been long forgotten.

Tonight, I’m making a beeline to the best venue in the East Midlands, yes, I’m back at Rock City. Sadly, my trusty gig buddy Pete isn’t with me, tonight, Statler is going it alone, or is it Waldorf? No matter it’s a night I’ve been waiting for, for nearly 50 years

As the days tick down to Santa’s arrival Belfast is a hive of activity as the Live Scene seems to knock out as many live gigs as possible on the run up to the Xmas break.

After an ‘evening off’ yesterday, Manny and I are back at Rock City (I wonder if we’re eligible for our own parking space, next to the tour bus)? There’s a good, primarily leather clad, queue waiting to get in

Twice postponed during the pandemically restricted times of 2020 it sure has been a challenge to get Kris Barras' hometown show to the point of doors opening.