I've never been to the Underworld before, so I had no idea what I was in for, I've been to the Worlds End loads of times (The Worlds End is the pub above it), it was pretty tiny given the number of people there but we managed somehow to get ourselves right to the front.
I saw the funnest thing whilst waiting for the first band to come on... the guy beside me, who was extremely drunk, decided it'd be a good idea to roll a joint, so out comes a rizzla and a pouch of tobacco and the tiniest bit of resin i've ever seen. Now not being a smoker I've maximum respect for people that call roll their own, but this was lunacy. He made a good attempt to fill the paper with tobacco and resin, but made the fatal mistake of jumping up and down with the music, this ended up with the majority of the contents thrown on the floor, unperturbed he rolled up the paper (Which by now had something like 3 strands of tobacco in it). He then lit it and whompfh it disappeared in almost one puff :-)
The support band Kivimetsän Druidi, had one hell of a time setting up. After what seemed like ages of sound checks they started, only to find out the lead singers monitor wasn't working, and worse still neither was her microphone! It took the roadies a couple of songs to iron out the bugs (You could see the lead singer was absolutely gutted, but she carried on singing in the hope that we could hear). They were a pretty good band, but nothing special. The crowd liked them and a few mosh pits broke out... I even saw a few people in the crowd wearing the same style of makeup as the lead guitar so they obviously had their own fans there.
The crowd went absolutely mental the second the iconic antler microphone stand was brought out
The sudden surge of people clambering to get to the front ended up pushing me and Naomi right to the very front (Naomi was leaning over the stage). The concept of personal space evaporated and everyone was shoulder to shoulder (Or rather elbow to ribcage). When Korpiklaani finally came out the crowd went absolutely crazy and everyone pushed even harder to get to the front. In an effort to save herself from being crushed Naomi hopped onto the stage and sat next to a speaker. I however was not so fortunate and had a battle to stand up.
It's funny how a camaraderie amongst those that just want to watch the band (And protect their girlfriends being crushed) breaks out, I found myself teamed up with a man called Joe to provide a somewhat crude human shield/battering ram to keep the crowds at bay.
This all being said the gig was fantastic, the music was excellent and I felt the band played for the crowd, not just a wooden set like some other bands.
When Happy Little Boozer came on I thought we were gonners, but I found a rhythm and managed to jump and sway with the crowd like some giant mexican wave mosh pit!
Throughout the gig the singer Jonne had the odd beer and cigarette (Obviously no one told him about the new no smoking law, but no one cared) which he casually passed out amongst the crowd. Naomi sitting where she was ended up not only smoking his fag, but drinking his beer also. Everyone passed the can around, I got handed it twice and on the second go finished it (I still have the can in my pocket sitting here on the train!).
As always I picked up a tour shirt. And limped my way home... it was a fantastic gig, but I'll definitely feel the effects in the morning!
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