This event was very close to being postponed as ticket sales leading up to the gig were poor – which is such a shame because… (spoiler alert!)… It was a cracker!
I had a long journey ahead to get to Hartlepool. I set out at 8.30am and when waiting on the platform at Ashfield station, a voice came over the tannoy “my wife and I wish you and your families a wonderful coronation weekend.” It was only KC3 (as I’ve come to label him. Lol). The announcement continued, this time spoken by the Queen Consort (aka Camilla) “wherever you’re travelling, we hope you have a safe and pleasant journey.” The ‘piece de resistance’ was the last part – KC3 back on vocals “and remember…please mind the gap.” Utterly surreal. Couldn’t help but imagine a ton of Glaswegians retorting “Aye, get ta fuck.” Lol
The weather was gloomy but dry when I set out but Hartlepool was promising some sunshine at least for a while after I arrived. The coach I was taking from Glasgow to Newcastle was making several stops along the way. First stop was Edinburgh. It was a slow crawl in and out of the capital, even with part of the bus’s route being a dedicated lane running parallel with the tramline. I started to watch the coach’s clock. I was worried I’d been a little too optimistic, only giving myself a one hour buffer between the time the coach was due to arrive in Newcastle and the time of departure of my train to Hartlepool.
As the coach approached Berwick-upon-Tweed, the weather seemed to take another downturn. A thick blanket of fog covered Berwick and its coastline. The fog lifted as we headed onwards to Alnwick. By the time we left Anlwick and were on the road to Newcastle, the fog cleared and the clouds were parting and it was looking good for there being some sun in Hartlepool. The coach arrived in Newcastle only 10 minutes later than scheduled so I was happy to have the time to get myself to the train station, freshen up and get some supplies for the onward journey. I arrived in Hartepool to mostly clear skies.
I stayed at the OYO Studiotel on the corner of Scarborough and Exeter Streets. It was ideally located, a short equidistant walk from both the train station and the venue. It cost me the princely sum of £40 for the night, which in the current climate is EXCELLENT value for money. It was a little self-contained room which had a sink, cooking hobs, a microwave, toaster, cooking utensils, a kettle and tea and coffee making facilities. It also had an en-suite bathroom. Fresh towels were provided and the bed was comfy with fresh bed linen. It was self-entry with no reception staff, but it was all very straightforward. I’d be more than happy to stay there again when travelling to the North-East of England in future.
I arrived in Hartlepool at 3.30pm and was settled in my room by 3.45pm. I decided to rest a while. I’d had an early start, waking at 6.30am to get myself prepared for the day’s travel. I bought provisions at Newcastle station at the Sainsbury’s in there – just a halloumi and roast veg wrap, some crisps, a ‘healthy’ Snickers bar, a big bottle of water and a pint of milk.
Around 5pm I started to wonder if the guys would be around at the venue soundchecking and whatnot. I messaged them both and with no response forthcoming from either of them, I decided to head to the venue. I went round to the side of the building. A couple of guys were standing out the front (only later did I become aware they were two members of one of the support bands – TV Death) and I asked them if they knew if Steve and Andy were here. “Yeah, they’re in there now doing their soundcheck.” I let myself in, waving as I spotted them both, announcing my arrival with “Hello, strangers!” They’re always so welcoming! Steve comes down off the stage to welcome me. “It’s fantastic to see you, so glad you could make it.”
Some more soundchecking to do, and a little bit more hanging around sorting out this and that and then the three of us headed off for a walk (in the drizzle that had wafted in) around the centre and down towards the marina. Topics up for discussion: the English local elections that had taken place the day before, A.I. and Chat GPT, things about Hartlepool, where to stop and eat (Andy and I were fine, but Steve hadn’t eaten and wanted some grub). There was a restaurant/cafe/eatery next to the venue called the Bamboo Lounge so we settled for there. Music was the main topic for discussion then. Gigs coming up, both involving them as musical performers and who they were looking forward to seeing, progress on their next album, and how my uni study is going.
We got back to the venue to hear the last few songs of the first act on the bill – Frog Dylan. They were quite good. The singer’s vocal style reminded me a bit of Mark E. Smith. I can’t say I know a lot about them but they sounded good from the three songs I heard.
There was a bit of time until the next act came on. That was TV Death and all three of us were in agreement that they were pretty darn good. Great stage presence and a great traditional rock sound. They were my favourite act of the night – after the boys, of course! The next act was Black Helium and there were quite psychedelic prog rock. The guy doing the sound was a bit of a … well, one of those who believes they know what they’re doing when in actual fact they don’t seem to have much of a clue at all. The singer was not on the centre mic and his vocals were just not coming through his mic and it wasn’t fixed, despite the band asking again and again to have the volume on his mic turned up. That was a real shame. It kind of let the performance down as that mic problem distracted from their set. I think had I not been put off by knowing they were suffering from a technical issue and that fact being a distraction to me, I’d have enjoyed their set more. I did enjoy them but I was also feeling quite a lot of pain from my legs by that point as well which was also disrupting my enjoyment of the gig. I was really worried that I wasn’t going to be able to enjoy Warm Digits’ set because of how much pain I was feeling in my legs.
I need not have worried. Once they were on and I got moving, the pain seemed to lessen. They had a good mix in the set. A selection from their most recent album, 2020’s Flight Of Ideas, as well as a selection from previous album, Wireless World and a few from their previous albums. During the performance of End Times, the gremlins decided to do their work on Steve’s laptop and the screen glitched and firstly sent the visuals awry and then the backing track went a bit doollaly as well. Live music, folks! Steve was quick to resolve the issue and the song continued with minimal disruption. He’s an old pro, is Mr Jefferis!
Despite the reservations and prospect that the gig may not go ahead, there was a small but VERY enthusiastic crowd having a fabulous time, enjoying all of the bands on the night. As said crowd grew more loose and inebriated, they grew more appreciative of the bands with Warm Digits receiving raucous applause and cheers from the crowd at the end of their set. A chant of “more” began, but the time was fast approaching midnight and it was curfew point, so no encore could be had, sadly – much to the disappointment of the crowd.
There was a young photographer snapping away through the night, so hopefully in a few days there will be some great photos from the night to share. A lady in the crowd had a pair of trainers on that had soles that lit up – matching Steve and Andy’s shirts. Midway through the set, she took her shoes off and placed one by Andy’s hi-hat symbol kick pedal and one by Steve’s effects pedal. There was also this lady in the crowd who was dressed AMAZINGLY – a lovely a-line sleeveless cream dress finishing just above the knee, this lovely flowy cream coat, and a cream beret, with silver glitter ankle boots. She looked fantastic and was having a whale of a time.
The crowd was small – there were maybe only 40 of us (if that) but wow, everyone was having a fabulous time. The atmosphere was great. Really relaxed and joyous.
I thanked the boys as they came off stage for a fabulous set and for making the whole journey worthwhile. I bought a Black Helium cassette from the merch stand at the back of the venue and Steve was kind enough to gift me a CD copy of their single Growth Of Raindrops from their Wireless World album.
Around 12.30am I said my goodbyes to both of the guys, with Andy wishing me luck with my uni study and saying that I must send him a copy of my story that I’m writing for my assignment as he’s eager to read it – which was just the most loveliest thing for him to say!
I could barely walk back the short distance to the place I was staying at. I had three very steep steps to navigate to get into the place and it took me all my might to get up those steps and into the hotel’s foyer.
The event was called Lost In The Woods, and it was celebrating its 10th anniversary. Warm Digits had headlined the event 10 years ago and were back headlining it on Friday night. The venue was The Studio in Hartlepool, an old converted church on Tower Street. The venue was great and the crowd provided a great atmosphere. My 14 hour round trip from Glasgow to Hartlepool and back again was absolutely worth every minute of it to be at this gig. It was a great night.
If you’d like to read about what I got up to the following day in Hartlepool – then check out my other blog – University and Unicorns.
Warm Digits have just announced a new gig happening in Newcastle on July 8th at the Old Coal Yard – link for tickets – I might see you there!
