Simple Minds - Birmingham Symphony Hall
Simple Minds - (I Won't) Forget About This Gig In A Hurry!
For a number of reasons...
Firstly (and perhaps most importantly! 😉) when they were playing the first song, Jim Kerr came down to the audience and had a little walk around...he stood next to us for quite a long time and it was obvious what a truly powerful voice he has.
Secondly, for the fact that they are obviously brilliant musicians- better than some people realise, I would say.
Thirdly, because although this gig hasn't necessarily persuaded me to go away and listen to Simple Minds non-stop for the next month or anything like that, they provided a brilliant evening's entertainment, complete with lots of lovely Scottish chatter from Mr Kerr (with the occasional remark from another member of the band when they could get a word in edgeways!)
In fact, the only critcisicm I could make about the band themselves (including in relation to the acoustic set, which was surprisingly upbeat and lively) was the fact that, unfortunately, they did pretty much ruin 'Promised You A Miracle'! They slowed it down a lot and seemed to take that appealing edginess away from it, which I thought was a bit of a shame.
Still, though, they were great. The main issue I had was with some of the other members of the audience; most of them around us were drunk, taking 'selfies' whenever a member of the band came over to our side of the stage (my concert pet hate!!), shouting between songs or all three. Now, I know that makes me sound like a bit of a misery guts, but I promise you I'm not! I like to have a good time at concerts, but not at the expense of other people around me (which is, unfortunately, exactly what most of the people around us this evening did).
Anyway, enough of my waffle! Simple Minds were very good and, as I said, although seeing them live may not have made them my new favourite band, I certainly wouldn't be averse to the idea of seeing them again!
