Spurred on by a recent spate of gigs, we went to another on Saturday, at the Boiler Shop in Newcastle. it’s a venue we’d not been to before. It is a Grade II listed building, dating from the 1820’s and was the world’s first locomotive works, Robert Stephenson & Company, famous for the pioneering locomotive, the Rocket. It was restored as an entertainment/function venue in 2016: a large space with a standing capacity of 1000.
The only drawback with the venue is that there is little or no nearby parking. I used my scooter and we parked in the Stephenson Quarter Car Park (a multi-storey -with no free disabled parking). I’d previously contacted the venue and booked a place on the wheelchair platform. Apart from the step off the kerb by the entrance the access into the venue was level (a little bumpy by the door but no steps). There was great professional stewarding and the staff member responsible for the platform was excellent – she really looked after us.
Peter Hook was the bass player with Joy Division, which reformed as New Order following the death of lead singer, Ian Curtis. He now performs with his band, The Light.
Hooky developed a very individual style of playing the melody high up on his bass, leaving to bass line to keyboard or guitar.
This was K’s choice (I always found Joy Division a bit depressing) but I really enjoyed the gig – three sets and an encore over about two and a half hours, including all the Joy Division and New Order hits, including Love Will Tear Us Apart, Atmosphere, Blue Monday and Temptation.
There was a great atmosphere too with lots of singing going on in the audience.
We haven’t got any other bands to see until July now…..unless something else comes up!
Stitches by the Sea 
You are having an actual Life! Not there yet, alas.
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I did struggle at first but it’s getting easier. There was a lot of talk about adjusting to a “new normal” when Covid safety measures and lockdowns first came in but not a lot of attention is given to post lockdown readjustments and that is a huge issue, especially for those with additional vulnerabilities.
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A live performance! I’d forgotten all about that possibility. The last one I attended was Suzanne Vega , and before that a French Genesis tribute band about 3 years ago. I quite like Joy Division – but can’t put my head around the price of live music. Wanted to hear Greg Allman a while back – £150 a ticket – he’s gone down – so I’ll never get to hear him live.
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We are definitely catching up on the music we missed when COVID cancelled everything! Some gigs are prohibitively expensive, but it’s been quite nice to go to some smaller less expensive ones recently.
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