Arsenal vs West Ham United - Emirates Stadium, London - Saturday 31st January 2009

Arsenal were unbeaten in 9 Premier League games going into this match against West Ham - always a tricky game, because they have a nasty habit of pulling off annoying results against Arsenal recently. Having said that we were unbeaten in 9, we have had distinct troubles scoring goals, and have generally been lacking something significant in the way of creativity. We are missing Fabregas, Walcott, Rosicky, and all those signings we failed to make in the summer. And, with this game happening 48 hours before another transfer deadline, most of the talk in the pubs was about whether we would spend any money. Knowing Arsene Wenger, expectation of that was generally low, but people were living in hope!

The game itself was a 0-0 draw, and like that at Cardiff the week before, was an utterly dull game, devoid of anything much in the way of entertainment. It is tempting to say that both sides got what they deserved in the way of goals, but it is a stretch to say that West Ham even deserved their "nil" - they came for a point, rarely crossed the halfway line, and Manuel Almunia earned his clean sheet for the game with no effort whatsoever. A terribly unadventurous tactic from West Ham, and when you think that Gianfranco Zola is their manager, it really seems unbecoming of such a great player to send his teams out with so little ambition. Still, he got what he came for I suppose.

On Arsenal's side, there were a couple of chances, the most notable of which fell to Adebayor - who was unlucky on one occasion, and just plain useless on another. Emmanuel Eboue had another totally useless half hour, after which he was substituted injured - whereupon Carlos Vela took about one minute to contribute more to the game than Eboue had managed in 30. But generally, as a fan, this was a game you kept watching out of duty to your team; and out of a vain hope that something might happen. In your heart of hearts, you knew it wasn't going to, but you felt compelled to keep watching just in case. No creativity in midfield, not much bite in attack, and nothing to suggest that Arsenal would ever have managed to get the breakthrough against a team that defended with determination. We need to do better if we are to qualify for the Champions League next season - and that is becoming a real worry.

Work trip to Frankfurt, Germany - 26th to 28th January 2009

My last work-related travel abroad for a while, took me to Germany to run a training course. As I went through Heathrow, I was strangely tolerant of the BAA employed idiots on security there, knowing that I wouldn't be seeing them again for a while. When I got into Frankfurt and checked into my hotel, I was very surprised to find the shower in the middle of the room, in a glass cube. I must admit that I almost walked into the glass cube when I first got into the room - it made for a strange experience to wake up and see the bathroom right next to my bed. They did hide the toilet in a (small) separate room - and you could watch TV from the shower. An interesting way to make the most of a small room space.

The couple of days I was working were tough, long days - which means that you look forward to the time off even more than usual. The main time off on this trip was a visit to Wagner's Apfelwein tavern - a very traditional Frankfurt restaurant, that has been running for decades. You sat at long wooden tables, drank cold apple wine mixed with sparkling water, and ate pork. Lots of pork - the special was a mixed platter of belly pork, shoulder pork, ribs, sausages, and ham; with potatoes and sauerkraut on the side. Very nice, very filling, and a very good way to kill an entire evening whilst eating and drinking. After the food and drink fest, we headed to a famous music bar called Balalaika - a fantastically atmospheric bar, with jazz musicians getting up periodically to do their thing. A definite note for a return visit, next time I'm in town.

Cardiff City vs Arsenal - Ninian Park, Cardiff - Sunday 25th January 2009

When Arsenal were drawn away at Cardiff in the FA Cup, I immediately wanted to go. This is Cardiff's last season at Ninian Park, a historic football ground that is one of the last relics of what the game used to be like - at least, certainly one of the few grounds that Arsenal would be likely to visit now. The floodlight pylons come into view as you approach the (quite rough) area, and the 4 stands make this out as an old, traditional ground. Getting inside and onto the away terrace, the Popular Bank looms large to the right, bathed in the afternoon sun (which I'd guess is what makes it popular).

This was obviously a big day for all at Cardiff, and the PA announcer did a great job of building up to kick off. He got the fans to Do The Ayatollah, talked about the long and famous history between Cardiff and Arsenal football clubs, encouraged a warm welcome for Aaron Ramsey back to Ninian Park, and played some really rather good music - including local favourites Stereophonics, and Rage Against The Machine's Sleep Now In The Fire. So, when the teams came out, everybody was up for the game.

Which made the game itself an even bigger disappointment. Although there were a couple of decent chances on both sides; Arsenal played very poorly and lacked much penetration in their play; and Cardiff played well, but not well enough to really cause sustained problems for Arsenal. So the game was a bit of a nothing, somewhat of a stalemate. Robin Van Persie had a couple of decent shouts at goal, Bendtner and Nasri were wasteful on a couple of occasions, and Cardiff had chances - a good free kick, and at least one shot that flashed dangerously across the face of goal. But in the end, a disappointing 0-0 draw, that deserved to be a 0-0 draw. During the game, standing on the terrace, I noticed that the terracing area was much less packed than it would have been in the past - no fun allowed any more. Probably the biggest regret of the day was being denied the chance to have a good old goal celebration on it.

When the final whistle went, a minority but a significant section of the Cardiff fans immediately resorted to their tough guy antics. Many of the fans on the terrace closest to the Arsenal fans hardly seemed to watch the game at all, watching the Arsenal fans instead - they really seemed to hate English people more than they actually liked their own team. So, a familiar sight at the end (also seen the last time they played at Highbury, of dozens of coppers standing in front of them, physically preventing them from getting onto the pitch and near Arsenal fans, whilst they stood and postured. It all looked a bit pathetic - it is a minority of Cardiff fans, but a sizeable one, that seem to play up every time they get a big game. So, a bit of a shame that they get to come to Emirates in 10 days time, to play the idiots again. Hopefully it will be a better game next time.

Work trip to Amsterdam, Zeist and The Hague, Netherlands - 21st to 23rd January 2009

Another trip to the Netherlands, not long after the last one, and this time it was a tour of the country. Time spent in Amsterdam, a day in Zeist, and a trip to The Hague as well - all in less than 48 hours. The trip started annoyingly, my flight from Gatwick was delayed by an hour due to a change of tyre on the plane - but BA got everybody strapped into their seats before they announced this. We were about to push back, when the pilot announced that they were going to change the tyre - most annoying, because I would have spent that hour in the lounge with free food and free wifi. So, the journey took one hour to change the plane's tyre, 40 minutes to fly to Amsterdam, then a 20 minute taxi once we landed - not what you need.

For this trip, I was staying at the Qbic hotel - a new capsule hotel in the World Trade Centre at Amsterdam Zuid. Like most of the capsule hotels that are springing up at the moment, the offer is for a very small, functional room, for a cheap price. The general features are good decor and design, excellent use of space in the rooms, free wifi, vending machines and auto checkin machines. You really get everything you need if you know what you are doing, aren't going to stay very long, and come prepared - and you don't pay the earth for it.

The room I stayed in reminded me of an Ikea show apartment, where they pack all of the essentials into an improbably small space. The excellent design really makes the most of the space available, and when you get into the room, it actually seems quite roomy. A very good hotel, especially for the price, and being right outside Amsterdam Zuid train station (from which you can get almost anywhere in the country), it is in an absolutely fantastic location. I'll definitely stay there again next time I'm in town.

On this trip, I went to a couple of gigs, which meant that I came into contact with many Dutch people (other than the colleagues I usually encounter). This reminded me that in many, many ways, the Dutch are extremely like the British - they like football, loud music and drinking beer; when they talk it sounds quite like English; they tend to like the same types of food; and the Dutch just generally remind me of Brits at almost every turn. But there are some different, cooler things about Dutch people too (stereotyping hugely here of course!) - they are liberal, much more willing to live and let live. They are extremely direct - if they think something, they will tell you, whereas Brits tend to beat around the bush. Generally, our Dutch friends are just like us, but a little bit more so.

Oasis - Heineken Music Hall, Amsterdam, Netherlands - Thursday 22nd January 2009

I went to see the same band in the same venue the previous night, and was delighted to get the chance to see a decent band for 2 nights in a row. Heineken Music Hall doesn't take cash inside the venue, you have to buy and spend tokens instead. Having only a €20 note the previous evening, I had no choice but to buy loads of tokens - and no choice this evening but to exchange all of those tokens for beer. What a shame! There seemed to be many more Brits in the venue this evening (even thought it was emptier than last night), and so the atmosphere seemed much more pro-Oasis, and much more intoxicated. It was a very friendly crowd though, which suggested that smoking rather than drinking was the order of the day for the Brits in Amsterdam.

On reflection, last nights gig was a decent show, but just fairly standard for Oasis. They come along to these shows with a poor support band, and playing the exact same set that they have been playing for a few months, all over the world now. Even they must be bored with doing the same every night, and it feels a bit like they are short changing their fans. So, I was expecting to be underwhelmed this evening. But, I was pleasantly surprised. The Oasis set was excellent from the start, and I must confess that I will never fail to be excited when Fucking In The Bushes is playing on an empty stage in front of me.

Liam Gallagher was much more up for the show, and on form, than he was the previous evening. His voice sounded much improved from the beginning, and also got better and more snarling as the show went on. But more than all that, his banter made it a totally different, and much more enjoyable show than before. He dedicated Slide Away "to all the lesbians", which got a huge cheer; Morning Glory "to all those that have seen us the last couple of nights. And witnessed some shocking vocals, I apologise"; and Ain't Got Nothing "to all the homosexuals", with some very funny comments afterwards - "you might think you ain't one, you might not look like one. But they're out there".

The band were on form apart from that, Rock N Roll Star and Supersonic in particular were incredible sounding. Even though they played quite a tired set, one that I had heard 4 times before, and as recently as last night, it still finished too soon. Wonderwall and Supersonic to finish the main set just left you wanting more, and the encore was a great way to round off the evening. Liam introduced I Am The Walrus by saying "this is definately the last song. You've been fantastic. Nearly as good as us." - and he wasn't lying - Oasis were absolutely excellent, and much better than the previous evening. They may be unimaginative (no, really, they are), but they can still put on a great crowd pleasing show.

Oasis - Heineken Music Hall, Amsterdam, Netherlands - Wednesday 21st January 2009

As I was due to be in the Netherlands for a couple of days on a work trip, I was overjoyed when I found out that Oasis were playing in Amsterdam when I was due to be at a loose end of an evening. I was even more happy when my trip got extended from one night to two - and Oasis were playing the other night too. Both gigs were sold out, but a trip to Seatwave got me tickets for both nights, at not too much of a premium (most of the rip off was in Seatwave's booking and insurance fees - so as well as encouraging touting, they are making a hefty chunk of cash out of it too - scumbags!). Early in the week, Oasis cancelled a date in Dusseldorf, when Liam was told to rest his voice. So, the shows were touch and go in the end, and I was in full solidarity with Liam by having a full blown sore throat as well.

The venue was the Heineken Music Hall, a purpose built music venue in the complex next to the Amsterdam ArenA football stadium - alongside a big cinema and some shops and restaurants. It was a good size venue, which looked quite a bit smaller than (say) Wembley Arena. There was a big flat floor, a few seats at the back, and a couple of small balconies on the first floor. Given that most of the venue was on the ground floor, I'd say it was a bit bigger than Brixton Academy, but not much bigger - making it a pretty small venue to see a band like Oasis.

As I was going into the venue, I was standing with quite a few (mainly Northern) English lads, who had been on the drinks and smokes all day in Amsterdam. But, once I got inside, I heard few English voices - it was a largely Dutch crowd. One thing that amused me was the generally wide tolerance of spliff smoking in the venue - a very Dutch audience indeed - along with some crazy mullets in evidence in the crowd.

Oasis bowled on stage at 9pm on the dot, and played a setlist that was extremely standard by recent standards (i.e. the same as they have been playing for the last 6 months). Liam was wearing a very cool looking coat - like the jackets the Libertines used to wear, with columns of buttons down the sides. His voice sounded somewhat ropey from the off - even as early as second song Lyla, he couldn't really hit some of the high notes in the chorus, and needed considerable help from Noel's harmonies to make the choruses sound OK. On a couple of other occasions, most notably in To Be Where There's Life, he was distinctly out of tune, and it seemed as if the instruments were carrying him a bit. Liam dedicated Cigarettes & Alcohol to anybody "not stoned", which got a big cheer from the front.

As the set went on, Liam got better, and so of course did the songs - saving bankers like Wonderwall and Supersonic for towards the end. When they play songs like that, you can't really fail to like them. I thought that a couple of Noel songs, especially The Masterplan and The Importance Of Being Idle, sounded immense tonight, and really underline how many great songs they have. They may not have made a decent entire album for 10 years, but there are some real standout songs along the way, and The Importance Of Being Idle is definitely one of those.

All in all, this was a relatively standard Oasis gig, pretty good, but a setlist that they just seem to be able to bash out in their sleep by now. They are very polished at playing this particular set, but you hope that it might change a bit before their big UK gigs in the summer. After a day's work, I'll head along tomorrow night for some more!

Dead Social Club, The Belgrave Scandal - Bardens Boudoir, London - Sunday 18th January 2009

There was plenty to do on this particular Sunday evening. There was a snooker final on TV - always good for consuming an entire evening - and the Philadelphia Eagles were busy losing the NFC Championship game too. But, there was a free gig on offer - 2 of my friends' bands, at a trendy venue, in a trendy part of town. So, I jumped in a cab and headed into the depths of Dalston, to see some live music.

First on were The Belgrave Scandal (well, there was supposed to be another band on first, but they showed up at the venue half an hour after they were due on stage). They played a similar set to recent shows, drawn largely from their newer material. There was a decent crowd in the venue (certainly for a Sunday night in a place that isn't on the Tube), and they seemed to react well to the Scandal's songs. For me, their guitars sounded particularly good tonight - lead guitarist Dave was on top form, and the sound was distinctly trashy and exciting. A shame that they haven't played The Collection for a while, but you can't have everything I guess. They promised new songs at their next gig, which sounds enticing.

After very little changeover time, Dead Social Club took to the stage. By this time, there were a few more people in the venue, making it seem that bit more atmospheric. They played about 6 songs, which again sounded excellent, proving that the last time I saw them wasn't a flash in the pan. Their earlier songs seemed to be quite long, and to take a while to build up - but by the end, you appreciate why. Their final song, The Bridge, is a real slow burner, which builds up and up to a series of riotous choruses - very good indeed. Their sound is hard to put your finger on, but I would stick with a combination of New Order, Joy Division (same thing, almost), and Bloc Party, with a bit of Killers synth in there too. Decent band, and they have some decent slots lined up for the next couple of months too.

Work trip to Atlanta and Philadelphia, USA - 12th to 15th January 2009

A two-stop trip to the USA, taking in a city I'd never been to before in Atlanta. Right down in the south of the US, I was expecting lazy drawling sentences, and food that had enough cholesterol to kill you if you even just looked at it.

When the plane landed at the huge Atlanta airport (the busiest in the world), the large queue at immigration was not a surprise. There were a lot of people (which does tend to cause queues), and judging by the immigration officer I saw, they do not exactly employ the brightest minds down south. As I was waiting in the queue, a plane load of soldiers was arriving - as they walked through the immigration hall, there was a spontaneous round of applause - something one would never see anywhere except the USA.

Despite lots of fanfare about them moving to an electronic travel authorisation (of which the day I arrived was the first day), I still had to fill in the annoying green visa waiver form. This did leave me wondering what the point of the switch was - it presumably creates some convenience for the US authorities, at the cost of extra hassle for travellers.

After all the waiting and hassle of immigration, we were then made to go through security to get OUT of airport! Atlanta is a huge connection hub, so I suppose the majority of people arriving on international flights would need to clear security anyway - and I guess they think its easier just to make everybody do it. But when you have just got off a 9 hour flight, and just want to get out of the airport, it is absolutely the last thing you need! After security, you then have to take a 6 stop train journey to get to a place where cabs pick up - a truly huge, but rather inconvenient and unfriendly airport.

Atlanta itself is a car city, a bit like LA, so there are plenty of freeways with 8 lanes in each direction. On the approach to the city, it has a typical US city skyline - a few distinct "signature" skyscrapers, plus lots of other generic tall buildings. But because of the sprawl, and the fact that it is built for cars, the centre of the city is pretty dead - especially after 6pm. That makes it a weird place to be staying - after all the office workers go home, the area is inhabited just by lonely people on business trips! Because you need a car to get about (despite the excellent subway system, everybody seems to use a car - the subway was empty when I went on it), walking the pavements is a lonely thing to do - there is absolutely nobody walking around the city.

My Atlanta hotel was the huge Marriott Marquis, which, as with many of the city's landmark buildings, looked like it was built around the time of the 1996 Olympics. It had a huge atrium which looked like a massive ribcage, going right the way up to the top of the building. But, being January, there being a recession, and the Olympics not being in town at the time; the place was very empty. Apparently a lot of the big hotels in town are like that - they built lots of capacity for when the whole world came to visit for the Olympics; but the world hasn't seemed to be too interested in coming back since.

All in all, my experience of Atlanta wasn't great - one of the big advantages seems to be the hot weather, which wasn't especially evident in the second week of January. If you have a car, I'm sure things are more entertaining, but Atlanta did not seem like one of the better cities in the USA - far from it in fact - a somewhat soulless place, with an eerily quiet city centre.

After a couple of days in Atlanta, I flew to more familiar territory - Philadelphia. When I landed, and during my 24 hours there, the temperature didn't get above -10C the whole time. It was so extremely cold that it was just funny - although the lack of wind meant that it could have been a whole lot worse. I was only in Philly for a day or so, but after Atlanta, it was comfortingly familiar. This will be my last trip to the US for a few months - a shame, as I like Philadelphia more every time I visit.

Arsenal vs Bolton Wanderers - Emirates Stadium, London - Saturday 10th January 2009

On the coldest day in London for over 10 years - it never got above freezing all day, Arsenal fans were not exactly in the mood for another display of negative football, which is to be expected when Bolton are in town. The away side named only 4 subs, presumably to make a point about how stretched they are, and to try to justify the inevitable negativity and all out defence. For their part, Arsenal were suffering from injury losses too, Gallas joining the casualties, and that meant Kolo Toure became our seventh captain of the season so far.

In the shivering, freezing cold, the first half wasn't too bad an affair (at least by the standards of recent home games), the highlight being a decent Van Persie chance, where he controlled the ball, and went for a nice flick with the outside of his boot. Other than that, the talk at half time was whether this was the coldest football match in memory - recalling happy days at Oldham, Middlesbrough and Stoke.

As expected, and as usual, the second half saw Arsenal step things up a bit in the search for a goal. There was an increasing amount of "knocking at the door" (as Arsene Wenger would put it) - including a fair sitter missed by Adebayor (who had yet another nightmare game - his form really is awful at the moment); and a very decent long range shot from Kolo Toure.

As the half went on, we saw the predictable substitutions from Arsenal, which really illustrate how few options we have available at the moment. Bendtner and Vela came on for Eboue and Diaby - hardly inspiring. It did at least mean that Nasri was able to move infield, where he looks like our best creative option in the absence of Cesc Fabregas.

Finally, when it looked like we might be heading for an unbelievably frustrating 0-0 draw (with Kevin Davies as the irritator in chief); Bendtner made a decent contribution for once, stealing in at the far post to put the finish on an excellent ball that Van Persie (again looking sharp and generally at his best) had put across. Bendtner has been far from impressive lately, but this was an important goal, and will hopefully be the start of a bit of form for him - we certainly need it from either him or Adebayor! The second league game in a row that finished 1-0 to the Arsenal - at the moment, we all realise that there are many worse results than that.

Work trip to Zeist, Netherlands - 6th to 8th January 2009

What better way to start the year, than with a work trip to the Netherlands? In the middle of a huge cold snap in the UK, the Dutch had an even worse one. It was foggy, the fog was freezing, there was snow and ice, and it got down to -10C. I often think that UK weather is bad, but other places seem to have extremes that we just don't get close to. It was so cold (and slippery) at times, that it was just funny rather than annoying.

I was staying in Zeist, which is a pretty rich town by the looks of things. One of those places that's near enough to the big cities to be useful, but from which you can just walk off into the forest. Not surprisingly, a lot of well off people choose to live there, because it is a lovely place to live if you like peace and quiet.

For dinner one night, we ventured out of the hotel, to a Chinese restaurant. It seemed to be quite busy, and there were even some Chinese people in there - always an encouraging sign. I have experienced the ubiquity and strangeness of Dutch Chinese restaurants before, and this was another such experience. It turned out that the place was full because it was their Tuesday "all you can eat" night, so we got to enjoy weird satay stuff, and a bizarre mix of Chinese, Indian and Indonesian food. I know that UK versions of ethnic foods are probably not 100% authentic, but the Dutch versions are even less so.

My journey home was one of those bad ones that happen from time to time. It was an especially foggy day, but the airport seemed to be open, and flights were leaving OK. I waited there for a few hours, until my flight was boarding - whereupon they cancelled it. Apparently, fog in London had closed City airport - typical that the UK weather caused chaos, whereas the (worse) Dutch weather caused no issues at all. A quick call got me the last available seat on a Heathrow flight - involving an hour's delay and an annoying detour. The whole experience reminded me of how crap the UK can be at times, and how much better the Netherlands seems to be on so many fronts!

Arsenal vs Plymouth Argyle - Emirates Stadium, London - Saturday 3rd January 2009

FA Cup Third Round day is always one of my favourite days of the season. People go on about "the magic of the Cup", but it really is good to see big teams forced to play against those annoying smaller teams - and of course, to see which of them come unstuck in the process. The draw was good this time around - a home draw against Plymouth, which meant a fairly easy game (one hoped) for Arsenal; and 9,000 Plymouth fans in town for an almighty day out. Always a very good natured day, and being a Saturday 3pm game made it all the better.

Surprisingly, Arsenal started the game with pretty much a full team - the only first teamer that didn't start was probably Adebayor (although on his current form, whether he should be making a first choice XI is quite debatable - only the fact that Bendtner is worse would save him). For most of the first half, Arsenal were cagey - or it could be that Plymouth were doing very well in front of their massed fans. They even had a couple of decent chances, and with a bit more luck, could have caused us a few real problems. At the other end, Arsenal had a couple of sniffs, but not much more than that. A decent first half for Plymouth - Arsenal were not a class apart by any means - but it was hard to tell whether that was because Plymouth were bright, or Arsenal were quiet.

Very early in the second half (in fact, the seats were still only just filling up after half time), Robin Van Persie (who was captain for the day) put Arsenal ahead. This kind of killed the game as a contest somewhat, at least for a few minutes - and you couldn't help thinking that Arsenal had just been toying with Plymouth, before finally deciding to put them out of their misery. We weren't in total control by any means, but the goal showed that bit of class that Plymouth just didn't have themselves - so it really seemed to highlight the difference between the 2 teams.

A few minutes later, it was 2-0, then 2-1 - Bendtner looked like he forced a Plymouth player to turn into his own net, one of the few decent things that he did, during another disappointing and frustrating performance. Almost immediately afterwards, Plymouth went up to the other end and scored - I wasn't really paying attention to the game at the time, but it certainly drew a decent cheer from the 9,000.

So, 2-1 for the majority of the second half, and it stayed that way until right at the end, when Van Persie added a third. Being the FA Cup, we also got to see a few of the younger players - Kieran Gibbs came on as a first half substitute, and looked very impressive I thought, to the point where I hope he starts next week against Bolton. We also got to see Carlos Vela and Jack Wilshere again, although neither really had enough time to make that much of an impact.

All in all, a very professional job was done today. Looking at how Chelsea and Man City got on, there are always a few teams that slip up in the FA Cup Third Round - so you always breathe a little sigh of relief when you get through unscathed. Plymouth obviously raised their game because it was a big occasion for them, so it was more difficult that it may otherwise have been. Arsenal weren't exactly sparkling, but seemed to do just enough to get what we needed. Onto the draw for the 4th Round.

The Belgrave Scandal - Proud Galleries, London - Thursday 1st January 2009

Everybody must know that New Years Day is the new New Years Eve, right? You get to go out to bars that aren't completely packed with idiots (and are actually pleased to see you), you avoid being ripped off at every turn, and you can leave before midnight without missing all the fun. So, having done nothing on 31st December, I ventured out on 1st January instead. Not much seemed to be open in London, but one place that pushed the boat out was Proud Galleries. And, The Belgrave Scandal were playing as well, which provided another reason to hotfoot it over to Camden. Whilst waiting for the band to play, we took over a nice stable, which also featured a lovely pole dancing pole in the middle.

After an interesting sounding band that I didn't catch the name of (they also looked like the Yeah Yeah Yeahs), the Scandal appeared on stage. The gig room at Proud was furnished with some nice comfy sofas, and there were a decent number of people inside, sheltering from the freezing cold. The band played what has become a fairly standard half hour set - at least from the last couple of times I've seen them. They kicked off with Black Pages and Brighton Away, then showcased a few of their newer songs. These new songs seem to be growing on me, the more I hear them - a slower number with no name (yet) in particular sounds like a corker.

As each song passed, the volume of the applause from the audience seemed to get louder and louder - and the first timers in the crowd seemed to be moving their feet and getting into the set. We finished as usual with Take That Train (still my least favourite Scandal song), and an excellent version of House Of Cards. All in all, it was a really good set - Dave's vocals sounded stronger than ever, and the band seemed to be enjoying the set as well. The new songs increasingly stand out in their set, and they have a couple of even newer songs in the pipeline, which will hopefully carry on the improvement. A good start to 2009 for The Belgrave Scandal, hopefully this will be their year.