Arrived 10 minutes into Plaid's live set after spending the last 2 hours travelling over 170 Miles. Met up with Paul and Phil - both looking very nervous and generally worried about the new and untested set. Phil goes through the set cards with Paul ensuring they both agree and know the set order.

Finally they take to the stage , the University is quite packed and the crowd appear to be ready for the take off. The whole gig receives an excellent response from the crowd and Paul/Phil relief is noticeable as they respond to each cheer. "Spare Parts Express", "Nothing Left Parts 1 and 2", "I Dont Know You People" and "Satan/Open Mind" appear to be the favourites.

And...i forgot to put this in before - the Security guards danced :)

Another 80 Miles and we arrive in Bristol. Unfortunatly the Colston Hall is one of the rare tour venues with seats. The hall is tall and there is a excellent balcony around the edge. I arrived earlier this time and heard the whole of the Plaid set. The crowd were appreciative towards Plaid as they finished their set with "Undoneson".

There was a more relaxed feeling in the Orbital camp - Paul sat and watched the Plaid set while Phil chilled out back stage. Orbital took to the stage and it was obvious that the seats were gonna delay the crowd response slightly. The grinding mind boggling track "Spare Parts Express" started and this injected the majority out of the seats - by the time "I Dont Know You People" had finished their was a mass of bodies bopping amongst the seats, down the isles/corridors, in front of the stage and on top to the balconys. Bristol was alive.

Another 200 Miles and we arrive in Leeds. The Town and Country Club has been open for years and the walls are covered in vintage gig posters. Their is a good size dance floor with a small side balconys and a large rear balcony.

The Club filled quite quickly and Plaid played to a good appreciative audience. They were a lot tighter then the previous night with no technical problems at all. The sell out crowd were eager to get Orbital on stage and at 9pm Paul and Phil started their set.

The sound in the Town and Country was impressive - a lot more meaty and louder than before (yes - even Exeter). Their was no problem in motivating the crowd tonight - they were up for it once they heard the opening notes of "Way Out". The heat in the Club became unbearable and it was major task just to walk anywhere. The dance floor was packed out and i would have to say this was the most eccentric and active crowd on the tour - they were loving every minute of it.

I didnt go to this gig because the distance was just too much. But on the 18th March i spoke to Paul about the event and he mentioned that it was another great night and another great crowd. Once the crowd got going they were as mad as the previous night :) Mickey Mann stated that he thought "The Box" was the best live version they have done this tour. There will be more comments on the Newcastle gig on the Loopz Orbital Live Project pages in the next day or two.

A mild 80 odd miles (felt like an easy drive after the first few gigs :) ) and i arrived at Sheffield. I like this venue a lot - loads of room - easy access to the bar - good sound - what more do we need.

Plaid came on at 2005hrs and appeared to please the crowd with their performance - the more i hear their new stuff , the more i enjoy it. I was briefly disturbed by a lunatic wearing a Rolf Harris mask - it was Paul Hartnoll. Someone had created a Rolf Harris cut out and wear mask and left loads of copies of it on the merchandise desk. It was very amusing and hopefully i will scan it and put it on the site - whoever designed the mask please email me :)

Orbital were on the stage at 2100hrs and sound was a lot crisper than before - more cleaner i should say. By this time the sell out gig was packed and their was hardly any room. The crowd didnt take long to warm up and by the time "Impact" was rearing its majestic head - the atmosphere was electric.

"An Fhomhair" is now performed to perfection with the LFO bass beats low and murderous at times - just the way we like them. "Know Where to Run" appears to improve each gig - the Exeter version seems so tame compared to the later versions which are tight, harder and deeper. "Open Mind" started differently tonight as well...vocoder fallout samples warning of the procedures for a nuclear fallout - a nice touch - i hope they keep it in. "Chime" went slightly funny towards the end as there was a Tardis sound slightly in the background - it did blend in with the track quite nicely but the frantic movements between the equipment by Phil and Paul on stage told another story. "Trust you to notice that" - Paul said after the gig :)

The infamous Glasgow crowd delivered. I never made this gig due to the travelling time and distance but i spoke to Paul, Phil and Mickey Mann about the gig and they all said that the crowd was as accentric as expected. Phil stated how exicted he was at the thought of playing "Bigpipe Style" in Scotland. The response he expected, was received. A good night all round.

This is the closest gig to my house - only approx 10 miles away. There was a fair few people from my work place going to their first ever Orbital gig. I even convinced one certain member that Orbital were a vocal group - haha - luckily the person in question didnt have a bad word to say after - mission successful.

In previous years the Wolverhampton Civic was packed out downstairs but always failed to fill in the balconys. Tonight was different, total sell out - not one bit of breathing space on the ground floor or the balconys. It was full and the crowd was ready.

Plaid played to a massive crowd tonight and delivered once more. Fortunatly i got to speak to the 2 members before their set to confirm the set list and where the tracks can be found (in brackets - if nothing specified then its undecided). The majority of the tracks will be on the forthcoming album ("Rest Proof Clockwork") due approx July 1999 (if all goes well).

"Dang Spots (new album)", "Scoobs (Peel Session Cd)", "Shakbul (new album)", "Roxbury", "New Bass Hippo (new album)", "Pino Pomo (new album)", "Remona" and "Last Remembered Thing (new album)".

Orbital came on stage to a big response - the whole night was near perfect. Impact suddenly went bass-less during the first part (which as you should all know by now is the second part of the live impact - :) ) but the crowd didnt seem to detract from dancing their hearts out. It was brilliant to see the whole venue responding to each track. "Spare Parts Express" which is becoming one of my favourite live tunes sounded the best its ever sounded - each change in the track brought the crowd into a higher frenzy, "Satan" was just bloody evil, so loud and so nasty - damn perfect and "An Fhomhair" was very tight - bass was clean as a whistle.

A long trip to Cambridge - actually its not that far but there is no major Motorways that way so it takes longer than normal. The venue was slightly disappointing (in my opinion) - probably the smallest venue on the tour. It was sold out again, but there was just no room on the ground floor - so we ended up on the far side by one of the entrances.

I was very late getting to the place tonight - spent over an hour finding somewhere to sleep for the night - Cambridge is a very popular place. Missed Plaid but people who sent me emails stated how they enjoyed the set - im not suprised as they have been one of the best (if not THE best) support act Orbital have ever had.

I dropped my bag in the dressing room as the opening bars of the Clockwork Orange intro beat out. Paul and Phil were pacing around with their light-glasses in their hands. They moved onto the stage to a big uproar. Another great crowd - looking around and seeing the kind of people that Orbital are attracting made me think how appealing they are and to a lot of people. Its good to step back occasionally and just look around - always brings a smile to my face.

After a slow drive back from Cambridge, it became apparent that i was not gonna make Southampton without driving like a maniac - i decided to not go and to put the extra effort into the last three gigs - as if i needed to :) Send your reviews if you went to this gig.

The long drive to Brighton (never been there before) was rewarded with lots of friendly people and a general feel-good atmosphere. I can see why people choose to retreat from the smoke (London) to thie seaside resort.

The atmosphere backstage before the gig was tense, especially for Phil who now resides in Brighton. It appeared that there was so many people that Phil knew including staff from his childrens school. Rachel (Phils wife) had mentioned that she had been following the tour diary on the Loopz website whilst she was at home looking after the children. Quite a shock, but very good and reasurring to hear - Thanx Rachel.

After a tense hour whilst Plaid entertained the crowd - it was time to test the nerves. The venue was packed out which was quite reassuring as it has a capacity of 3010 people. Phil and Paul entered the stage to a big cheer - Phil shouts over the mike "There are so many people i recognise in here!". The set starts...

Completed the short drive (via the now infamous London Orbital (M25), all the one-way streets and the speed cameras) to a comfortable Hotel in Docklands. I had big thoughts about tonights gig - the biggest crowd (4300 people) - a total sell-out - London should be a good night.

I must have found the Hotel a bit too comfortable as i arrived later than normal (15 minutes before Plaid were to go onstage) - so apologies to anyone i arranged to meet before the gig :) I decided to listen to Plaids set in the centre of the already packed crowd. After their first track "Dang Spots" completed - the crowd cheered - the Plaid boys looked over their equipment (a rare occasion), they were full of smiles. The rest of the set got the crowd more hyper and by the time the trailing beats of "Last Remembered Thing" filtering out - the crowd were screaming for more. Jeez - and this is just the warm up :)

Backstage - it was Pauls turn to feel the nerves - "I just cant talk when i feel like this". All the Orbital clan were here tonight - their parents, the manager, the Orbital P.A and Pete Tong. "I feel ill now..." Paul stated - oh dear :)

Eventually the call came out for Orbital to take to the stage. My last words to Paul were "Good Luck - you won't need it" - his response was "I don't know about that..." - "Trust me..." i shouted as i headed towards the main room. Luckily - i was right :)

The first sign of lights from the infamous Orbital specs made the sell-out crowd go berserk. This had to be the most responsive and out-going crowd that Orbital had played to this tour. It appeared the whole performance was extra special - hardly a note out of place - loud and deep sound and visually stunning. "Nothing Left", which has shrunk in length as each gig completes (the original track is over 10 minutes long) proved to be a crowd favourite tonight and the "Doctor Who / Chime" encore ended a unforgettable night.

Tracks covered (IN ORDER) - (intro - Clockwork Orange), Way Out, Spare Parts Express, Impact (The Earth is Burning), Know Where to Run, An Fhomhair, Halcyon (with Belinda Carlisle and Bon Jovi samples) ,I Dont Know You People, The Box, Nothing Left (Parts 1 and 2), Style, Bigpipe Style, Satan, Open Mind (F.A.Mix) (with the new intro - vocoder fallout samples) , Doctor Who and Chime.

There was a big VIP guest list tonight - Phil and Pauls parents were full of smiles - they said they loved the whole set. Pete Tong also came backstage to congratulate Orbital on the whole event. Phil "Schematix" Holmburg was found in the VIP bar - he briefly mentioned how he was in the process of remixing one of "The Middle of Nowhere" tracks. The remix which Phil described as a "70s retro track" could be used as a part of a new single. I informed Phil of his credit on the new album for his previously uncredited work on "In Sides" (Paul described during a Loopz interview (issue 6) how he forgot to mention Phil Holmburgs contribution on the sleeve on In Sides) - this brought a smile to his face.

A long after show party and it was off to the Hotel to recover :)

I totally forgot about the time change - so I found myself waking a hour earlier than expected and with a terrific hangover.

Tonights gig was my last for this tour as i decided that the Dublin gigs would be not feasible due to work commitments. I decided to get to the gig as early as possible. I missed the sound check but caught the testing of the lighting. I was quite suprised at the perfection of the testing as different elements were slightly adjusted to make the slighest improvement. True professionals just like the musicians.

It was good to speak to a few more people before and after the gig. So many people had came to the London gigs on the basis of Orbitals past live reputation. Reading the comments book after the gigs proved that they lived up to that reputation - a relief maybe as hype can always disappoint some people.

I was quite suprised to see a similar number (to Saturdays gig) in the main room waiting for Plaids entrance. They performed another faultless set and appeared to enjoy this night - smiles all round.

Backstage there was a very relaxed mood. Paul was asleep on the sofa after experiencing the delights of the tour canteen. When he awoke, Paul commented on how his previous days nerves were no longer a problem. Phil was in an equally relaxed mood. Orbital took to the stage - the venue nearly to a sell out capacity - just a few spare seats in the balcony section.

Tracks covered (IN ORDER) - (intro - Clockwork Orange), Way Out, Spare Parts Express, Impact (The Earth is Burning), Know Where to Run, An Fhomhair, Halcyon (with Belinda Carlisle and Bon Jovi samples) ,I Dont Know You People, The Box, Nothing Left (Parts 1 and 2), Style, Bigpipe Style, Satan, Open Mind (F.A.Mix) (with the new intro - vocoder fallout samples) , Doctor Who and Chime.

The highlight track tonight was "Know Where to Run" - i don't know if this was because it was going to be the last time i heard this meaty tune for a long long time (weeks maybe - LOL) but it appeared to be more harsh and harder tonight - it is one track that appears to have matured in the last 2 weeks. It was quite sad to hear "Open Mind" for probably the last time (one of the tracks pencilled to be dropped for the shorter festival sets) - to bring an old track that is over 7 years old back back to the live circuit was again brave but very rewarding. Ive always wanted to heart the Funky Alternatives remix of "Open Mind" live and it was as good as i expected it to be.

There was a brief drink after as the tour bus needed to get away from London as quick as possible to enable them to catch an early ferry to Ireland. So ended the English leg of the UK Tour - time for me to return to my normal life and get back to my wonderful job (ho ho ho). My long drive back to Birmingham enabled me to get 3 hours sleep before returning to my normal days work - i was very knackered but very happy :)

Thanx to Paul and Phil Hartnoll, Andy James, Rachel, Louise, Mickey Mann, Dave and Yvonne Hartnoll, Maya, Giles, Plaid, Rob Holden, all the rest of the Orbital clan/crew and anyone i spoke to at the gigs (a lot of people!).