Nottingham Arena Nottingham, UK Thursday, 20 April 2006 On the Road With MaggieMay... It took a little pushing and shoving, but I finally got Darling Hubby out the hotel room door and into a cab bound for Gatwick and the 7 hour flight home. He was having too good a time and didn’t want it to end. Too bad! As he loves to say, ONE of us has to work! And it’s HIM! I can’t keep going to bed at 1 and getting up at 6am. I fell into the van for the drive to Notts, tied myself to the seat with the seat belt and fell asleep. Woke after an hour and realized we were STILL in London. I won’t say that London has the worst traffic in the world, but then again, I’ve been in Manhattan, LA, and Atlanta during rush hour and London is definitely near the top. Though Nick the driver snidely commented that someone was snoring in the back (moi?) he made up for it by playing Lionel Ritchie, not even turning it off when I joined in on the chorus. “Penny lover won’t you walk on by Penny lover don’t you make me cry” THE VENUE I don’t know what the heck this place is! Some sources said “ICE Arena”, but most referred to the venue as “Nottingham Arena”. Do they play hockey in the UK? I don’t know! Or is this just a place for kids to ice skate? Shrug A temporary floor was set over the ice and it looked ok, but it provided no insulation. My feet got cold, then my legs and arms but it happened so gradually, I didn’t really notice until my core felt cold. It took two very hot cups of decaf to thaw me out. Jeff, our driver and guide to Sherwood Forest told me that yes, it *is* a hockey arena and proudly stated that his son played on the Nottingham Panthers team. Let’s hope he keeps his teeth! Notts was more my idea of an *arena* - a perfectly acceptable and familiar American-style hockey arena, flat oval floor, tiered sides topped with boxes and a temporary stage placed at one end. A nice young usher didn’t know how many it sat, but said she’d find out and she did, returning to let me know that it sat 8000 in the full configuration. She didn’t know how many tickets were sold for the evening, but said that the floor was full, and I noticed that the sides were pretty full too. It was another large crowd for Jeff Wayne and Friends. THE SHOW Though *I* had Wednesday night off, the show went to Birmingham and played that god-awful cow barn, the NEC. One person said it was the best WotW performance yet. I don’t think anyone will say that about the Nottingham show. Sound and mix were fine, though the volume definitely required ear plugs. The music was the usual outstanding that I have come to expect and love. I particularly noticed the video reprise at the end of the first half; it’s very effective and ends the half on a high note. The first problem came during the second half. I’m not terribly crazy about The Red Weed segment. It’s just so slow! Maybe it needs dancers. LOL Smoke is heavily utilized, with lights giving a red tinge to the stage and no doubt intending to represent the red weed crawling, crawling like a slimey red animal. That stuff POURED off the front of the stage and the front row was engulfed by it – a smoke Niagara Falls. I could barely see through it and my eyes were burning. I sat there peering thru the smoke at the musicians on stage, knowing they were there, hearing them, but barely to see them. Someone In Charge apparently didn’t consider that the seats were on ice and that hot air rises and cold air sinks, and cold SMOKE sinks, envelops the defenseless audience and sits on them. It was an (mildly) unpleasant experience; it could be quite panicking. This wasn’t a top night for the actors on stage. Parson Nathaniel got confused though Beth continued to smile and nod at him through gritted teeth. The Artilleryman forgot his place but covered it well, and jumped back in when he could. Despite the error, James gave a very nice performance, a performance that has steadily grown since the dress rehearsal. One freaky moment? Look for yourself on the video screen as seen thru the Martian’s eyes. One person waved tonight, which I thought was rather friendly considering they’re here to take over our world AND eat us. What can I say? Pass the ketchup! MaggieMay The chances of anything coming from Mars, Is a million to one, he said.  |
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