Tuesdays Tour Statistics
Shows attended 20
Countries 4
Towns 17
Brit Rock Must Be Destroyed Tour attended shows 3
Solo shows attended 1
Random shows attended 1
Festivals attended 2
Revelation tour shows attended 13
Britrock Must Be Destroyed Tour
The Britrock must be destroyed tour was a highly energetic mix of very big in the 90's bands, Dodgy, Terrorvison, The Wildhearts and of course Reef. Their sounds filled that decade and beyond and became the soundtrack to many peoples lives. It was a fantastic idea to put them all together and provided audiences with a great value for money experience, many of the crowd hooked after one show and returned for several more!
Manchester Academy on May 4th was the opening night of this tour. The album came out that day and so for many it was the first time they'd heard a lot of the songs featured on Revelation performed live. Every track went down fabulously and songs from the new album included deep bassy track Just Feel Love, the cute new sing along favourite My Sweet Love, the heavy and energetic number Precious Metal and fast paced album title track Revelation. They also performed a fat selection from major selling album Glow, a couple from debut album Replenish, the semi acoustic favourite from Rides I've Got Something To Say and greatest hits bonus track that's great to sing along to and shake your air tambourines to(!) Stone For Your Love. The gig was hot, a bit of a crush, full of energy and very sweaty! There was a brilliant excited atmosphere before the band came on, which they held throughout the whole gig. You really felt like you'd been a part of history at that gig, it was the best album launch party anyone could have wished for!
During the Britrock tour on a rare 'day off' for Reef, 16th May, they went to Glasgow to record a set with Roddy Hart for The BBC Quay sessions. Fans applied in their thousands to be entered into a draw to win tickets to the event. The recording of this went out on the radio the next day and some of the footage was available for a short time on BBC Iplayer. The set was performed fabulously. The sound clarity was crisp and clear. The set and stage set up was aesthetically pleasing and the way the band flirted with the cameras made great viewing on the Iplayer! Although everyone was supposed to be seated and there was probably only about 200 people in the room there was still so much energy present. The band gave it their all and everyone present knew they were being treated. The band played some slower numbers as well as their fast paced energetic live favourites. It was nice to see them exploring their slower stuff not having to be restricted to anthem after anthem. It was incredibly hard to remain seated during the more energetic tunes, but fabulous to watch the band in a more comfortable surrounding without getting too sweaty and covered in beer! The gig was also really special as you got to see a lot of how media productions work with a lot of behind the scenes magic happening. From a media perspective it was an educational experience. It was an absolute honour to be a part of that day.
Sunday 20th May O2 Academy Newcastle
This gig was a lot of fun. It was The Wildhearts hometown gig and there were a lot of their crowd in attendance. By the time Reef came on the audience were loud, very energetic and definitely up for a good time. The band sensed the energy overdrive and became even more vibrant than usual, Gary spending a lot of time working the barrier. During Place your hands the crowd were bouncing so high that some members of the audience were almost flying! Nearly all of the setlist was loud and anthemic, opening with the absolute scorcher of a tune Naked and finishing with the gnarly track End. This was an absolute gem of a night.
Thursday 24th May was the turn of O2 Academy Leeds to play host to Reef. The Leeds crowd turned out in their masses and were very dancey. Reef performed to another level of greatness. Gary threw himself about all over the stage tangling his microphone lead around a monitored and dragging that across the stage in comic fashion before climbing up a lighting rig and spying on the crowd whilst singing. You can't even begin to describe the bands energy at that show. The audience went absolutely wild to Summers In Bloom, Stone For Your Love and Yer Old. An absolutely whole new level of fabulous and for many the last time they would see Dominic behind the drums, his last show being at Eden project only a few shows later.
After the Britrock tour of the UK had come to an end, it left many fans wanting more, so off to a few summer festivals seemed to be the best way to cure the craving! B Love at Basingstoke also known as Basingstoke Live on 8th July was a brilliant day out. It was a chance to get the family out to a show and experience a lot of new bands and then topping the bill were Reef. It only cost a tenner and Summer was definitely in bloom! The heat beat down on us like on a trip abroad and families danced in the sunshine. There was a relaxed happy vibe and a new boy Guillaume Charreau behind the drum kit. It was great to be a part of the summer fun times and there was plenty of band/audience interaction. Show highlights were a particularly pretty version of My sweet love and seeing the family crowd enjoying live favourite Place your hands, children loving it as much as the adults. Reef were invited to play Carfest North which was a great big ball of energy hosted by Chris Evans in Chester. It was a full weekend of classic cars, a traditional fairground powered by steam, they had amusements full of penny pushers and traditional arcade games, a mini food festival and bands from a wide variety of genres. It was an unusual day out but one that was embraced entirely. The Reef set was fantastic and another family friendly event. Highlights from this show included How I Got Over. The whole barrier crowd danced like mad, one small child proclaiming 'this is the best gig ever mummy!' before waving his arms in the air to get Gary's attention. Place Your Hands was quite a sight to see, turning around there so many hands in the air, even from those people stood opposite the other stage. It was another great day out and a chance to see a lot of other bands including The Coral, who were another treat of the day.
With the summer festivals over it once again left fans needing another Reef fix! A small European tour got announced which eventually got a lot of UK dates added to it, becoming known as The Revelation tour. Before that was due to start, Gary hit the road again and did a couple of intimate acoustic solo performances at Wroot village hall. There was also a set from Tony Wright and Millie Evans of Terrorvision fame. Neil Sanderson and family definitely know how to put on an event. The venue was immaculate and beautifully lit with fairy lights and looked like a wedding venue. Tickets were posted out and it just felt a friendly event and very welcoming even from the booking process. Gary performed an acoustic set featuring eleven songs including select tracks from Reef, Stringer-Bessant and The SB band catalogue. It was unusual to see Gary acoustic and solo and not having to be the confident frontman, cheekily teasing the crowd and throwing himself around the stage, bouncing off his band brothers energy. It felt something even more special in a way. He was stripped down to a few chords as he strummed along to some brilliant song choices, joking about not including certain songs because he hadn't learnt to play them yet. The set included Reef regulars Consideration and I've got something to say, which were performed brilliantly. The real gems of the set however were Walk To Jamberk, Take Me Home and new Reef songs Don't Go Changing Your Mind and First Mistake. Gary seemed to regain some of his usual frontman swagger on Lone Rider. Place Your Hands was much slower sounding than usual letting you really take notice of the powerful lyrics. It was a really great treat seeing one of rocks finest frontmen perform this way and in such a beautiful setting. The night continued and Tony and Millie provided the audience with some banter, giggles and not to mention that catchy tequila song(!) along with more jokes more giggles and real camaraderie that makes them brilliant artists to watch. Wroot was a great experience and everyone that managed to get tickets (as it sold out fast), couldn't help feeling slightly smug! Here's to more nights at Wroot, it definitely does rock!
Wednesday 10th October was the much anticipated Reef gig in Berlin at Musik and Frieden. It was absolutely brilliant to witness such an incredible band in such an intimate and friendly venue. It was a very high energy gig with a lot of enthusiastic native crowd members. There was enough crowd for an atmosphere, but enough space to really party! The heat in that venue was something rarely experienced even at the most energetic of gigs. This heat from the crowd was unbearable after the first song and would have broken any thermometer(!) but still the crowd danced non stop. The tunes and anthems kept happening and with every track the gig just got better and better. By the time Don't You Like It was happening both Gary and Jesse were in the crowd whilst Guillaume and Jack rocked out on the stage. The crowd went absolutely wild when Gary and Jesse decided to come down from the stage. Every track was scorching hot perfection and despite being far too hot, this was an absolutely perfect night.
The next night was at Luxor in Cologne which was another steamy night with not one but two encores! The crowd went absolutely mental after Yer Old, demanding more and the fantastic high energy version of Come Back Brighter was given to the crowd as a gift for being an absolutely top notch audience! Once again Gary sang in the crowd to Don't You Like It, this time joined with Jack, crowd members circling around them head banging and air bassing!
Friday 12th October was the night of the gig at Hamburg. It was held at Nochtspeicher. The crowd were rowdier than the other German dates, everyone wanting to get noticed, everyone dancing and everyone singing loudly. They were a very enthusiastic crowd and lots were shouting compliments in German followed by grunts of 'Ya, ya' agreements. One man attempted to dance on stage during Place Your Hands which provided the shocked audience with laughs. The gig as always was excellent, the venue clean and the crowd fun.
Sunday 14th October was the Reef gig at Munich held at Strom. Strom was a lovely venue with great sound and a brilliant view on recycling, (hand your glass bottles back and get money off your next drink). It definitely kept the place tidy. This gig was favourite on the German leg. There was extreme dancing from the audience and the vibe was so fun. The band absolutely rocked that venue. Every song was a treat, performed to a standard so high that even the band themselves will struggle to top. Each anthem caused the crowd to bounce higher as the set went on. This kind of energy could have filled an arena twice over! Place your hands was wild and Lone rider had a perfect vocal. The drums and bass provided a brilliant beat to dance to and the guitar especially on Naked was top notch - Brilliant, another scorching night!
Prague 15th October was a special night. Lucerna music bar was a sophisticated venue with a fancy semi circular stage with nowhere to hide! The venues encountered on the euro tour were really clean and well maintained. It was nice to dance without your feet sticking to the floor! The band were being filmed that night and had a couple of local musician special guests (Anna K and Roman Helcl) on My sweet love and I've got something to say, which went down a treat. It was interesting hearing the songs introduced in a different language. Jack played in the crowd at one point and was gone for quite a while totally rocking out. Jesse stole his hat which finally brought him back to the stage! It was a perfect night and an unusual set up with the roundish stage. It was a great venue appearing intimate, but actually housing a large crowd. Once again the audience got a double encore ending on Come back brighter.
Reef headed back to the UK and York Fibbers 16th November was another fabulous evening. How I Got Over was definitely a highlight lots of dancing happened to that and hand jives! All the anthems went down a treat and it was a great experience. Lone Rider out of the new songs has definitely pleased a lot of people on this tour with many raving about this track after the gigs and online.
Southend On Sea 22nd November had such a friendly crowd. They were quite an involved crowd and the band really acknowledged them. At one point every member had sat on the barrier playing to the crowd except Andy and Guillaume. It would have been near on impossible to play the keys and drums whilst balancing on the barrier even for people with their skills! The band were on top form and Yer Old was probably the best it's been played on this tour. The energy from that song alone was quite something. Naked was another crowd pleaser that night.
Margate Dreamlands 23rd November. This was one of the biggest of the shows played on this tour and it was a full crowd. The sound was amazing at this venue and it was a really enjoyable gig. Higher Vibration was incredible and Place your hands was one of the loudest sing alongs witnessed on this tour. At one point during the set Gary got on someones shoulders and was given a ride through the crowd like a king or a champion, meeting and greeting fans right through to the back whilst the rest of the band played on totally owning the stage.
Thursday 29th Friday 30th and Saturday 1st of December were a fabulous clump of three gigs held at a beautiful little jazz bar, Nell's Jazz and blues. All three dates were of exceptional quality and it was brilliant to have room to dance and no barriers. There was a little wooden box attached to the front of the stage that Gary liked to stand on, which made the people at the front dance more! Set favourites included Naked, Lone Rider and New Bird. All three nights were as good as each other performance wise from Reef, but rumours were spreading about a mystery guest on the Saturday and tickets for that were gold dust. The mystery guest was Ronnie Wood!!!!! For anyone there this was the ultimate gift of a night. A wonderful band who always give it their all, this night in a fun barrier-less venue with the added excitement of one of the greatest and finest established musicians in the world joining them onstage in the middle of their set! It was a performance like no other. How many people can say that they saw an ex member of The Faces or indeed a Rolling stone in such a small venue. It was such a buzz. He joined them onstage for How I Got Over, which is always great, but this time had the added bonus of Ronnie. They then played The Faces track Stay With Me and Ronnie and Jesse working the guitar parts together was magical. For those who were there many will still be questioning if they'd dreamt it. For those that didn't get a ticket they'll be forever sad they missed it. Another highlight was Place Your Hands and seeing all of Ronnie's family rocking out in the crowd hands in the air too! Absolutely cracking three nights, the third being made of the stuff usually only dreams are made of!
Sunday 7th December Foundry Sheffield: Probably nothing is going to ever top Reef with Ronnie Wood in London, but the Sheffield setlist was quite something! We had all the usual anthems mixed with a couple of rarer live selections including Lucky number and Choose To Live. Mellow was absolutely beautiful and has been really loved on this tour, but to hear that and Choose to live made this fabulous set list. The crowd cheered when Choose To Live was performed, it's presence has been missed on this tour and it definitely is a gorgeous piece. Place Your Hands was a loud sing along. The Sheffield crowd definitely didn't stop singing throughout the set and were in fine voice! They knew a lot of the newer songs too and Ball And Chain got a great reaction.
Oxford Saturday 15th December at the Academy 2 was a fabulous gig met with mixed emotions. It was the last gig of a long tour so the crowd were sad that it was coming to an end, but also happy they were at the gig. It was full of energy. Naked, Stone For Your Love, New Bird and Higher Vibration in that order, straight after each other with no time to breathe made this an extremely fast paced dancey but tiring gig! It was a top notch setlist... they really do have excellent taste in their own catalogue! They know how to put a set together perfectly. Every song was just as perfect as the one before. There were some very young boys at the gig who said it was their first reef show, but they knew all the words and were rewarded with drumsticks and high fives at the end. The crowd didn't want the gig to end, with many hovering after the show for photographs and CDs signing.
Broken Witt Rebels provided Reef on The Revelation tour with an absolutely outstanding support act. It isn't always the case that support acts are as enjoyable as the main act, but it was this time! Broken Witt Rebels have made many fans ('rebellers') on this tour and it's easy to see why. They're still a young band, but they have the stage presence and musicianship that is usually associated with bands that have been around for many more years than them after decades on the road. Their sound is a fabulous well honed mix of blues and dirty rock blended with a bit of the southern rock vibe. They're well rehearsed and note perfect even live, whilst remaining real, authentic and fresh. They have the ability to really hold a crowds attention. Each night on the tour they perfected perfection! The band consists of Danny Core on vocals and rhythm guitar, Luke Davis on vocals and bass, James Tranter on vocals and lead guitar and J.D on drums and percussion. These really are ones to watch. Top tour tracks included the fabulous vocal performances of Howlin', the down and dirty throb and crash of Loose change and the lovely tone of Shake me down. Best nights on tour included Berlin, we knew we were in for a fabulous tour when we realised how good the support were going to be! Prague was an incredible set for Broken Witt Rebels and they really suited the sophisticated venue. The house sound at that venue was incredible too. Sheffield was their greatest UK performance. There were so many Rebellers in the audience and it was a particularly energetic crowd. The band really bounced off that energy and gave it their best so far. Another thing that makes them a great support band is their friendliness and will to succeed. At every gig they invited the audience to chat with them. Meeting and greeting each and every gig goer and sparing the time to thank everyone for attending, even stopping to say hello if they bumped into you in the street. Broken Witt Rebels have already got a solid fan group, but this tour has earn't them even more followers. With a band as talented as they are they deserve every success and we're sure they'll keep getting it.
This was an incredible tour and following it has taken me all over the place exploring different countries, meeting new people, catching up with musician friends and finally getting to say hello to a Rolling Stone! A big shout out to each and every person that has been a part of this tour. A hello to every single member of Cinnammon Lane fan and friends club (thanks Zoe Mccormick for adding me to this). Laners thank you for welcoming me into your circle of friendship, may we rock out again soon. A big Thank you to the following people; to Sam Toolsie for providing me with transport, giggles and photographs, to Alison Buckley for all the lifts and cancelling your flight home and coming to Prague instead! To our German interpreter Andreas Burger, to Niko Josianne and Tracy Iveson for being hilarious, to Claire Rebecca for capturing precious footage of that heavenly London gig, to Dan for the stolen moments, to Ronnie Wood...thanks for the doodle and the guitar pic! To Gary Stringer, Jack Bessant, Jesse Wood, Dominic Greensmith, Guillaume Charreau and Andy Wallace, what a year 2018 was, thank you for your ongoing friendship and incredible sound.
Photos by; Gary Stringer
Toolsie photo
Tuesday Holland
