Cardiff gig - 14th December 2016

For their one and only gig in Wales on the LNOTE tour, Quo headed to Cardiff on 14th December. It was a long cross-country trek for us from Brighton but a lovely clear sunny day and no traffic problems meant the drive was easy, leaving us some time to enjoy Cardiff city centre in the afternoon. It was a real bonus when Rhino joined us in a city pub in the late afternoon, always good to catch up with him.

The pre-gig drinks were in the Traders Tavern, very close to the Motorpoint Arena, and it was absolutely rammed. Heading off from there to the venue, we continued to socialize and watched some of the Wagons set from the back of the venue before heading in to find our seats. Fourth row on the floor sounded good but we were to the far right of the right block, but it was still a decent view from there and it was good to see the venue close to full by the time Quo arrived on stage.

While there were no setlist changes, the performance was up a notch from the night before I thought. The band interactions on stage suggested a lot of fun was being had up there and that always helps the audience enjoy it too I think. The big songs got a fine Welsh vocal reception during this gig and this was one of the best gigs of the UK tour so far for me.

Heading back to the Traders pub afterwards, it was again busy and Leon and Richie came in so it was a great chance for fans to spend some time with them and they clearly enjoyed meeting the fans, posing for photos, signing stuff, and generally just relaxing and enjoying themselves. During my chats with Leon and Richie, they both said they thought it was the best gig of the tour so far. It was great to see them in the pub and these chances to interact with band members are really appreciated by the fans.

A fine performance, a big engaged crowd plus the chance meetings with band members during the day and evening made this a highlight day of the UK tour so far for me.