April 8th 1994 – Kettering Arena
Supported by: Gigolo Aunts
I’d already seen The Wonder Stuff at Walsall Football Club and this would be the continuation of my seeing the Stuffies in strange venues.
I mean, for a start, Kettering Arena! I was a little bit snobby about seeing them play at Walsall FC (it was one of the gigs of all time). It is highly unlikely anyone outside of Kettering was aware the badminton courts could be booked for a rock gig. I’d love to know why they chose this place!
I get ahead of myself, as we travel down the A6 and A14 from Market Harborough to Kettering, it is quite exciting to go to a gig not too far from where you live (half an hour and 20 miles or so from Oadby, Leicestershire, where I lived at the time), but also in a new county for a gig and a new venue….not least as we have been loving this band for quite a while now.
They released yet another cracking single late last year (1993 in this case), “On The Rope” and a great album in late 1993, “Construction for the Modern Idiot”.
Gigolo Aunts
The Gigolo Aunts had been around a long time in America, but I can’t say I’d ever heard of them. They sprang to fame in the UK after “Where I find My Heaven” was the major track in the film “Dumb and Dumber”
I don’t recall much about them, but am fairly sure they did a good job and played some good music…..it just didn’t make me rush out and buy anything. 🙂
The Wonder Stuff
We were still coming to terms with the venue in the interval between support band and wondering whether the tour manager has visited beforehand. As a venue it was a bit of a shed, not designed for music and acoustically, the metal roof looked ominous for echo!
In fairness it wasn’t and the block brick walls actually seemed to make the sound quality good (NEC, take note!).
As usual a great performance from The Stuffies, great set of songs and mix from the new and old albums and I don’t think they played “Dizzy”, but they played so much good stuff I don’t think anyone would have minded.
The band split up soon after this tour, which was such a shame, but I guess it’s a great rock and roll thing to split at the top of your game…..
Set List (something like)
- Change Every Light Bulb
- Cabin Fever
- On the Ropes
- Mission Drive
- Cartoon Boyfriend
- Piece of Sky
- Your Big Assed Mother
- The Size of a Cow
- Room 410
- Here Comes Everyone
- Hot Love Now!
- Full of Life (Happy Now)
- Caught in My Shadow
- Hank and John
- I Wish Them All Dead
- Ten Trenches Deep
- Encore:
- A Great Drinker
- Welcome to the Cheap Seats
- Golden Green
- Don’t Let Me Down, Gently
- 30 Years in the Bathroom
- A Wish Away
- Unbearable
- Good Night Though
The Fan Club Years 
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