Senseless Things, Midway Stil – New Adelphi Club, Hull

I’m very excited as the Senseless Things have just announced a one-off gig at Shepherd’s Bush Empire and a warm-up to the one-off (so it’s a two-off?) at the New Adelphi Club in Hull. I’m away, in Kenya of all places, when they play London so I thought the Hull gig would be ideal.

So how far away is Hull? I live in Essex. So it’s Essex – Cambridgeshire – Lincolnshire – then just over the border into Yorkshire (or Humberside if that still exists). Just three counties, right? Not long? Wrong. I had to see someone in Colchester on Sunday afternoon so I left there around 3pm. The quickest route to Hull from there is 202 miles and I had half an hour of country lane detours before I could get to the M11.

It took a good four hours non-stop and a lot of that was driving through Cambridgeshire and Lincolnshire, hundreds of miles of landscape that all looks the same. I just about had enough time to check into my tiny hotel room, thrown my back on the bed and then head out to the venue. (I think I’ve had that bag since I was at school in the 80s …)

It was good to catch up with Midway Still there, as I’ve interviewed them a few times before and to be honest didn’t expect them to be playing any more shows.

I’ve seen the Senseless Things precious few times in my life, which is a shame since their 1991 album The First Of Too Many is still etched on my brain and still gets dusted off for a play from time to time. And they were the first band I ever saw live who were younger than me, a fact I’ve kept with me all my life!

They put on an amazing set, left everyone very very happy – and it was so good to hear the songs again. But don’t just take my word for it; someone called Everyday Madness Everyday (yup) recorded the WHOLE SET: