Went to the Black gig tonight, or should I say 'The Christians' gig with supporting band 'Black'!

Let me start by saying that both Black and The Christians put in an excellent effort despite the poor numbers in attendance and the poor acoustics in the venue.

There must have been 60 people on the ground floor which Colin Vearncombe quickly made fun of when coming out by thanking all the 'floorboards' for turning up!

I sat on the outer seats downstairs and was not able to see how many people sat in the upstairs balcony section but I would estimate about the same number.

I did mention poor acoustics and I would attribute this to the lack of bodies in attendance which caused the sound to bounce off the walls somewhat. The sound desk personnel were not really on the ball either as there seemed to be a distinct lack of balance with alot of the sound becoming quite 'muddled'.

I did nt actually count how many songs Black performed but I would guess between 6 - 8 but Colin did have a 3 piece band backing him which was a nice touch. It all seemed to be over way to fast and there were no encores (only The Christians performed a single song encore).

To be honest, I my main reason for going was to see Black so seeing a short set was a little disappointing. However, The Christians were very good too.

There was only one new Black CD on sale and it is a compilation put together by Black for this tour called 'CV'. I did not buy one as I'm not big on compilations and have everything else already. The guy behind the merchandise desk did tell me that they are working on two new Black albums at the moment, so that was good news.

OK, that's about it.

I was there too, and totally agree with most of your comments. Totally unsuitable venue, Black should not have been supporting band. I thought Colin was excellent and in good form as usual, in fact I had a chat with him after and brought him a pint of guiness!
Also saw him at Shed in Bedford and that was a very intimate and excellent venue.
I really hope to see Colin again very soon, amazing voice/talent.
Take care, Julie.