I'm not a big fan of weddings, but I'm a fan of The Wedding Present

I admit it, I feel uncomfortable at weddings. Not the small civil ones like one of my best friends had a few years ago, but the big budget ones in churches where you have to act in a certain way, dress in the same way and party afterwards in a certain way. (And I really enjoyed it when a friend of mine took off his tie before his wedding, making me feel ankward that I was still wearing mine). I'd rather be at a rock concert as you've probably guessed. I think. Wedding presents are another thing. They are probably the most difficult present to give, since you have to choose something that the newlyweds want, but, at the same time, it is nothing that another guest has already chosen. So, I'm not a big fan of wedding presents either except for this one: The band fronted by David Gedge, who once released one limited edition 7" single every month for a whole year. (And that was in 1992 when the 7'' single was almost extinct and the CD single was the dominant format).

I finally saw them live in Athens last March, having missed them the last time they were here. They venue was six d.o.g.s., a small one, so it was one of those "intimate" gigs that I got to watch from the front of the stage.

Among the songs we heard that night, was "Blue Eyes" from "The Hit Parade" (the album compiling those aforementioned 7 inches and their cover versions b-sides), "Kennedy", "Everyone Thinks He Looks Daft" from "George Best", "Two Bridges" (their latest single) and even some from the band's alter ego Cinerama.

Finally, it was all over, after they warned us that they never play encores. The guitarist is still wondering however where his beer has gone...

SETLIST:
01. Yeah, Yeah, Yeah, Yeah, Yeah
02. Everyone Thinks He Looks Daft
03. 524 Fidelio
04. Meet Cute
05. Two Bridges
06. Mars Sparkles Down On Me
07. Runway To Seatac
08. Go, Man, Go
09. Drive
10. Kennedy
11. I Wake Up Screaming
12. So Long, Baby
13. Blue Eyes
14. Bear
15. It's A Gas
16. Crawl
17. My Favourite Dress
18. Dalliance
19. Dare
20. Bewitched