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Events and Reports - Enuff Z'nuff - UK Tour, May 2001
Finally - Enuff Z'Nuff in Europe again!
Me and my friends Steen and Henrik flew in from Denmark to the U.K. to follow Enuff Z'Nuff on their England tour. In Manchester we hooked up with a French Enuff Z'Nuff fan Fabrice and the four of us rented a car. We had brought all EZN cd´s so in the daytime we were cruising around England with EZN on the stereo and at night it was the real thing on stage. We arrived a few days before the first gig in Manchester so that we could do a proper warm-up in true Z´nuff style by spending a day in Liverpool at the Beatles museum.
Manchester, The Ritz, Sunday May 6
Songs: New Thing, Fly High Michelle, For Now, Kiss The Clown, Heaven Or Hell, Time To Let You Go, Baby Loves You, Rock N´World, Takin´ a Ride, It's No Good, Invisible, Fly Away.
The first show was a festival called Z-Rock with Enuff Z´Nuff as headliner. We arrived at the venue about 12.30. When we got in I took a quick view of the venue and the first guy I spotted was Ricky Parent. I was just about to walk up to him when he left to talk with a guy in a cowboy hat eating Fish and Chips - Donnie of course. Amazing I had been at the venue for around 30 seconds. I went over and said hello and afterwards I went straight to the bar because I had some heavy heartbeating from finally meeting Donnie and Ricky. I ordered a beer to calm my nerves and looked around. Wow - Chip was right next to me! Unbelievable - I had been at the venue for less than 2 minutes. Took a sip of beer and went over to talk with him. What a nice guy. We talked for about 10 minutes where I told him that we were traveling all the way from Denmark and had tickets for six of their shows. He seemed very happy and gave me a hug. We talked about acoustic songs and he asked me what songs I would like to hear acoustic and I said "Mary Anne Lost Her Baby" which they actually played the next night. Some other fans spotted Chip and went over to talk to him. Soon after he left but before leaving he went over to me and said, "Talk to you later". This shows that they really care about their fans.
At 1.30 there was a signing session with Enuff Z´nuff. There was a massive line of people but Chip, Donnie, Ricky and Monaco took time to talk to everyone and sign their stuff. I got "Ten", "Seven" and "Peach Fuzz" signed so that was pretty cool. They were all in a good mood especially Donnie who really enjoyed this. There was a lot people wearing Enuff Z´nuff t-shirts at the venue so I was really looking forward to finally seeing them live.
Enuff Z´nuff took the stage around 9 o´ clock starting with "Revolution". They really do a kick-ass version of the Beatles classic. Donnie was really happy to play England and was smiling all the time even though some idiot tried to ruin it by throwing a beer in his face during the second song "Heaven Or Hell". It didn't affect their show. Donnie was in top form and compared to the other bands that played earlier you could easily see that EZN were true professionals. They had such a positive attitude and it was like there was a glow around them. During "Baby Loves You" some girls entered the stage as go-go dancers. Enuff Z´nuff played an excellent show to the approx. 900 people. During "New Thing" Chip had an accident. He fell down backwards behind the drum riser where there was a drop and apparently a metal bar or something. He hurt his back but finished "New Thing" while lying down. He got up - threw his bass and ran out. Then Donnie announced that there wasn't gonna be an encore. Soon after "The Ritz" closed. We were worried about Chip´s accident so we waited outside until the band came out. We just wanted to make sure that he was okay. Finally the band came out and Chip assured us that he was fine and promised us that the rest of the shows would be even better than this. A brilliant concert but almost overwhelming for me to finally see my heroes in action. After a good nights sleep I was very excited to hear them again.
Carlisle, Richmond Hall, Monday May 7
Songs: Z-Overture, For Now, Kiss The Clown, Time To Let You Go, Baby Loves You, Rock N´World, Takin´ a Ride, Mary Anne Lost her Baby (acoustic), Day By Day, Stoned, It´s No Good, Invisible, Fly Away, The Beast, Hide Your Love Away, Revolution.
On the drive from Manchester to Carlisle we talked about why they were playing in Carlisle. It was far up north and on the way to Carlisle there was nothing but rocky hills and sheep. When we arrived we went directly to the venue where we met Chip and the great manager Tom Feeley. They told us that there was only sold 41 tickets in advance but they would play anyway. The opening band had chickened out. But as Donnie said on stage "We were given the choice not to play or hang out with friends that we had not seen around 4 or 5 years" That's the spirit.
Enuff Z´nuff made the greatest entrance I ever seen. They came directly from the Tour bus which was parked right outside and entered through the main entrance. People were sitting in the corners at candle lit tables when Monaco and Ricky walked by and got on stage. Then Chip came in the room and he started doing some silly dancing that might have been popular in the seventies. Chip got on stage and then Donnie came in yelling "Is that Chip Z´nuff on stage? Is that Chip Z´nuff ?". He got on stage and they kicked into "Z-Overture" real loud. Everybody left their tables and got in front of the stage. This concert was excellent. There was only around 50 people in the room so it was like a private Enuff Z´nuff party. The show was very funny and relaxed but still kicked major ass. They played like they were in front of thousands of people. During the intro to "Stoned" both Chip and Donnie played along with Ricky on the drums. Amazing! Fabrice wanted a picture of Steen and me in front of the stage while EZN were playing. It was during "For Now" and Steen and me were giving our best Donnie Vie wannabe impression in front of the stage. Donnie noticed that and motioned for us to get up on stage. I got up first and while I waited for Steen I went over to Chip to "help" him with the chorus in "For Now". Then Donnie said to us "Wanna sing" and walked away from the mike. So we sang the bridge and jumped off stage. The people standing in front were slamming us "high fives" so even though it sounded really terrible it must have been kinda entertaining.
Other highlights besides "Day By Day" were the acoustic performance of "Mary Anne Lost Her Baby" and when they dedicated "Kiss The Clown" to Tom for booking them in Carlisle. Before the last songs Donnie asked the mighty audience if we wanted to hear the hits "Fly High Michelle" and "New Thing" or if we wanted to hear one more song and then hang out. "Hang Out" was the obvious answer and they kicked into "Revolution".
Hanging out with Enuff Z´nuff is very entertaining. I got to talk with Monaco who's a real nice guy and Ricky too. Donnie went to the bus to change his shirt and when he got back in he headed towards Steen and me and said, "Were you the guys who sang the bridge on For Now? - Oh that was excellent!" and then he gave us a big hug. Cool - I was sure that Donnie would have thrown us down from the stage but he is a really cool guy. I had the time of my life that evening. It was so cool hanging out with people that I had admired so much for the last 7 years and then find out that they were all real nice people. The venue closed and we were still hanging out. But no beer. Chip talked nicely to the staff and bought Budweiser for everyone in the room. What a guy. Few minutes later we had to leave the venue - but it wasn't so bad because Enuff Z´nuff gave all the people at the show a wonderful experience that most will never forget. Being "High on the New Thing", we checked out the nightlife in Carlisle on a Monday night knowing that tomorrow we were gonna see the guys again.
Newcastle, Trillians, Tuesday May 8
Songs: Z-Overture, For Now, Fly High Michelle, Kiss The Clown, New Thing, Heaven or Hell, Baby Loves You, Takin' a Ride, It's No Good, Invisible, Fly Away, Hide Your Love Away
This was the first show with "Anti Product". I didn't know what to expect but was still surprised. I think Freakshow is the right word for Anti Product's live show. One thing is for sure: Alex Kane is not playing Hard Rock anymore. During Anti Product I walked around the bar and recognized some familiar faces from the Manchester and Carlisle gigs. That was one cool thing about this tour. You made friends with other Enuff Z´nuff fans in every city they played.
The Newcastle show was really good but the venue sucked. It was a bar without a real stage and therefore Enuff Z´nuff were playing without monitors. The place was packed when they started the party with "Z Overture". Really weird place because there was only a few meters between the stage and the bar. One thing I noticed at this show was that Monaco was much more "into the music" and he played a fantastic gig. For "New Thing" Alex Kane joined them on stage and played guitar. That worked really well because there was also a lot of Anti Product fans. The crowd started off a little slow but Enuff Z´nuff won the battle and by the end of the show everybody was jumping and dancing to the sweet tones of Enuff Z´nuff. After the encore people wanted more and kept shouting at Enuff Z´nuff. Even though they didn't play an extra encore there was one cool thing about the venue. Since people couldn't get enuff they played Enuff Z´nuff studio tracks on the P.A. until closing time. Closing time at pubs, bars and apparently all venues are already 11 o'clock in England which is much too early.
When we were kicked out of the venue we walked down to the tourbus to thank the guys for another excellent performance. They were all in a good mood and Donnie showed us some pictures they had taken the night before in some kind of wedding dresses. Each member had a picture saying "Marry Me". Very funny but also kinda weird. Hmmmmm......
Dudley, J.B.´s, Wednesday May 9
Songs: Z-Overture, New Thing, For Now, Baby Loves You, Time To Let You Go, Innocence, Fingertips, Rock n´World, You Got a Hold On Me (Valentine´s Song), Stoned, It´s No Good, Ain´t it Funny, Invisible, The Beast, Fly Away, Revolution, Come Together, Jealous Guy.
We arrived late to J.B.´s, which was a big pretty big venue. Luckily there was 2 opening bands so we were in time for Enuff Z´nuff. When we got in we couldn´t believe our eyes. There was a poster saying that Enuff Z´nuff would play an intimate acoustic gig downstairs at midnight. What a pleasant surprise. A cool thing about J.B´s was that they didn't have to close at 11:00, so Enuff Z´nuff took the stage around 10 o´clock. This concert was absolutely amazing. After "Z- Overture" they played "Ain't it funny" and for the first time on the tour Donnie played the piano. They totally surprised me by playing "Fingertips". Later on Chip told us that they changed their setlist because they knew people were gonna be at more than one show. They did a fantastic version of "Come Together" and also played one of my long time favorites "Innocence". The stage was big and the boys were rockin´. Especially Donnie who is very entertaining on stage. Chip´s microphone dropped down and their roadie was about to pick it up. The roadie wore "jogging pants" and when he bent over to pick up the mic, Donnie pulled down his pants. The whole crowd laughed so the poor roadie ran off stage and Alex Kane (who was watching the show from the side) went in to fix Chips mic. Alex stayed on stage and played keyboard on Stoned (later he played guitar on New Thing). On the intro to Stoned, Donnie went over to Ricky and played drums with him.
Along with the first London show I think this was the best on the tour. Everybody played excellent and looked like they were enjoying themselves. Ricky´s a great drummer and fun to watch. Every time you get eye contact with him he was one big smile. Monaco played excellent. The solos in "Innocence" and "Stoned" were both A+. Chip played drums on the intro to "Baby Loves You" and is just a great frontman along with Donnie who was very entertaining and the greatest singer I ever heard. We got "Revolution" as the encore but we wanted more and luckily we just had to go downstairs.
Downstairs there was a bar and a small stage with tables in front of it. We were the first in line so we got the table right in front of the stage. We were sitting right next to Andy. He was also in the front with us at the "electric" show and a big fan too. Around 12:30 Enuff Z´Nuff entered the room. At the show there was a very laid back and positive vibe. Donnie was playing piano, Chip acoustic guitar and Ricky drums. This was the coolest thing I ever been to. The guys started with "Holly Wood Ya" and then it was all requests. They played whatever people shouted out. I got to hear some of my favorite songs they never play live like: We Don't Have To Be Friends, Downhill, Message of Love, Someday and the ultimate love song ever written "You and I". Donnie mentioned that he sang "You and I" at Chips wedding. They also played covers like "Imagine", "Maybe I'm amazed" with Monaco on vocals and "Across the universe" with Alex Kane on vocals and Monaco on guitar. I have listed all the songs I remembered hearing on that fantastic night. Donnie encouraged us all to sing along so we did that in a little more than an hour that the show lasted. Afterwards they hung out and signed stuff. I told Donnie that it was great hearing some songs that I knew they didn't play in concert and he told me that some of them he only played on the record. It's very hard to describe this show because there was such a great vibe but I hope you have got the impression that it was an amazing night.
Acoustic set: Fly High Michelle, Part of "The Way Home", Hollywood Ya, Goodbye, Right By Your Side, Mary Anne lost her Baby, Rainy Day, Message of love, Has Jesus Closed his Eyes, We Don't Have To Be Friends, You and I, Wheels, Downhill, Someday, Maybe I'm Amazed, Across the Universe, Imagine, If I Fell w/both Donnie and Monaco on vocals.
London, Camden Underworld, Thursday May 10
Songs (in order): Z-Overture, We're All Alright, Fly Away, For Now, The Beast, Rock N´ World, How Am I Supposed To Write A Love Song, It´s No Good, Blue Island, Time To Let You Go, Drum solo, Baby Loves You, Invisible, New Thing.
The big subject on the car ride from Dudley to London was last night. We all agreed that it was one of the best nights in our lives. Tonight's concert could only be a little disappointing compared to the Dudley gig.........but it was not. Again they took us by surprise and played another excellent show.
The afternoon started off really bad. We had to return our rented "Peace Mobile" in London and only one block from the returning point we had an accident with a London cab. Luckily no one was hurt even though Henrik (the driver) was a little bit shocked. The day was saved very quickly. We were walking around the area trying to locate Camden Underworld. Suddenly we heard a familiar voice saying "Hi guys - how's it going". It was Donnie Vie. I thought that was pretty cool!--Walking around in London and Donnie Vie comes up to say hi. He is really a great guy and truly appreciates his fans.
Opening song was again "Z-Overture" which I think is a great opener. It is funny to watch people's faces when Z´nuff opens with a new and "heavy" song. Again they changed the setlist and surprised us with "We're All Alright" right after "Z-Overture". The band was really "on fire". The Beast was excellent. I think that song should be included in every Enuff Z´nuff show. It has a fantastic melody line and great lyrics. Donnie introduced "How Am I Supposed To Write A Love Song" by saying that it was about a girl who broke his heart. They did a extended killer version where you almost could feel the pain that Donnie must have felt. It was such an emotional version that it gave me goose pimples. At this show they finally played "Blue Island" which we had been requesting at the Newcastle show. It was great hearing "Blue Island" with Monaco on the electric and Donnie on the acoustic guitar. "Blue Island" still ranks among the best songs ever written. "Time to let you go" was also amazing. At all the shows Donnie and Monaco sang it together and it worked out really well. Another live favorite of mine was "Invisible". That song is very groovy and totally rocks live.
Donnie really appealed to the female audience. During "New Thing" he got a girl from the front row up on stage and sang the verse with the microphone between her tits. Like the other shows Alex Kane played guitar on New Thing. He is really a madman on stage. He played Donnie's Gibson Les Paul and afterwards he reached out so that the audience could touch it. Him and Donnie took a wild stage dive at the end of "New Thing". Even though I did not like Alex Kanes band Anti Product I gained more and more sympathy for him. He was always watching Enuff Z´nuff´s performance from the side of the stage and it looked like he really enjoyed it. When he was on his way home from the London gig I shook his hand. He saw my Enuff Z´nuff t-shirt and said they were an excellent band. Along with the Dudley gig I think this was the best concert on the tour.
London, Camden Underworld, Friday May 11
Songs: For Now, New Thing, Time To Let You Go, Baby Loves You, Rock N´World, Mary Anne Lost Her Baby (acoustic), We're All Alright, Stoned, My Dear Dream, How Am I supposed To Write A Love Song, It's No Good, Loser of The World, Fly Away, Jealous Guy, Revolution
I could easily get used to this. Hearing Enuff Z´nuff in concert every night. Unfortunately it was our last night. The Camden Underworld was packed. Almost sold out, I think. There was a new opening band called Diamond Dogs who was quite good. A very old-fashioned rock band in the style of Faces, Rolling Stones and the London Quireboys. Enuff Z´Nuff started the party with "Revolution". The crowd was the most enthusiastic on the tour and we all went totally crazy up front. They surprised me (again) by playing "My Dear Dream" and "Loser of the world". Only song from "Ten" was Fly Away, which they played during the whole tour. After this tour it's becoming one of my favorite tracks because it´s a great song and it seems like the band really enjoys playing it. I truly enjoy hearing it. For the last song Donnie repeated yesterdays trick and sang "New Thing" with the microphone stuck between some girls tits (lucky bastard). Donnie lended the people in the front row so we all could sing "Get highhhhhhh on the New Thing". The show ended by Donnie taking another crazy stage dive. Another excellent concert from the ultimate band. It was like that they had gotten better and better during the tour.
Unlike the day before, where we hung out with Donnie after the show, the venue closed right after the show. Even Tom Feeley was told to shut down the merchandise stand while there were people checking out the merchandise because they had to close by 11. (I never got used to that. It should be 11 in the morning instead of the evening!). We got kicked out while waiting for Chip and the guys to join us for a final beer. We waited outside the bus for a little more that an hour but they didn't show up so we didn't get the chance to say goodbye.
However it was a great adventure. It was amazing finally hearing and meeting the band that has been my favorite band since 1994. They didn't let me down. Musically they were amazing but also off stage they were all down to earth guys who treated us very nice.
Not only do I consider them the best band in the world I also consider them my friends.
Thanks Tom, Ricky, Monaco, Chip and Donnie for a wonderful experience.
This report was originally written by Michael for EZN Express www.eznexpress.com and was featured in the EZN Express newsletter for May 2001.
Pictures have been added to this report. All taken by Steen and Michael.
| 
 | Written by Michael
Saturday, February 1, 2003 |
This article has been shown 6009 times. Go to the complete list.
RevelationZ Comments
| Comment by Mike Vie (Anonymous) - Friday, October 3, 2003 | Special thanks to Kim Groth, who joined us for a soccer game and Enuff Z'Nuff's first performance in Manchester. Thumbs up for getting almost every Enuff Z'Nuff album since their performance and slowly becoming a fan. Actually the best was yet to come on the UK Tour, so I hope that you get another chance of seeing the EZN boys live.
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