Western Coach House, 23 December

Started gently and built up to a full on Christmas frenzy of drunken, hard rockin' debauchery (and yes that was just the band). The packed crowd most definitely did not want to go home at the end and resorted to such bizarre tactics as chanting "we love BLACKFIRE" in an attempt to wheedle another encore. In fact they're already looking forward to spending Christmas 2001 with us!

 Trout, 16 December

Some members of the crowd had obviously begun their drinking very early, leading to some bizarre (and rowdy) singing before the band even started! The rest of the evening proceeded in normal lively fashion and finished with a sell out of the advance copies of the new F. MAD album.

 Sugar Loaf, 14 December

The Marquess always seems to try and put that bit extra into the performance here, which may be why he was losing his voice towards the end of the night. BLACKFIRE managed to impress sufficiently for the band to be offered a headline slot at next year's St Werburgh's festival.

 Robin Hood, 10 December

Not quite as busy as some previous gigs, but an appreciative crowd none the less. Strangest occurrence of the evening was probably when Perfect got involved in some negotiations with the crowd and nearly bought a guitar from a member of the audience.

 Old Tavern, 2 December

Once again BLACKFIRE strutted their funky stuff here and the crowd at the Old Tavern did the band proud. This was full on, hot, sweaty, hard-rockin' live music and they do love it! No major incidents, although there was apparently a bit of bother before the band went on. So for once BLACKFIRE didn't get the blame...

 George & Dragon, 11 November

The George & Dragon has already gained a certain level of infamy as being a pretty wild gig. However, this was the first time they had to call an ambulance for a member of the crowd - and only half way through the evening! We found out that the guy is called Mike and his blood is very red. If anyone doesn't believe this they can check out Perfect's floor pedal and set list which caught a bit of spray. Get well soon mate, we'll see you next time. Remember : think, before you drink, before you dance like a maniac at a BLACKFIRE gig :-)

 King William IV, 4 November

Darkest Warmley - a new venue for the BLACKFIRE experience. When the band had driven through the smoke of a hundred bonfires and actually found the place, the evening started off with some dire warnings about volume. However, things got louder and livelier as the night went on with no apparent problems and there was just the one fight in the crowd. All in all the evening actually went off rather well.

 Horseshoe, 1 November

The Plant Man struggled to keep his mind on the gig as his beloved Liverpool were playing, but somehow we got him to make it through the gig. Perfect disappeared at the beginning of a song to sort out some transport problem (!) but managed to make it back to the stage just in time for the guitar break. Was this stage managed? Enquiring minds would like to know...

 Stones Cross, 28 October

This was BLACKFIRE's Halloween gig for the year, so in addition to the usual fun and games a couple of dubious (but appropriate) covers were trotted out at the end of the night. This was met with an enthusiastic response from the crowd, most of whom seemed unable to resist the urge to buy BLACKFIRE T shirts. High drama of the evening was when Thumper the (Scottish) drummer accidentally dropped a ten pound note - panic then ensued!

 Bear & Rugged Staff, 20 October

Some structural alterations have improved this venue since the last performance and the crowd (which seemed to cover all imaginable sections of the community) were decidedly up for it, keeping the band doing encore after encore until the small hours.

 Sugar Loaf, 19 October

This was a bit of a short notice booking so there were concerns that nobody would turn up. In fact the place got packed and the night was really buzzing, as was the Plant Man's amp when he had to change bass guitars. Rock 'n Roll :-)

 Robin Hood, 15 October

This must of gone well because several people in the crowd wanted to book BLACKFIRE for various venues, including an agricultural college. Presumably the band would be playing to the students and not the animals...?

 Western Coach House, 7 October

No worries with this one - fuelled by drink and the aura of raw sex given off by the band, the crowd were well up for it. In fact so much so that at the request of the owner no encores were played. This was just after a large thrashing heap of bodies had developed in front of the band. Whilst Perfect, Thumper and Plant Man kept the beat pounding the Marquess got stuck in, emerging only slightly bloodied. And all the nutters said they will be at the next gig at the George & Dragon...

 Old Tavern, 16 September

Monster gig. Bit hot due to the efforts of A& S Lighting and the droves of people that packed the place. Essentially a bloody good night where the whole place seemed totally into the band and were still begging for more after the third encore. Excellent.

 Queen's Tap, 14 September

Shock! Horror! No Diesel in the van!!! Unfortunately had to cancel this one as the lack of any fuel in the entire country meant the band were unable to get to Swindon. Mind you, they were cancelling serious operations and closing schools and the like.

 White Horse, 9 August

A wacky night in sunny St Pauls. The pub was very "smokey" but that didn't put the band off at all :-) Quite a varied crowd including BLACKFIRE regulars, some new faces and even a debut from Plant Man's mother in law - her impressions of the band have not as yet been reported...

 Horseshoe, 27 August

A truly packed gig. Everyone seemed to have turned up for the band and it was so busy that some people actually stood outside to watch the band through the window. The brand new BLACKFIRE T shirts proved very popular and the crowd seemed to have an endless appetite for "more" at the end of the night.

 Sugar Loaf, 24 August

Another jolly night in sunny Easton. A bit of dancing on tables helped things to go with a swing and the band were highly complimented on their musicianship!

 Trout, 18 August

The band were truly fired up for this one and carried the audience along with them. Songs were belted out at a frenetic pace and normally sensible people were moved to dance and shout for more.

 Stones Cross, 29 July

Once again the crowd were most definitely "up for it" in Midsomer Norton - even the MENSA members who decided to expand their minds by attending... The new BLACKFIRE tracks got just as warm a reception as the old favourites and the band stood firm refusing to play any more than three encores, no matter how loud they shouted for more!

 Robin Hood, 23 July

A quality night in the heart of Gloucester. Much anticipation from members of the audience about the forthcoming new album and an extra element of excitement was added by the Marquess breaking the p.a. just before the band were about to start! Some rapid repairs later BLACKFIRE took to the stage and debuted yet another brand new track "The L Word".

 George & Dragon, 15 July

By anyone's standards this was a pretty wild gig! Stage diving and frenzied moshing were much in evidence and the Marquess was carried around on top of the crowd several times. The audience singing along enthusiastically to some BLACKFIRE originals (this is a place where nearly everyone has bought the first album) combined with a top performance by Perfect, Plant Man and Thumper ensured this was a great night. Some people must have woken up pretty sore the next day though as more than a few cuts and bruises were sustained in the melee.

 Crab Apple, 6 July

Big pub in the middle of a large housing estate, with a crowd that was initially on the cold side. A couple of frenzied, sweaty hours later BLACKFIRE had won them over and they were demanding encores. Perfect also managed one of the slickest guitar changes ever during a song - even the rest of the band didn't notice!

 Western Coach House, 1 July

The Marquess was obviously determined to get himself mentioned for this gig. Not only did he manage to break one of his custom made microphone stands early in the performance, but he also managed to cut his hand towards the end of the night and spray blood everywhere until first aid could be administered. Everybody else cracked on quite happily and BLACKFIRE even played Jack Hacksaw live for the first time. This is one of the stranger songs off the new album, which is coming soon, honest!

 Old Tavern, 24 June

Excellent night with a great audience, as we've come to expect here! Perfect had a bit of a nightmare with amp failure half way through the gig, but a quick re-route through the p.a. got the band through.

 Dean's Walk, 21 June

A new Gloucester venue for BLACKFIRE to play - and on the summer solstice too. The welcome was warm and a new crowd had their eyes opened to the joys of BLACKFIRE, buying CD's after the show and proclaiming they would all come and see the band again soon.

 Clipper, 16 June

We thought the place might be empty - Euro 2000 on TV and the first decent Barbecue evening of the year so far (if you live in England you will understand!) But still they came... A month long break while Perfect got some sun, Plant Man bought a house, Thumper cleaned his drums and the Marquess presumably slept in his coffin didn't take the edge off the band at all, and a fine set was bashed out.

 Exchange, 12 May

A fairly long trek down to Exeter, made worse by multiple road works on the M5 and Exeter's extensive one way system. Fortunately everyone managed to get there and we were able to treat them to the BLACKFIRE experience! On the whole a slightly more "mature" crowd than we normally play to, but they seemed to appreciate it. One local was moved to say it was the best musicians that had played there in years.

 Horseshoe, 7 May

Apart from Perfect breaking his bottom E string in the middle of a guitar solo this gig went nice and smooth, if a bit on the hot and sweaty side. Good loud crowd and a pretty wild Sunday evening all round.

 Royal Forest Inn, 5 May

A real trip down windy country lanes out into the wilds for this one. It was a bit average for the first part of the night then the place suddenly filled up and it all got rather mad. The Marquess nearly lost his voice, then he got so excited at the end that he lost one of his novelty microphone stands (actually he left it in the car park). Anyone seeing a used novelty mic stand for sale should report it to the police immediately...

 Stones Cross, 29 April

Another storming night in Midsomer Norton. Things got so mad at one point that Perfect was playing in the middle of a load of broken glass and Thumper managed to break a drum stick and put through the skin of his kick drum - and this was all in the same song! The band even got paid a bonus after the gig, presumably to cover the cost of all the breakages :-)

 Basket Maker, 27 April

Our first (and possibly last) gig in Quedegley. This was a private booking for a birthday in a rather large pub with restaurant attached. Although BLACKFIRE were much appreciated by the people there for the party, it was all a bit much for the drunken lager louts at the bar...

 Robin Hood, 23 April

What a night! A combination of a lot of people who caught the band last time bringing their mates to see what BLACKFIRE are really like and a bank holiday the next day (no work) made for a very lively Sunday evening. The large crowd were very into it with much dancing, singing and general audience participation. One group of students were particularly taken with the chorus of Barbie Doll From Hell and were still singing it as they staggered down the road after the gig.

 Harry's Bar, 7 April

The band's first venture to Lydney found a very busy late night establishment. When the crowd weren't getting into BLACKFIRE they were listening to non stop dance music, which made for an interesting blend. Good, lively finish with the Marquess venturing over the bar and various customers and staff getting in on the act! The only problem was the lack of real ale, which forced Perfect to sneak out to the pub up the road...

 Bristol Bierkeller, 5 April

This was the big Bristol United For Mozambique charity do. A full variety of acts covering everything from budding teenage pop stars promoting their latest chart release to DJ's, to uhh, BLACKFIRE!!! After a full on, hyped up introduction the band took to the stage and blasted through the set without pausing for breath.

 Bristol's 107.3 The Eagle, 3 April

Not exactly a gig, but they did interview Perfect and Plant Man on the radio for over half an hour and played no less than 5 BLACKFIRE tracks from the forthcoming album.

 Western Coach House, 25 March

The lights were bright and the audience was large and noisy. The Marquess wore a fetching leopard skin print that he bought in the ladies section of C & A and Perfect thrashed a Telecaster until the bloody thing broke a string. The crowd got a bit on the lively side towards the end but we don't think any serious injuries were sustained...

 Clipper, 11 March

This was the busiest night the Clipper had enjoyed since reopening three months ago, so the band certainly pulled plenty of people in. The acoustics were good and in response to a request from the crowd BLACKFIRE pulled out a song that they hadn't played for over a year - and got away with it too.

 Bear & Rugged Staff, 10 March

Bit of a surprise when BLACKFIRE arrived and found that the management had changed a couple of weeks before the gig. Everything worked out fine, although it took some hard work from the band to get the crowd warmed up. But as usual, BLACKFIRE got them there in the end!

 Old Tavern, 4 March

A great night out in Stapleton with some enthusiastic audience participation, especially from the bloke who did a summersault over a table followed by some break dancing - the band were all very impressed! He seemed surprisingly sane when he bought a CD after the show, so it must have been the music that drove him to it. The crowd were still calling for more after three encores, when the band eventually dragged their sweaty rock 'n roll bodies off the stage.

 Horseshoe, 27 February

A wet and miserable Sunday night, but a good showing from the BLACKFIRE faithful who gave much vocal support. In fact nothing got broken and everyone had a good time. There were also requests for Save The Bristol Brewery, which BLACKFIRE had just released when they played here last August. Sadly, the brewery wasn't saved :-(

 Sugar Loaf, 24 February

First gig in this venue and indeed BLACKFIRE's first venture to Easton for quite a while. The band squeezed into the alcove that is normally filled by a blues band and proceeded to do their stuff. One cidered up character almost caused a disaster, but was suitably restrained and seemed happy at the end of the night. Beer was also won from another member of the crowd who didn't believe that BLACKFIRE could do a jazz number!

 Trout, 19 February

It seems the Marquess hasn't lost his touch - just like in the old days a drunken, flabby, male admirer stripped off for him and helped with his singing! Shakin' all over indeed... Yet another new song got a road test and Perfect played his new SG whilst him and Thumper tried to work out what was causing the strange crashes they could hear all night. At the end of the gig the band discovered the pile of broken trophies that had been vibrated from their shelf - oops! Plant man appeared to emerge unscathed from the whole affair.

 George & Dragon, 5 February

First half seemed like any other fairly lively gig, but by the second half the audience were outdoing BLACKFIRE for craziness! Special thanks to those kind people who helped stop the p.a. from being knocked over as the crowd surged forward. Also "get well soon" to the bloke who surfaced from under a pile of bodies bleeding from his face. In order to save life and property we just did the one encore then let the staff sweep up all the spilt beer and broken glass. Looking forward to our next one already :-)

 Stones Cross, 29 January

Almost like coming home this one - having to beat dancers off when we were doing the sound check and the many calls for more at the end. Laid a couple of new songs on them from the forthcoming album which seemed to go down a treat and generally had a blast of a gig. Certainly a venue which knows how to show its appreciation.

 Robin Hood, 23 January

Weakened and wearied by excessive bodily abuse over the festive season and a fair number of unpleasant illnesses, BLACKFIRE got their act together once more and went back on the road - in this case, the road to Gloucester. Amazingly everyone remembered how to play and it all went off smoothly. A few of the band had bought themselves presents, including a new Fender Precision bass for the Plant Man and a new mic stand (made from an old candlestick!) for the Marquess.