Shakespeare, 14 December

Last gig of the year for BLACKFIRE and quite possibly the last ever gig for the Plant Man, as he seeks to retire to private life. The Shakespeare could best be described s an "intimate" venue, so when things get rocking it's very in your face indeed! The usual chaos ensued and amazingly everyone got out alive. 

 Bunch of Grapes, 29 November

BLACKFIRE arrived to find the place full of Rocky Horror fans sporting a wide variety of skimpy undergarments! Once the gig actually kicked off enthusiastic support was shown from the crowd, culminating in full on moshing that nearly totaled the p.a. We seem to be back to days when something gets broken at every gig. Still, it's fun though! Dave the roadie wasn't much use on this occasion as he managed to drink himself to oblivion and had to be carried from the venue at the end of the night.

 George & Dragon, 23 November

One of those evenings that starts off with polite applause and ends up with the Marquess rolling around on the floor with excited members of the crowd. Aside from some spilt drinks and bent cymbal stands, there were amazingly few breakages for a gig at the George & Dragon.

 Stones Crossing, 16 November

As ever a warm welcome and a fun evening for the band at the Stones Cross.  

 King William IV, 9 November

The gig started off a bit on the tame side by normal  BLACKFIRE standards, but things improved as the night went on and finished in the usual frenzied fashion. Thumper spent much of the time glancing nervously upwards, but unlike previous performances at this venue here nothing fell onto his head! 

 Old tavern, 2 November

One of those action packed evenings when guitar straps and bass strings break, but it's all part of the fun. Rousing approval from the crowd for the traditional over the top BLACKFIRE antics, including those dubious songs that the band like to play around this time of year. Halloween has much to answer for...

 Trout, 26 October

Jolly busy in the Trout and so not much room at this gig. Perfect still managed to circumnavigate the whole venue whilst playing a solo and surprised everyone (including the rest of the band) by leaving though the front door and remerging through the back one. Thumper also surprised everyone with some unusual beats, apparently caused by some sort of dubious "coffee and Baileys" session during the afternoon. Very rock n' roll I'm sure.

 Horseshoe, 20 October

Weather report : It always seems to rain when BLACKFIRE play here!  The gig itself looked as though it might be a bit of a quiet affair to start with. But soon after the noise began the people were drawn in and the real fun kicked off. After things had reached their normal, sweaty conclusion, the end of gig was marked by an invasion of girls who may just have been watching too much music oriented "Reality TV". Still, they seemed happy enough! 

 Bunch of Grapes, 20 September

Very short notice for this gig as the original band had to drop out at the last minute. BLACKFIRE did the decent thing and still let their support band play - great for all concerned as the mighty Strike-Eye took to the stage. This also gave Perfect the chance to down 4 pints of beer before BLACKFIRE went on and cranked things up. Thumper could just be seen sitting low behind the drums (the joys of sharing drum kits!). Plant Man thrashed his bass as his wife gazed on adoringly and the Marquess and Perfect tore the place up with their customary antics. It was commented that Perfect seemed particularly on form - possibly a result of all that beer... 

 Sugar Loaf, 5 September

The only problem with this place is that it's the local for the Marquess, so he tends to get drunk, over perform and forget all the words. That aside things went well and it was apparently the biggest crowd they have had for some time. 

 Reckless Engineer, 31 August

A top night at the Reckless. Much rushing around and frenzied gigmanship (including Perfect deciding that playing guitar wasn't enough for him so he went out to play with the traffic at the same time as soloing). At the end the crowd look as though they had been through almost as much as the band!  Thanks to Cath for the photography. 

 Robin Hood, 25 August

An absence of 6 months, a bank holiday weekend and a closed motorway junction didn't stop there being a good turn out at this gig. It was a little bit slow to get started, but once the crowd warmed up the usual fun, mayhem and frenzied dancing kicked in. The Marquess turned on the charm for some of the ladies but for some reason they seemed to get frightened and leave at that point... 

 Stones Cross, 17 August

Perfect was loaded with pain killers and forced into being much more static than normal due to a damaged back muscle (ouch!) but this didn't stop BLACKFIRE from delivering a solid set to a very appreciative crowd. Good to see them all cheering, dancing and most importantly buying lots of quality BLACKFIRE merchandise at the end of the night :-) 

 Old Tavern, 3 August

You'll see that some BLACKFIRE gigs are described as "hot" - this one was off the scale! Full lighting rig + crowd + Perfect & the Marquess running around the place lead to buckets of sweat and rousing approval from the capacity crowd. Thumper suffered in silence behind his drums with a cold and Plant Man even took his vest off. What more could you ask for? 

 George & Dragon, 27 July

This was a bit of a turn up for the books - the first gig we've ever got through at this venue without any bloodshed or major damage. Not an ambulance or police car in site! Perhaps it was the pleasant summer evening that mellowed them. Or maybe the threat of a lifetime ban did the trick...

 Bunch of Grapes, 19 July

A solid (and warm) evening's fun with plenty of the usual BLACKFIRE supporters and hardly any breakages. Although one punter did complain that BLACKFIRE don't sound  as "heavy" as they used to. Must have a pretty extreme definition of "heavy" then!  

 Shakespeare, 13 July

A new venue for the band and it was a bit of a squash getting them all into the space available. This got even more cozy when the crowd piled in! Things got very lively with Perfect and the Marquess racing around the place scaring the customers and many new converts being won over to the BLACKFIRE cause. Apparently the diners in the restaurant over the road were treated to a free show as they could also hear the subtle and understated tones of BLACKFIRE - surely the ultimate aid to digestion.

 Horseshoe, 7 July

There was a real danger that this gig was going to be canceled due to Plant Man catching meningitis (!) Fortunately it turned that he actually had something that just sounded a bit like meningitis, so we managed to do the gig after all. Just as well really because the place was packed and it worked up into quite a frenzied performance. 

 Trout, 29 June

BLACKFIRE returned to the hard work of gigging after their summer slumber and all was well. The Marquess forgot a few songs (no change there then) but it all went down a storm with the crowd, including the man who told us he has been sending BLACKFIRE CD's and T shirts to our fans in Siberia!!! 

 Sugar Loaf, 16 May

This was BLACKFIRE's last gig for a while as they are all jetting off for some summer debauchery. The night went well and there was a particularly pleasing rush at the end to buy the band's fine merchandise, including the new, remastered version of the 1997 "Perfect Darkness" album. More news at the end of June! 

 Stones Cross, 11 May

The Stones cross rarely disappoints as a fun packed evening. This time people were already falling over before BLACKFIRE had even started playing (more to do with alcohol than a premature moshing frenzy). In fact it was such a good gig that for an encore the band made one of those "let's treat them to a new song that we haven't really learnt yet" decisions. Fortunately it went down well and the band have decided to learn the whole thing for next time! 

 King William IV, 5 May

At least they had the sense to remove all breakable objects before BLACKFIRE take to the stage this time! The usual faces were there in force sporting BLACKFIRE T shirts and the locals got swept up in the general frenzy. The band didn't quite manage to blow the windows out, but it wasn't for lack of trying. Good job the next day was a public holiday to allow them all to recover...

 Reckless Engineer, 27 April

For those interested in the weather report this was a hideous night with much wind and torrential rain. Fortunately people still ventured out and BLACKFIRE had a top night at the Reckless. For reasons that wasn't adequately explained a group of guys kept rolling their trousers up whilst dancing, but why not if that's how they get their kicks... For a change Perfect wasn't driving and was seen to consume much real ale :-) 

 Fire Engine, 13 April

Slightly odd shape to this place meant BLACKFIRE were a bit squashed into a corner, although everything seemed to fit in the end.  Perfect was somewhat subdued as he'd crawled off his death bed to play the gig, but he managed to get through it without collapsing.  Unlike the Marquess, who ended up under a pile of sweaty men  - normal Saturday night for him then!  Once again some familiar looking types in BLACKFIRE T-shirts got rather excited and jumped around a lot in front of the band, but that's all part of the service. They've even started making their shirts now - one young lady is obviously keen on Jack Hacksaw... 

 Black Horse, 6 April

A new venue for the  BLACKFIRE crew. The faithful turned out in force which helped to get the locals into the swing of things.  In fact the guy who appeared to be in charge of the bar ended up being one of the people in the middle of the frenzied mosh that really kicked off in the second half of the evening.  The Volvo driving Marquess of Darkness was left doing a goldfish impression as the p.a. cut out due to assorted people crashing into it, but they were having such a good time they barely seemed to notice and everything thrashed along until power was restored.  And it was again proven that it never does any harm to have women exposing their assets to the band!  By the way, did you know that the Marquess has now got a Volvo? Very sensible.

 Horseshoe, 31 March

Nice and packed venue and  BLACKFIRE managed to get through the whole evening with no major equipment failures or even any broken strings!  In fact apart from Plant Man's cold and some strange bloke crawling in between the band looking for his glasses (lively dancing) it all went rather well.

 George & Dragon, 23 March

This gig started off reasonably steady then (as is par for the course here) got completely mental. They jumped off of tables, the bar, each other - in fact anything they could climb on. I'm sure Winterbourne is an interesting place the day after a BLACKFIRE gig with all these stiff and wounded people staggering around! And the less we say about Richard & Nicky the better...  :-)

 Old Tavern, 16 March

Triumph in the face of technical adversity!  Strings broke, sticks snapped, lights melted and the Marquess forgot the words, but still BLACKFIRE battled on to roars of approval from the crowd.  In fact they lapped it up and seemed to think it was all part of the band's usual mayhemic show. 

 Bunch of Grapes, 15 March

A rather rapid and largely unadvertised return to the Bunch still proved to be a good night. Extra entertainment was provided by playing loud enough to cause seismic damage (new amp Perfect?) and some extraordinarily wild dancing by a group of drunken insurance workers - you know who you are... 

 Trout, 23 February

The capacity crowd livened up nice and early for this one and obviously decided to make the most of their evening. Just for a change Plant Man decided to snap a bass string (is there a world record for this? He really should apply) but in the general excitement BLACKFIRE ploughed on regardless. 

 Robin Hood, 17 February

After the hassles of Friday which didn't see BLACKFIRE at their best, it was great for the band to be able to go for it without reservation. And it must be said the crowd was actually bigger than normal for the venue and they certainly appreciated the show. A good night - easily the best gig of the weekend! Oh, and Thumper was "outed" as a trans sexual by some deranged member of the audience

 Farrington Inn, 15 February

Bit of an odd one this. Unfortunately the place had a noise limiter fitted, and  BLACKFIRE certainly haven't got a reputation for being a quiet band! Eventually a compromise on volume levels and limiter settings enabled the gig to be played without the power cutting out every five minutes, but the performance was distinctly restrained compared to normal. The audience was largely new to the band and bizarrely they all seemed to enjoy it - obviously don't know what they're missing. 

 Bunch of Grapes, 8 February

Oh joy, another night of wind and pouring rain! Things got very hot and frenzied at the gig however, with BLACKFIRE giving it their all and the crowd responding. Unfortunately some leads and stuff were casualties in the final mayhem when everybody seemed to go mental, but that's what it's all about! 

 Stones Cross, 2 February

Hideous wet weather outside but a lively evening inside the Stones Cross, featuring a number of quick guitar changes. Not only did Perfect break a string but Plant Man managed to break 2 bass strings in one night.  And the Marquess contributed to the evening by spilling everyone's drinks.  

 Golden Lion, 26 January

A return to the Golden Lion after a gap of several years for BLACKFIRE but they managed to pack the place quite nicely. The dancing got a bit obstreperous once or twice and it looked as though some people were going to be waking up feeling sore the next day, but fortunately not anyone in the band!  Perfect obviously decided to give it something extra as he broke strings on 2 guitars and Thumper looked as though he was dieing from the flu, but apart from that it was just like old times. Only better. 

 Seymours Club, 11 January

BLACKFIRE decided to once again prove that they are not all bad and help raise money for C.L.I.C. (children's cancer charity for those not in the know). The gig was organised by the Bristol & Avon Roadrunners MCC and a good night was had by all. BLACKFIRE were also pleased to receive a rather fetching plaque thanking the band for their contribution to this worthy cause over the last two years. Makes them sound a bit soft really - have to go out and do some wild debauchery to keep their image intact :-)

 King William IV, 5 January

The beginning of January is always a quite time as most people have spent their cash and abused their bodies to the full over the festive season. But did this stop them coming out for a BLACKFIRE gig? Of course not! They brushed off their BLACKFIRE T shirts and came along to cheer, dance and fall over the same as ever. And the Marquess even remembered some of the words to the songs...