The oddity of how I ended up at this show still gives me chills to this day. For those of you unaware, the London Astoria was a great venue located in downtown London, England. My parents, my brother, and I took a flight from Chicago to London the day before and the purpose of the trip was definitely not to see this show, but sort out some family business. We arrived at Heathrow Airport around 5:00 AM and after being in a plane for 7 hours, you would imagine laying low was the plan. Not so. It was off to the races: Sainsbury (grocery store), Southall (East Indian village with great kebobs & curry food), family visit in Harrow (suburban London), shopping along Oxford Circus & Picadilly Circus (downtown London), HMV, etc… all in one day!
One key item I picked up while shopping was the latest issue of Kerrang! and towards the end of this magazine were advertisements for all metal/punk/grind shows. Guess who was playing that night? You bet your sweet ass - it was Cradle of Filth! Skip a few hours to the evening and we are all exhausted but just a slight bit of energy exists for me and Abbas. Both of us are trying to persuade Dad to let us go to the show and his response is negative. Bluntly put, "It's too far to drive, you are tired, and get some damn sleep!" We were both pissed. Finally, the plea bargain begins: Abbas comes up with the brilliant retort that if we do not go to this show, then both of us will act in accordance with the most annoying children on earth for the rest of the trip. Dad quickly obliges and drops us off to the nearest Underground Tube Station where we rush to arrive at the Tottenham Court Road stop right outside the venue.
Upon seconds of entering, the lights are near dim and the first thought to mind was 'we missed show.' Quite the opposite, we missed the openers and arrived just in time for Cradle. Other than hearing songs on various metal compilations, I was new to Cradle of Filth's music & image. Seeing them live was beyond anything I had seen before. Everyone was into it. Sound was clear as a bell. And best part of all, the clever words of the night from Dani Filth was, "THE BRITISH GOVERNMENT IS A CUNT!" I believe the final song was 'The Forest Whispers My Name." Guitarist Stewart superbly ended the show by smashing his guitar against the stage like an axe. Fucking awesome!
Talk about luck, sheer madness, and the perfect ending to a long (and I mean LONG) day.
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