Babyshambles - Carling Apollo

As the winter nights draw in, and the cold winds blows, the place to be was the Carling Apollo - Hammersmith. A mere 20 minutes on the tube and your slap bang in the heart of "West" London. A mere two stops further north and 10 minutes walk from THE greatest football ground in the United Kingdom! As the Moon looks down upon Olde London town, a huge following gathers outside the Carling Apollo, inside the Piped Piper of Olde London is about to perform. Pete Doherty, Mick, Drew and Adam are gearing up for this particular London date, in amongst the best part of, ooooooohhhhh I'd say 3 to 4 thousand people, crammed into the very spacious, yet seemingly diminished Apollo. 

On arrival, the main foyer was a buzz with teenage troopers ready for battle. Getting to the bar was to prove the biggest challenge. It took a while to get there but eventually I did and order with gusto, two pints of Carling. On inspection of the surrounding area, after leaving the bar, I ambled over to the merchandised stand, where upon I purchased a black t-shirt. Upon this garment was a ship named Albion, sailing forth towards to the promise land of Arcadia! £18 it cost me. Fucking expensive! But what the hell! Ambling into the arena, the lights were on and the crowd was electric, not so electric that you couldn't gauge any sort of viable audio sounds via your airwaves, but enough to suggest that tonight was going to be something special! 

At just after Nine O'clock Babyshambles, meandered onto the stage, and kicked off with a number of new tracks from, I presume the forth coming album (Early to late October 07' is the unofficial release date), being sent into the crowd with Pete bouncing and swaying to the musical score. The tight knit group, which have grown and grown ever time I've seen them, came together tonight to produce a great display with songs old and new. The new material sounded rich and diverse, original and bold. The old stuff (Down In Albion) was explosive to the point of total destruction! A number of tracks from the debut album were aired, starting with Pipedown. A tubthuming number which had the ends of your hairds standing on end! Either that or you were jumping for joy! In a kinda of indie mosh way! Killamangiro, the almighty Fuck Forver and the anthemic Albion were all played. Each one could have sent a rocket to the moon, the amount of power it generated. Along with Libs classics What Katie Did and Time For Heroes, Babyshambles are on a level I dont think many people have seen. A level which insistently prevails to ascend and head skywards! Every increase, every growing, never slowing, Babyshambles are a mighty force to reckon with and Pete Doherty is really living every moment, being the person every Babyshambles fan knows he can be. The musician in him is far to strong to let anything get in the way. The group, once criticized for being sloppy and disjointed are now focused, astute and close knit and determined. Everything and more a Babyshambles fans wants to see now and in the future!