Joe Silva - Islington Academy Friday 23rd November 2012 (Red Poppy Tour)

As I said in the previous post, Joe delivered a brilliant set on Friday although I wish it had been longer so I could have heard some more of my favourite tracks from "Blue".

For those that have seen Joe on this tour who haven't heard the album yet then check out the review on this site and grab yourself a copy of the album from I-Tunes it is well worth it.

I would like to add a personal thank you to Joe for helping secure us the camera pass in order for us to use better cameras than usual to bring you all a visual document of the gig and also for being a great bloke, taking time out to have a chat before the gig - even if our advice on which pub to go to proved to be duff!

Mike Peters - Red Poppy Tour Islington Academy Friday 23rd November 2012

What a fantastic show in London (again!) ...Joe Silva was a great and most welcome addition to the tour and treated us to an all too short half hour set which mainly featured tracks from his new album "Blue" as well as his tribute to those who died in The Station night club fire in 2003 "97 Angels" before closing with his take on a Paul Simon classic. It was great hearing tracks from "Blue" stripped down into an acoustic form and I hope many people took advantage of the amazingly low price that "Blue" was at the merchandise desk! I would have loved to have seen a longer set from Joe but at least he confirmed he will be at the Gathering in January so we have that to look forward to.

Talking about the merchandise desk...it was a great idea to do a 3 for 2 offer which I took advantage of to pick up some long wanted DVD's as well as the excellent Tour T-Shirt. I would definitely have picked up more at a different time of year so hopefully they will repeat this excellent offer on the "Vinyl" tour or even on the web site.

Mike delivered an amazing set, the beauty of these shows is the unpredictable nature of the set list each night making each show genuinely unique. Coming on to the crowds "Blaze Of Glory" chants you knew it was going to be a great night from word go. After being hit by a technical issue with one of the two guitars he had (that would plague him all night - meaning only one could be used) Mike came into the audience to treat us to  "This Train" while it was being sorted - for the record I think the guitar was ok, it was the cable or the box it was going into that was the problem! So after 2 tracks Mike announced that he had played what he wanted to play so it was over to us to decide what else he played. A little different from the last acoustic shows in that he didn't just take shouted out requests but wanted to find out why the person wanted to hear it. It was good to see many Big Country fans turning out to support Mike as he helps to continue the Big Country legacy and it is obvious he is happy to play BC tracks but did change the requested track for one that would work better in an acoustic setting. Joe Silva came back to the stage joining Mike for what would normally be the encore but as the venue is under a strict 10pm curfew tonight no time is wasted in the niceties of going of stage to milk the applause. The night ends with a seasonal run though of the John & Yoko classic "Happy Xmas (War Is Over)" before Mike announces he isn't finished but due to the curfew he will be taking the show to the plaza outside the venue walking with the exiting crowd to start an acoustic sing along outside of "In A Big Country" and "45 RPM". As the venue is part of a shopping precinct the sudden appearance of a Welshman touting a guitar and bringing a couple of hundred close friends with him it alarmed the precinct security somewhat! So Mike lets it stand at an impromptu open air two song encore and we go away happy after witnessing an amazing night!

Mike's Red Poppy Tour confirms new dates in Norway

Here's an early Xmas present for Scandinavian fans (well those in Norway at least!), Mike has added four new dates on the end of the Red Poppy tour - all in Norway. The dates are....

NOVEMBER

28th HUSNES Peppes
29th  ØLEN  Ølen Pub
30th BERGEN Madam Felle

DECEMBER

1st BERGEN Madam Felle

Get ticket info from the venues or through the Alarm concert page http://www.thealarm.com/archives/15594

More dates added to the Red Poppy Tour.

Just in case anyone missed this announcement Mike has added a further five dates to the solo Red Poppy Tour which now also features Joe Silva as special guest on all dates.

The new dates are...

NOVEMBER
1st Central Station WREXHAM
3rd The Electric Circus EDINBURGH
4th King Tuts GLASGOW
22nd Park & Dare Theatre TREORCHY, RHONDDA
24th The Leopard DONCASTER

These join the previously announced dates that you can find in full here http://www.inthepoppyfields.blogspot.co.uk/2012/07/red-poppy-tour-datesofficial.html

as well as the previously added date in CHESTER on the 20th November at Telford's Warehouse.

Grab your tickets now!

Joe Silva confirms support slot for Mike Peters Tour.

Mike & Joe

Joe Silva has announced he will be supporting Mike Peters on the Red Poppy Tour this November, as if you needed another reason to get tickets to see Mike do an acoustic tour!

Full dates can be found elsewhere on this site....we will both be at London, hope to see some of you there!

Chester date added to the Red Poppy Tour

Mike has added a date to the Red Poppy acoustic tour and will be playing at Telford's Warehouse in CHESTER on 20th November 2012.

Red Poppy Tour Dates...Official!

As expected we have official confirmation of the Mike Peters solo "Red Poppy Tour" dates. It is 30 years since The Alarm adopted the red poppy hence the tour title!

Those dates now confirmed are...

July 4th - Maxwells, NEW JERSEY, USA
July 8th - M Fest LEEDS
July 27th - Access All Eirias COLWYN BAY

August 19th - Snowdon WALES (LHS Event)
August 25th - Ben Nevis SCOTLAND (LHS Event)

October 19th - Gassienda KEIGHLEY
October 20th - The Waterside SALE

November 2nd - Korks OTLEY
November 7th - O2 Academy BIRMINGHAM
November 8th - Flowerpot DERBY
November 9th - O2 Academy OXFORD
November 10th - Thunderbolt BRISTOL
November 11th - Cavern EXETER
November 13th - Duchess YORK
November 15th - O2 Academy LIVERPOOL
November 16th - O2 Academy SHEFFIELD
November 17th - Marrs Bar WORCESTER
November 23rd - O2 Academy 2 LONDON
November 25th - The Cluny NEWCASTLE

More dates still to be announced ! We will be at Snowdon and London and hope to bring you some photos and video of those....remember you can still sponsor us for the Snowdon trek in aid of Love Hope Strength on our Just Giving page... http://www.justgiving.com/inthepoppyfields