Finding Out
Lets get this in perspective - the words 'shocked' , 'suprised' or 'elated' in no way convey the emotion behind the inarticulate scream that came from my mouth when I found out about live gigs by AAE. Here's where I place the news in my order of things.

5. Berlin Wall coming down
4. Nelson Mandela released
3. Live Aid
2. Tories kicked out of office
1. AAE reform.

You might think issues of global importance more pressing than a rock band reforming after 7 years - if so you are obviously in need of some kind of help. I mean Berlin Wall?- Fair enough - but its only a wall and this is ALL ABOUT EVE - get a grip.

Fuck Nelson Mandela as well - he never made a decent album anyway....

The Emotion
As I waited at the Astoria for them to troop out - I was pretty emotional deep down (I wasn't alone) and I've been asking myself why.

The music is a good reason - it reaches parts of my soul other bands simply cannot reach - I've never found an AAE substitute - their abscence just left an empty space - the MICE project was fantastic while it lasted but since then- low level mourning only.

To have an eve gig to go to after all this time was quite literally a dream come true - the news on its own put an un-moveable smile on my face for days on end! Nostalgia of course - but always the music first - that's the most important thing.

The vibe - The vibe is always special. Growing up in the eighties and nineties has had a horrible cynical feel to it that sometimes depresses me to the core. But Eve tours mean I can leave that all behind and enjoy the Eve vibe. It is as far removed from the materialistic culture of our times as it was possible to get and I need that. Without regular doses of 'Flowers in our Hair' and 'Every Angel' how can I be expected to cope?!

The Fans - also made it (and make it) special.
Idiots don't like AAE - its too subtle for them.
Hard people don't like AAE - it's too romantic and soft for them.
Cynics don't like AAE - it's too heartfelt and human for them.
The people who DO like AAE tend to be intelligent, imaginative and gentle. What more could one ask.
Julianne - herself has always made AAE extra special for me - she never sold herself to the music 'business' that wanted to dump the other AAE members and turn her into Beverly Craven (!) and despite the dole years and all the knocks, there was never any question of compromise about the music.

That even after all this time Julianne still remembers my face, replies to my letters and tries to make me feel welcome and appreciated at gigs (and does the same for many many others too) just adds to my respect for her - I would do a lot for Julianne - not because she's a pop star, but because she's a decent human being.

(The other members of AAE have also been nothing but very friendly and warm too - I focus on JR because I know a bit more about her and it's usually her I speak to at gigs.)

The belonging is great too. I do belong at eve gigs - I've been to so many. The idea of an eve gig without me lurching around in my leather jacket is unthinkable to me! I also love knowing lots of people - meeting up with old friends is great.

Add to the above my deep feeling that the Eve's were VERY shoddily treated by the whole music industry - and you can see why I was so so happy to know that it was NOT all over after all.

I had these three gigs at least to celebrate the music, the vibe, the fans and the special warmth and relationship that AAE have always had with their supporters. As they did start playing at last after all this time - there were a few misty eyes around I can tell you - back then was the very best of days and maybe it isn't over yet.......

So what about those gigs!!!!

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London Astoria 23rd November 1999
As the lights went down at the Astoria I know the following comment was made by a nervous Julianne to a (typically) cool Andy.

"What the FUCK are we doing here - this is all YOUR fault!"

She needn't have worried. The old capital was alive with the flutter of angels wings.

It takes more than seven years to erode a fan base as fervent as the eve's angels and the proof was here tonight. All the years of scouring NME hopefully. The premature death of MICE. Hope fading away (I had pretty much given up) and yet suddenly, incredibly, truly - here at last. An Incredulous smile and a slight shaking of the head were the uniform expresions of the night with the really nutcase fans (like me) sporting a certain glazed look that is perhaps best not probed into!

From Oxford, Bristol, Blackburn, Scotland, France, Sweden, Germany, Holland and even Hong Kong they had come - all roads and airports led to the Astoria it seemed.

The more colourful eve fans in the crowd were a blessed relief from the cool psudeo-menace of the Mission's leather clad hordes. It is hard not to find them quite intimidating - but laughably, this army from Hades will just go back to work like all the rest of us, so they ain't so scary or cool as they would have you believe.

The doomy corridors of the Astoria do not remind one of those nights at the Royal Albert but my thoughts couldn't help turning there as I considered the idea of the world's greatest band playing support (support!) to Wayne's eskimo army.

So the lights go down at last. Purple lights picked out the spots which had stood empty for seven years. Some smoke, some shouts and all at once they are back - the opening swirl of 'Phased' boiling around my ears. Its a terrific opener. "After laughing at the stars the time arrives to co-incide - with all the chaos and the sparks of when two worlds collide...." - brilliant. 'Phased' just growls along - mettalic, moody - Marty is superb on the Ultraviolet stuff and is straight into his stride. Julianne battles the nerves very well and sounds great. Andy (dear Andy) cool and reliable as ever and still striking some of the most (ahem) individual guitar poses in rock - brings a tear to my eye! The years haven't dimmed them - the eves are BACK.

The reception is very good. Opening with a track from Ultraviolet was a risk but the mood is one of celebration - the mistakes of the Ultraviolet tour - forgotten. Julianne exchanges a smile with Andy - its going to be alright.

Oh Lordy now they do 'Shelter from the rain' - I wave my arms around to distract my eyes which seem to have water in them. 'Lighting strikes again....' indeed it does. Some improvisation on the Bricheno version of this song by Marty towards the end which detracts rather than adds - but who cares - its still a lovely lovely song. Julianne's smile a little wider.

'In the Clouds' is a very appropriate choice as that is where I certainly am. Well done Marty for a brilliant rendition. The memories are obviously flooding back now because the crowd is really warming up - Twirly hand signals a go go. I'm still daft enough about it all to twirl with the best of them - I even saw some spoons!

'Strange Way' is neither a drop dead gorgeous eve song or a get stuck in and dance song. It falls somewhere in between. As such its an odd choice for such a short set but it seems to go down very well. Crowd tempo up another couple of notches.

Now 'Freeze' IS a drop dead gorgeous song. A slab of pure luscious delight of the type that that only Julianne can write. Wistful, dramatic it pushes me over the edge - I am now totally officially GONE. Ripples of delight - this song is heaven. Marty is just superb on this track and with Miss Regan relaxing more, this is the best yet.

'Are you lonely' brings the non-danceable song count, to six in a row and is one slow song too many in my view. Its a beautiful song with a very warm and human lyric - but time was pressing and I wanted a dance! Very well performed for all that and received well. A fave for many I supsect.

'What kind of fool' is slow again and not the injection of pace the set needed. BUT i do have a very soft spot for it and as a vehicle for those oh so crystal clear tones of Julianne it is un-matched. Not sure what the MIsh fans made of it - but who cares about them.

Just when I was getting worried the Eve's leave me breathless with an amazing finish. First the greatest pop single ever made - 'Every Angel' prompts a serious mosh out and then a stunning rendition of another Ultraviolet gem - 'Outshine the Sun'. Julianne slung a guitar around her shoulder and got stuck in with the lads to a simple massive guitar rock out. 'Fuck the mission' said one bloke (in a mission T-shirt!). Quite. The fans went wild to both songs and to be fair, the mish mob made a lot of noise for the eves in the end as well.

And then it was all over.

'I still love you' said Julianne to us old eve lags - I hardly need to say our reply do I?

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Nottingham - Rock City - 24th November 1999
The things to note about this gig as opposed to London are:

The Eves and Julianne in particular look very happy indeed.
The reception is very good here too.
As if they read my mind 'What kind of fool' is left on the subs bench to make way for an old reliable goal-scorer - the joyous the care-free - 'Flowers in our Hair' . Not since dancing to 'Dear Sir' on the MICE tour have I had so much fun. It goes down a positive STORM and was an inspired switch.
Another good idea - 'Every Angel' gets us all dancing much earlier in the set as it is rolled out at number two.
Julianne thanks all the travelling eve fans (virtually all of them).
Another stunning performance of 'Outshine the Sun'
I wrap myself up in an old Eve flag and let the mish fans stare at me - ha!

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Manchester University - 25th November 1999
Now we only got a bare 35 minutes here which is annoying but the reception was fantastic - Julianne took a picture of the crowd before starting to sing. Again all the eves look really happy on stage which is so great to see.

We lose 'Are You Lonely' and 'Outshine the Sun' to the time curfew but what we did get was very well received. There was a bigger percentage of Eve fans in Manchester than at the other gigs and the atmosphere was very receptive. 'Every Angel' 'Flowers in our Hair' and 'In the Clouds' raised the roof with every other song going down very well.

I did manage a few words with Julianne and there are whispers of gigs in December or February. Just whispers mind.

Overall these three dates have been amazing. For AAE to be sooo good so quickly amazes me but I never doubted that for a second. The amazing appearance of so many angels was great and suggests to me a slumbering fan-base which is much larger.

An amazing unexpected celebration of the AAE experience has just taken place. I'll never forget it. The M6 has never had a happier traveller.

Till next time?

John Lynch

November 26 1999