On Saturday July 10th, Middleman gigged at the Willow Festival in Peterborough and, it could be said, it was the finest concert Middleman have ever performed.  This was the first time the band have played a set comprised entirely of their own material, with the set list including Shut Your Eyes, Haunted, Judge, Now or never, Oh Well, Time Will Heal, Got there In the End, Hurt Me, Pray and Fallen.  In a recent e-mail, John Peake stated that “We (Middleman) have been getting this set tight so I think this will be the ultimate Middleman gig!”

I was not disappointed.  The gig was quite incredible.  John had boasted a massive PA and a big light show, both of which were present and impressive (photos will be appearing on these pages soon).  After one of the most amusing sound-tests I’ve ever witnessed (amid constant jokes about Anthony’s blondness), the band launched directly into the gig and I was enthralled right to the end.  The songs sounded better than ever, most even improving on the recorded versions.  Paul kept the performance interesting with some refreshing ad-libs, such as suddenly introducing the band in the middle of Pray.  Paul also embarked upon an extra-long extended ending to Fallen, the length of which even seemed to bemuse Anthony, whose expression showed a mixture of surprise, concentration, panic and amusement.

My spirits did fall momentarily with Paul’s closing statement.  Before the band played Fallen, Paul said “Well, that’s another final gig over with.  This time really will be the last, however, so here is our last ever song together.”  My flailing spirits were lifted moments later, however, when a hearty cry of “Bollocks” floated up from the audience.  And whoever said that legendary word may well be correct.  I only had to watch Paul, John and Anthony work their way through their final song to realise that Middleman have their music in their blood.  Their music is superlative, they don’t take themselves too seriously and they truly enjoy what they do.  You only had to look at Paul during the closing moments of Fallen to realise that.  When I saw Middleman play their “last ever” song I knew, without doubt, that it wasn’t over just yet.