On the way to the Ambassador yesterday I passed a very long queue. Unfortunately it for Lord of the Rings and not the Undertones. Last nights concert went down very well. Paul was excellent. Definitely the most energetic I have seen him. He had quite a few invited guests and he certaily put in a performance for them. All the set lists got nicked before I got on stage, but the songs were the usual but in a slightly different order

The ambassador is a converted cinema. It is a round venue. Similar in size to the Olympia but with seats (unoccupied) up stairs. While Little Hook were on stage, me and Peter estimated that there was about 300 in. I would say this had increased to at least 500 by the time of the main event. I thought the band would come on with Michael announcing they were SLF. In fact he announced themselves as the Wolf Tones. The band started with Family Entertainment which went down well. By the time Jimmy Jimmy was played there was quite a large group jumping around at the front, including some very attractive young females.

I heard Little Hooks on the radio here one morning. Really fine harmonies and songs.

It was weird going to a concert without a large contingent from the website. I did my usual routine of dancing to one side as opposed to dancing in the middle of the mosh pit. From what I gather afterwards the band really enjoyed themselves. The odd mistake raised a laugh. When John snapped a string in My Perfect Cousin and had to change guitar none of the other band members even realised they were enjoying themselves that much. During the encore whilst playing Billy's Third someone got on stage and was duly dispatched outside by the bouncers. He managed to get back for the post gig review by using his mobile and calling one or two people. I think he was called David. He had took his niece along that night who didn't know any Undertones songs so had whetted her appetite by playing a few tracks before departing. She seemed to enjoy it.

A few people I spoke to after the concert have read the comments on these pages but have not contributed. One of them was a very attractive young female called Jessie, who has broken my heart. I asked her if she wanted to come home with me as I'm convinced she was on my Xmas list and she knocked me back (Everybody say Aarghh!). It'll be lonely this christmas without you to hold. It'll be lonely this christmas, lonely and cold. Hope you read this Jessie. There was also a very big Clash fan though who I think Arthur might know. She's originally from USA and has a bad back. Do you recognise her Arthur? There was also someone who is to do a review for the Times Online. I think he is called Nick. Another person who I didn't know last night is another fan called George. Couldn't work out if he was from Derry or Dublin though.

The first ended with Get Over You just before 10:30. Unfortunately the concert finally ended at dot on 10:45 after five songs in the encore. The crowd though were definitely up for a lot more. There must have been about a third of the crowd moving down the front for the more popular songs such as Teenage Kicks, Male Model and Mars Bars. Whilst the band were on stage I was under the impression the Sunderland had lost to WBA. The last update I got was from John at half time when Sunderland were losing 2-0. In spite of the potential defeat I was convinced I was going to enjoy the 90 minutes of the concert a lot more than Cliff was going to enjoy his 90 minutes. After the concert I found out the score was 2-2. I certainly know who had the better day Cliff!

After the concert I managed to get backstage. Peter had to leave to get a train back to his hotel. My plan was to hang around as long as I could. Unfortunately we were almost evicted from the Ambassador at 12:30. I decided to walk around the Temple Bar area before heading for the airport. There was a lot more 'gypsies' selling flowers than I seem to remember from last year. I found out that there was a night bus back to the airport. I arrived at the airport lust after 2am. I wasn't the only one who was planning to spend the night there. Unfortunately some noisy buggers turned up at 3am. I was almost tempted to go over and smack them they were getting on my nerves so much. Come 5am the airport sprung into life. My portable CD player certainly helps pass the hours. Finally if the Undertones play Derry next week as well as they played last night you are in for a treat. So Merry Christmas to everyone. It's not too late for you to change your mind Jessie!

That will have been Debbie, George. She's actually contributed to the site before. My sister was at the gig as well and she said they were brilliant as well.

spot on George, I had a shit day.

Nice one George.Jessie dosent know what she missed...silly girl.

CMoS, the Derry gig has been common knowledge for several weeks now, why isn't it on the 'News' page? Some people look to that page for info on gigs etc.Get with the programme ;-)

Nice review George.Julius I love your new verb- 'strumpling'. I'm going to use it all the time:0) On the footie- David sends his commiserations Cliff. He went to the other NE match yesterday and walked into a pub near the ground just as Teenage Kicks kicked off at full blast.Good start he reckoned!

Did I mention I overheard something about a concert possibly on 15th March. Maybe I am wrong. Hopefully Vinny will find out more. Damian would love to play New York. Anywhere Anytime, so long as it is New York. The cheap flights from Newcastle that Easyjet are going to start in March/April are to Alicante, Barcelona, Belfast, Bristol, Paris and Prague. That seems a nice little European tour to me. Weird but when I set off to the airport yesterday I began to worry about my car making the journey. It has never let me down in the past, but with Cliff's problems I wondered where the jinx was going to hit next.

Paul has just bought himself one of these new mobile phones with the camera capability. If I had remembered my diary with my list of telephone numbers I could have got him to send you a picture direct from the concert. I saw two people when the band were playing Teenage Kicks phone friends from their mobile and simply hold the phone in the air.

Great review George. You are a true trooper, its Jessie/Debbies loss. No e mail arrived wilke.Did you go to Dublin Arthur or is it Derry. I would love to visit Prague (apparently the new Amsterdam), how about a date there?

Nah Donald, I didn't go to Dublin but I am going to Derry.

donald lotr great show liam my son wants to go back to see it again.yes maureen has got great taste in men she got me after all??not so sure about her music .tssy

The new Amsterdam in what respect? You're a bad bad boy.

My kids went to see LOTR today (I went shopping - I'm not stupid!) and they said it was excellent but Jamie was miffed it didn't follow the book. Great review George and glad you enjoyed the trip (except the airport shenanigans!). I'll pencil 15 March in my new diary. Well there's no harm in a bit of forward planning.

See you in Derry Arthur!

And Ernie (and everyone else who's going whilst I'm at it!). Actually that Mandarin place was expensive, we made a hasty retreat and ended up in a very nice (and cheap) Italian round the corner. Can't remember it's name. I'm definitely off for some Irish Stew again in the pub in the craft place (can't remember it's name either!) - when I'm near food my brain obviously goes out the window!

Grea t review George, we all know we truly missed something, I hope Jessie is a sensible girl, in that case she'll surely turn up in Geordie land. Thanks Jackie for you nice words, it is my pleasure to add something new to the english language, thought I used a proper word, meant to say I still limp around but strumpling is more clear I would say, I mean everyone understands me, or?

Your OK Julius, I've checked a medical dictionary and 'strumpling'or 'hurpling' is 'moving the lower limb in full flexion during ambulatory movement , an injury often seen post jumping up and down in the same spot for a minimum of 100 minutes'. 'The condition is easily recognised because despite the pain, the injured parties often smile for several weeks post trauma.'