Which was your best NMA gig of 2013 ???

[Shush]

Now they are all done, which gig did you enjoy most of 2013. ?

I managed five this year. I think my favorite was Northampton back in May. It was a long wait after Rock City back at Xmas, so I had been really looking forward to it.  Road Menders a smaller venue which I prefer. Manageable smaller pit at the front. Good after show party in the town. Enjoyed spending time with my mate Barty. We laughed  and joked all the way there on the train,  and again on the way back the next day, making up our own daft lyrics to the songs we heard the night before.

Great day from start to finish.

[Spudthemariner]

Devizes was a great show with a very different vibe. Because (I think) that the band were headlining Willowman in Yorkshire the next day, most of the Northern crowd went there so many familiar faces were absent. However, the place was still rammed (but not too rammed) because at least half of the crowd seemed to be made up of locals who had come purely because an 'interesting sounding band' were playing a town where 'interesting sounding bands' don't usually play. Top marks to the promoters who really pulled out the stops to plug the gig, and meant we were treated to a great show with a really great vibe! Also, the tickets were dished out by the local WI...

Also Manchester. Ed played...   

[Ragamuffin]

Think I managed six this year. Can't decide between the double set at Nottingham last week or Manchester and Ed playing on Purity, one of my all time MAN tracks. Happy holidays!! 

[lupus225]

1. Hamburg
2. Hannover / Rostock
3. Berlin
4. Köln (for personal reasons)

[ian]

Out of the 8 gigs I went to all were great but for me it was Devizes or Brighton but as I said all were great bar missing the end of the London show due transport issues that night.

[turnbuis]

The Ritz in Manchester!!! By far the best for me. Ed appearing too.... wow.

[LCG]

I've done Preston, Sheffield, Leeds, Buckley, Manchester, Bilston and Nottingham. For me, the Manchester gig was by far and above the best - not only of those 7, but for a long time before. Nottingham comes in a close second.

The pure quality and energy of the band aside, I'm not ashamed to say that I also love the social aspect of going to a New Model Army gig and on that basis, all 7 were just brilliant. For example, I didn't particularly enjoy the set in Leeds - for a variety of reasons - but had a fantastic night thanks to the great company!

I've done 5 After Gig Gatherings this year too, with Spanky van Dykes being the best ever!

Thanks for a great year of great music, great company and great friendships!

Happy Christmas and here's to 2014!

[comber]

I also loved the Northampton gig.First time at the venue and to hear a couple of the new tracks for the first time was great.Having said that...Manchester was excellent for all the reasons that have been mentioned!

[Barty]

Northampton for the whole 24 hour period - as Shush says.
Performance wise i'd say Manchester or Rock City.

[paul74]

My top 5 out of the approx 10 gigs

Manchester - everything seemed perfect in a chaotic way

Kohl - decent set by the levs and then a blinder by the band

Nottingham - double set

Blackpool - just enjoyed the punk vibe surrounding it - great set by Neville Staples beforehand - thursday night on after midnight - again perfectly chaotic

Zurich - personally first time I had seen them on a tour in europe other than the xmas shows.

what a year:)

[Marloes]

As for the gig itself:                  Manchester!
As for 'the whole thing' :           my weekend in Spain with 3 gigs, good weather and amazing friends
As for 'the most unexpected' :   my very last minute visit to Brighton

But every gig has it's own good thing; weither it is the songs, the audience, the food, the travelling, the
friends you meet, the sightseeing you do while being abroad, the fun and of course, the weather ;-)

[Pazza]

Spuds assessment of Devizes is right on the money, wotta great night but so many great nights this year.

And so, Pompey and Sheffield were particularly good as was Bilston and Brighton was an amazing night capped by Ellen Cox supporting.

Thought Rock City last week was epic with the acoustic warm up set, and last night at the Melkweg was pretty damned good too.

Devizes for being my son's live debut gig

I would say out of all those great nights Bilston, everyone was so darned happy that night, really positive vibe of bonhomie and love, peace and the Army!

[arne]

I saw them in Leeds, Frome, Nottingham and Koeln. Koeln was big and energetic but Nottingham was the best. The acoustic set was pure beauty (I've loved the acoustic sets since the Nobody Else tour in 98, and this one was wonderful), the main set was dynamic, the crowd was great. It was magic, one of the best that I've seen. No Ed, but you can't have it all... Pity I missed Manchester and Amsterdam. Well, next time...

I liked this tour a lot. The new album really came alive, the rhythmic new songs added musical variety, and the mix of the new material and the energy of the older songs worked well. Over the past 20 years I've usually just been to one gig on each tour, at most, and I went to wherever was the closest gig near the places that I lived in (from Germany to Hungary, Canada, now UK..). This was the first time in ages that I went to several gigs within a month, and it was great! Thanks so much to the band and the people I met. Looking forward to next year!

[Bill B]

For me it's between Dresden - hot as hell and a blistering performance - and last night in Amsterdam. Seeing The Price again after 25 years...won't forget that moment in a while...

[Amandistan]

Thessaloniki - it was a very good performance, setlist and I got to meet Greek fans and some very nice Bulgarians.
Falmouth had the least crowded  pit of all the gigs i have seen. that's good because i could actually get in there without fear of being  accidentally knocked out by very large men.  plus it was very intimate.

The band is always good so it's usually other things that make the "Best gig of the year" for me.

I did the entire uk tour plus some Greek dates last month. Those were the best and the worst were London and Cambridge.