Last Saturday, accompanied by Girl Child, I headed south to Manchester  for the final UK Carnival of Madness show.

This was our first trip to the Manchester Arena. For those of you who haven’t been there – it’s HUGE!!! First time too that I’ve entered an arena via a railway station.

Manchester were a bit smarter than the SSE Hydro had been earlier in the week and opened the doors at 5pm. Plenty of time to invest in merchandise (yes, we invested heavily) and visit the little girl’s room etc before heading into the hall.

Girl Child and I found a suitable spot about three rows off the rail at the right hand side as you look up at the stage. Perfect view.

Highly Suspect were first onstage at 6.15. I’d missed the start of their set in Glasgow and was keen to hear the full thing. The boys from New York were definitely better received in Manchester but their set still missed the mark for me. Lydia, their single, was the highlight for me and they rounded off their half hour slot with Claudeland and a snatch of new material. These guys need to mature a bit for a venue of that size. I’d like to see them headline a smaller show. And, Johnny Stevens, STOP spitting on stage please. It’s disgusting!!!

After an interval, Halestorm stormed the stage. No sound problems here tonight. Lzzy was on fire from the off.

Their set started with Apocalyptic, Love Bites(So Do I) and Amen. What a powerful opening to their set.

Mid-set, Black Stone Cherry played a prank on them and set up a meet and greet in the middle of the stage. (And was that Zach Myers in the thick of it?) Good fun for the final show of the UK run. John Fred Young and Ryan Meyer, drummer with Highly Suspect,  “assisted” Arejay Hale with his drum solo. Brilliant!

Halestorm brought their all too short set to a close with Mayhem, Freak Like Me and I Miss The Misery.

I miss Halestorm already!

Again the audience were tortured by Shinedown’s meditation tape while the stage was prepared. Really, guys? Why? It killed the energy and destroyed the vibe Lzzy and the boys worked their assess off to create.

Shinedown opened their set with Black Cadillac from their latest album Threat To Survival. Awesome set opener. It was followed by Diamond Eyes (Boom-Lay, Boom-Lay, Boom) and, one of my highlights of the night, Second Chance.

As ever, in my humble opinion, Brent Smith had a little too much to say for himself. Perhaps the additional chat is OK when you have the luxury of a two hour set but it’s too much for an short forty five minute support slot. And as for wasting time wandering through the hall…. Save it for a headline show. (If they’d skipped this and talked less the fans could have enjoyed at least one more song)

The Manchester rock fans got a special treat from Brent Smith and Zach Myers. Before they began to play the incredible Simple Man they belted out, local band, Oasis’ Don’t Look Back In Anger.

Shinedown closed their magnificent set with Sound of Madness.

Shortly before 9.30 Black Stone Cherry exploded onto the stage amid a blaze of lights and air cannon jets as they powered their way through Me And Mary Jane. This was promptly followed up with Rain Wizard – awesome song- and Blind Man – another equally awesome song. What a spectacular opening to their set!

In My Blood and Soul Creek were equally incredible.

There’s a new found energy and vibe with these boys this tour. Not sure its right to badge it as confidence as that’s something none of them are lacking in. Maybe it’s a mature self-assuredness. Maybe it’s self-belief. Believe it- those fans adore you all!

Unfortunately, after a thunderous rendition of Holding On To Letting Go, my evening took a downward spiral. My Girl Child collapsed and all thoughts of music disappeared until I got her some help and was sure she was ok.

Rock Mum vanished and Mum was back in charge.

The arena staff, who assisted me with her, were all very polite, friendly and helpful but I firmly believe the whole incident could’ve been prevented if the staff had passed cups of water back into the crowd.

Manchester, you could learn A LOT here from your Scottish colleagues at the SSE Hydro.

By the time Girl Child took unwell, we’d been standing in the arena for four and a half hours. Not once had any water been offered to anyone other than a handful of fans lucky enough to be right on the rail. Several folk had gone passed us over the course of the night looking decidedly fatigued.

This was the first arena show I’ve been at where water wasn’t passed out to the fans.

Poor show, Manchester!

In the distance, as I tried to revive Girl Child with some Coke and a Mars bar, I could hear Things My Father Said and The Rambler.

As we crossed the arena with a member of the security staff a short while later, heading for the first aid room, Black Stone Cherry and Lzzy were singing Peace Is Free (Pizza’s Free I believe, according to YouTube footage I saw later).

We left the building to return to our hotel to the strains of White Trash Millionaire. Girl Child loves that one.

Our evening had been somewhat “trashed” but I’m glad to say that Girl Child was fully recovered by the morning.

It just proved to me how quickly an incredible night can take a turn for the worse.

I guess we can only Blame It On The Boom Boom!