TV Smith + La Solution at l’Ancienne Fée Verte in Anlier, Belgium on 28 April 2024.
The first of 2 gigs today in 2 different countries on the same day. Firstly, the wonderful TV Smith at the Ancienne Fée Verte in Anlier, Belgium, followed by a trek into Luxembourg to see Conflict.
The Ancienne Fée Verte is a fantastic and very unique venue. Located in the middle of nowhere in the deepest South of Belgium, the former farmhouse was previously home to an alcohol shop as well as the smallest pub in Belgium. After the shop moved to new premises in Habay, the pub closed its doors, much to the huge disappointment of this frequent visitor, and many others. However, the place reopened as an intimate concert venue in 2022, with the backing of the Entrepôt in Arlon, much to the delight of the pub’s former patrons. Concerts take place on Sundays and public holidays only, on a maximum monthly basis, the team behind it all being volunteers. Due to the small space inside, concerts are mainly acoustic or semi-acoustic with the audience capacity limited to around 50 people.
So, I was over the moon when it was announced that one of my all-time punk heroes, TV Smith would be playing an intimate (sold out) show at the venue. I first heard Tim (TV) back in 1976 or 1977 with his band The Adverts, one of the pioneers of the early punk movement. Their first album, ‘Crossing the Red Sea with the Adverts’ was one of my faves back in the day, and still gets an airing on my turntable every now and again today.
Tim was in blistering form in Anlier, playing to a sold out room. A great mix of classic Adverts songs and both old and new solo numbers. Songs like ‘Bored Teenagers’ and ‘The Lion And The Lamb’ were among the highlights for me. The new album, ‘Handwriting’ is highly recommended demonstrating that Tim has not lost his ability to combine thought-provoking lyrics with great memorable tunes.
A special mention to support act, local acoustic punk duo La Solution who also impressed me with their tight performance which went down very well with the audience in the room.
Tim kindly modelled a can of Down Yer Pint beer, the contents of which he seemed to enjoy too. 🙂
