I have probably mentioned this a million times before but I should really be writing these blogs about gigs a few days, not several weeks after.

However, this evening was quite unforgettable as it was a special farewell gig to one of Funeral For A Friend’s members, Darran Smith, who has now left the band. This is one of two farewell gigs with the other being in Wales.

To make it even more special, they played Casually Dressed And Deep In Conversation, their first studio album, in it’s entirety, one track after the other, like the several thousand times I played it back in the day.

The venue was Shepherd’s Bush Empire which I haven’t been to since seeing Cobra Starship in February. The seats however got a bit mixed up. I was a 100% sure I purchased a Stalls Standing ticket so queued up in the appropriate entrance. I was so confident I purchased stalls standing that I never checked my ticket. As soon as I showed my ticket for inspection, I was told I had a Level 1 Seating/Standing ticket.

Shocked, I walked over to the other queue and quickly checked my email. As confirmed, I did somehow manage to book Level 1 Seating/Standing. It still baffles me to this day.

When I finally got in, Young Guns was already up on stage. They were ok which is pretty much how I describe most things. It’s a neutral opinion.

Next up was The Automatic who I was quite looking forward to. Unfortunately, they disappointed me beyond belief. I didn’t really enjoy their set at all. Things finally got a tad better when they sung Steve McQueen but this was their last song. Surprisingly, their other fun song, Monsters, was not on their setlist.

Third support for the evening was The Blackout who put on another spectacular and powerful set. I am not a fan of their music but do enjoy watching them onstage as I did when I first saw them at Give It A Name 2008.

Three support acts for a gig is more than welcome, but it eventually had to come to and end. The band everyone came here to see came out on stage to massive cheers as expected.

They kicked off the evening with Rookie Of The Year, but you should already know that since this is their Casually Dressed And Deep In Conversation gig. It was great hearing old favorites from the album which I’ve heard before in previous Funeral For A Friend gigs such as Juneau, Red Is The New Black and Escape Artists Never Die.

The never heard before songs such as Bullet Theory, Waking Up and Novella also sounded so great live. It was such an experience to hear each song of the album live played in sequence.

After their Casually Dressed And Deep In Conversation set, they came back on stage and sang other favorites which included Streetcar, Into Oblivion (Reunion), Roses For The Dead, and History.

Here’s the full setlist.

• Rookie Of The Year
• Bullet Theory
• Juneau
• Bend Your Arms To Look Like Wings
• Escape Artists Never Die
• Storytelling
• Moments Forever Faded
• She Drove Me To Daytime Television
• Red Is The New Black
• Your Revolution Is A Joke
• Waking Up
• Novella

Second Set

• Into Oblivion (Reunion)
• The Art Of American Football
• Roses For The Dead
• Wrench
• Streetcar
• You Want Romance?
• History

This would have been an excellent gig to be downstairs, in the crowd and just letting myself loose. Sadly, I had to console myself with watching the gig from the relatively calm Level 1 area and just singing along to each song, occasionally pumping my hands in the air.

The evening was still something which will be remembered for a long time and there were a number of highlights.

The craziest of which was when someone from the Level 1 area jumped to the Standing area which was around 15 feet high in the middle of a song. Once the song was over, Matthew asked how the guy was doing and apparently, he was ok. Amazing.

The moment they played Your Revolution Is A Joke was another as well as The Art Of American Football when Sean Smith of The Blackout joined them on stage.

The most emotional though was during their last song, History, when everyone in their “family” came up on stage to join the band and sing along with the crowd. It was just one of those moments which get you.

I’ve seen Funeral For A Friend four times already (fifth if I got the day off for a show in Hatfield last year). If I had to start listening to them now, I don’t think I’d like them but considering I’ve listened to them from the start around a decade ago and during my formative years, I can say they are one of the bands I truly enjoy watching live and singing (screaming) along to in my car.

There is a new EP in the works and when they tour for that, I will surely be there. This time, I’ll make sure I have Stalls Standing tickets and let myself loose.