It is two hours before Paolo Di Canio is due on stage but already the car park at the Loddon Valley leisure centre in Reading is at bursting point.
A man in a West Ham training top slams his door shut and strides off towards the entrance with the air of a fella who knows he’s clinched the last spot.
The guy in the retro Hammers shirt pulling in has no chance and, like the rest of us, does a lap of the lot before accepting he’ll have to find a side street.
Such is the clamour for an evening in which one of the Premier League’s most colourful characters and one of West Ham’s most cherished entertainers will hold court.