The Big Gig Thread 2018

[Benjm]

Enjoy! Did you see them at the Nick Cave thing in Victoria Park in the end? Outdoor then indoor with a two week gap looks like the optimum arrangement to get the most out of both shows.

[WOM]

Had to laugh ruefully at 'the average gig-goer spends £40-50 a year on tickets'.

Ye....fuck. I shudder at what we spend. I think we spend more than we do feeding our kids. But I mean, we don't eat in restaurants or buy pricy wine, so how guilty can you feel?

[WOM]

To the other point, we're seeing Mickey and Mike (The Monkees) on Monday, and the place is going fucking begging. It's a real shame, as the Monkees gig a few years ago was packed to the rafters. No doubt because casinos paper the house with free tix, but still. I suspect they'll close the balcony and funnel us all to the floor level.

[Benjm]

It's a hobby; just because the bulk of the money doesn't go on a single club membership or season ticket doesn't mean that it is any less well spent than what other people blow on their pastimes.

As for the kids, I read an interview with Kirsty Allsopp where she convincingly argued, through mouthfuls of foie gras and lobster roll, that feeding them just breeds laziness and complacency.

[Walt Flanagans Dog]

Some of the Stones shows were pretty disastrous, around 60% of capacity in some cities which means a vast loss for the promoters.

Christ didn't realise it was that bad, thought they were just squeezing every penny out with the cheap tickets rather than limiting the damage.

[Walt Flanagans Dog]

It's a hobby; just because the bulk of the money doesn't go on a single club membership or season ticket doesn't mean that it is any less well spent than what other people blow on their pastimes.

Absolutely, and in recent years I've got my expenditure on cinema tickets and premium sport and movie TV channels down to precisely nil, so I don't mind, it's my main leisure pursuit now.

[MsD]

Enjoy! Did you see them at the Nick Cave thing in Victoria Park in the end? Outdoor then indoor with a two week gap looks like the optimum arrangement to get the most out of both shows.

Yes, exactly, great both times.

[Walt Flanagans Dog]

Well, won't be going to gigs at the O2 ABC for a while, if ever again.

[ad hoc]

Second time I've been lucky enough to see Goran Bregovic live. A band of Serbs, Bulgarians and Roma doing songs in multiple languages (I noted Arabic, Bosnian/Croat/Serbian, English, Italian, Romani, Romanian, Spanish, Turkish and Yiddish, but I almost certainly missed some) in front of a crowd speaking Hungarian and Romanian. This is what the Balkans should be. In fact this is what Europe should be. And yet we are surrounded by politicians building walls and refusing permission for boats to land.

If you don't go crazy you are not normal.

[IronSeaPower]

Been a bit quiet recently but last week enjoyed Drahla and Mush at the Lexington. The revelation was the second band, Crack Cloud. As post-punk as you could possibly hope for. A singing drummer, a bass, a keyboard and four guitars.

Each band played for about half an hour, no-nonsense rackets.

And this morning I have spent one hundred and sixty of your earth pounds on three Interpol tickets.
I paid a fiver to see them at the Barfly in 2001.
Bloody Hell.

[Benjm]

Well, won't be going to gigs at the O2 ABC for a while, if ever again.

The Curse Of Ladytron strikes again.

[Walt Flanagans Dog]

The Curse Of Ladytron strikes again.

I'm blaming one of my mates who went to see PiL there the other night, the first gig he's been to in years. He's like all four horsemen of the apocalypse.

I've got tickets for a few gigs there in the autumn, Ladytron being one. There are plenty of alternative venues in Glasgow of course (and it's part of the Academy group anyway, so the Academy will take its pick of the bigger gigs scheduled). The Art School itself is a gig venue, though think that's a separate building from what went up last night.

Terrible shame, despite it being an Academy venue and all the garish decor that brings, it's a fine venue and steeped in history. The glitterball is no more, for a start. I've seen some great gigs in there.

Sauchiehall Street has been a complete mess recently after the fire in the flats next to the Pavilion, and then some roadworks to widen the pavements and now this. They are supposed to be using it for the cycling road race element of the new multi sport European Championships thing in a few weeks' time.

[Benjm]

Terrible shame, despite it being an Academy venue and all the garish decor that brings, it's a fine venue and steeped in history. The glitterball is no more, for a start.

There's a spirit in the great historic venues that defies attempts to homogenise them. Unfortunately many experts believe that, like Samson and his hair, that spirit draws its strength from inadequate and unwelcoming toilet facilities.

[Walt Flanagans Dog]

There's a spirit in the great historic venues that defies attempts to homogenise them. Unfortunately many experts believe that, like Samson and his hair, that spirit draws its strength from inadequate and unwelcoming toilet facilities.

Reading this just after seeing an aerial view of the damage to the ABC has given me the terrifying vision of the O2 Barrowland being launched sometime soon.

[ursus arctos]

Bregović Is outstanding.

He may be best known to non-Balkinist audiences through the scores he did for many of Emir Kusturica’s films.

[elguapo4]

Enjoyed last night's gig,Charlie Harper may be older than God but he can still belt out a song and he has a tight combo backing him up who look and sound the part,Buster's lost a lot of weight,I presume deliberately, and looks well with it,basically you know what you'll get at a Bad Manners gig and they sent us home sweating. Apart from some unnecessary crap from security with a stage invader (a really decent lad who wouldn't hurt a fly) a good night

[Benjm]

Bregović Is outstanding.

He may be best known to non-Balkinist audiences through the scores he did for many of Emir Kusturica’s films.

I saw him at the Barbican a few years ago and it was a fantastic whirl of energy and mixture of styles. That said, I've got a CD of his Alkohol album that I don't use much, so if it's on your want list, ad hoc, pm me an address and I'll pop it into the post for you.

[Benjm]

I went to see Ye Nuns, Thee Dagger Debs and The Fuzillis at The Lexington last night. Ye Nuns are the world's premier all female Monks tribute band and are always excellent. Due to some previously lost Monks recordings having been released last year, they even had new material in the set. Rope necklaces at £2 have made a strong bid for merch of the year. Thee Dagger Debs describe themselves as a pub rock band but aren't as stodgy as that suggests. They're big Giuda fans and even managed to work a couple of "Hey!"s into their set. The Fuzillis do rockabilly/surf instrumentals and were entertaining. They seemed to have brought a few fans who were sporting proper '50s retro gear.


I don't know whether MsD has seen that bassist Danilo has left Giuda, after requiring surgery on his arm. It's a real shame and his tough (but a softy underneath) attitude was a big part of their appeal. I don't know whether he might return after recuperating; hopefully it's a possibility.

[hobbes]

Was at the Space Shambles gig at the Albert Hall on Friday.
Alongside the astronauts and physicists were Grace Petrie, She Makes War and Public Service Broadcasting.
Sheila Atim (olivier award winner) and Chris Hadfield did Bowie covers too.

[MsD]

I don't know whether MsD has seen that bassist Danilo has left Giuda, after requiring surgery on his arm. It's a real shame and his tough (but a softy underneath) attitude was a big part of their appeal. I don't know whether he might return after recuperating; hopefully it's a possibility.

NOOOOOOOOOOO!!!

I hope he comes back stronger.

I was sposed to go to see Ye Nuns last night but was too knackered after the Furs and other stuff.

[WOM]

After, five years ago, swearing that she would never, ever go see The Monkees again ('and don't even fucking ask), L indeed did go see The Monkees again (after I fucking asked) and it was excellent. I had to go...Mike Nesmith signed up for this jaunt, and he never tours. Like ... ever. So I got to hear Listen To The Band and Birth of An Accidental Hipster, so I can die happy.

Great gig billed as The Mike and Micky Show, without Peter Tork or [deceased] Davy Jones, it consisted of Monkees tunes (including some rare/oddball stuff) and a good whack of Nez's First National Band country stuff.

Great show. Voices a little strained and reedy at times...but that's age for ya.

Sony Centre. Toronto.
9/10.

[David Agnew]

Off to see the Manics at Meltdown tonight, and have just secured a return for MBV on Saturday night. There’s still some returns in the boxes if anyone else is interested.

[Benjm]

Strong showing from the Manics tonight, although as the various supplementary players trooped onto the stage we almost began to wonder whether we'd come on the wrong night and got Kool & The Gang instead. Less facetiously, that does mean that JDB shoulders less of the heavy lifting, which used to make for a compelling spectacle but must have taken a lot out of him. He's still a fantastic singer, guitarist and frontman, even putting in something approaching a normal shift. Good mixture of old and new material, with a cover of Inbetween Days as a nod to the Meltdown figurehead. There was a tease of starting to play Condemned To Rock And Roll, which I've seen them talk about as if it was their Laughing Gnome. I'd flat out love to hear them do Condemned To Rock And Roll.

PiL at the 100 Club tomorrow.

[evilC]

Off to see the excellent Essaie Pas, tomorrow night, supported by Deeds (who are better than I expected) and Autumns (who are worse than I expected). I wish bands would stop this 'plurals' name convention shit, though!

[WOM]

Lovely evening with Mavis Staples (of The Staples Singers). One of my junior writers works the bar at Massey Hall, and they got rush seats for $10...so we went.

Not the sort of show we normally see, but glad we saw it. Powerful voice, nice song selection, and good stories from a woman who marched with - and sang with - MLK.