Announcement

Collapse
No announcement yet.

The Big Gig Thread 2018

Collapse
X
 
  • Filter
  • Time
  • Show
Clear All
new posts

    I thought Killing Joke at the Roundhouse was tonight, it’s next week. Hopefully I will have shaken off my cough/cold by then and found my Roundhouse membership card.

    Comment


      Best wishes for getting of the lurgy anyway so as to enjoy the return to more usual working hours, MsD, but hope to see you at KJ in any case. I'm going to conform and be in black for that one.

      Comment


        Johnny Marr was good last night at The Roundhouse but by them the evidence was mounting that a three day weekend is a step too far these days.

        Just to rack up even more old codger points, earlier on Kew Gardens was absolutely stunning with vivid autumn leaf colours on a perfectly clear afternoon.

        Comment


          Originally posted by Benjm View Post
          You madman! Who won?
          Rob did...he skipped New Order.

          Comment


            Originally posted by WOM View Post
            Rob did...he skipped New Order.
            New Order were brilliant. I wouldn't want to regularly go to shows with 10,000 other people in a room the size of an aircraft hangar but they completely filled the space and the crowd, rightly, loved it. The encore of Joy Division material was respectful and moving.

            To address one recurring criticism of their live work, Bernard has cut back quite a bit on the whooping in recent years. It seems that a lot of the time it was his way of venting anger and frustration, rather than an attempt to gee up the crowd, and now that he is much less angry and frustrated it has reduced accordingly.

            Also we got to ride on double decker buses with New Order on the destination board, which was worth the run out in itself.

            Comment


              Didn’t see you or many other friends at KJ last night, it was so busy.

              Everyone seems to agree they were brilliant, maybe the best I’ve seen them. All the hits played really well, and Jaz’s menacing prancing. Of course I can’t do strobes, so had to cover my head or turn my back a few times. Requiem is a personal favourite and that was strobe-free.

              We went to the after party at Dingwalls, which was fun (disco!) but as is customary the band didn’t start to appear till past 1. (Youth is the only one I know vaguely but my friends are closer and my ex’s band used to support them.) I passed Jaz on my way along Camden High St at 2. Beamed at him and he glowered back.

              Comment


                I enjoyed it as a first time seeing the band. The friends I was with are much more into KJ than I am, with lots of shows to compare with, and they thought that they were on good form, apart from the guitar being a bit low in the mix at the start. I had always thought that when reviewers referred to JC as a sinister preacher leading the crowd through a shamanic ritual it was a degree of poetic licence; I hadn't realised that he walks on and pretty much says, "Hi, I'll be your sinister preacher for tonight's shamanic ritual. Try the chicken." It was being filmed for DVD, I was told. Maybe his 9/11 bollocks before Love Like Blood (which was excellent) will hit the cutting room floor.

                Support band Turbowolf were absurd, an ill advised mash up of The Darkness and Rocks-era Primal Scream.

                After a couple of drinks over the road at The Enterprise, we taxied back to home territory intending to go to the local late bar. The doorman politely turned us away citing no admissions after 1am. It was 1.01am. Perhaps we had acquired some Jaz-like glower over the course of the evening that cost us the benefit of the doubt.

                A few quiet weeks now, which I'm very much on board with.

                Comment


                  Lol at that bit about the sinister preacher.

                  You should catch him on a bad day.

                  Comment


                    Smash Hits 1980-style concert review: The Human League were fab.

                    Comment


                      I have the option of a free ticket to watch Sting next year.

                      Comment


                        We're seeing him in The Last Ship as part of our subscription package.

                        Comment


                          I'd be torn on the free ticket; it'd depend whether the venue was easy to get to, etc. Once there, I'd expect to be lulled into enjoying it until, inevitably, he broke out the lute or told a story that shattered the illusion and offered a stark reminder of why he remains a divisive figure to many, both here and in the wider world.

                          His musical had reasonable reviews, I seem to remember. Writing a musical called The Last Ship does slightly play to the stereotype of the absentee artist from the North East though. Presumably you don't get the man himself with this production?

                          Comment


                            No, no, you do. He was hands-off for the ill-fated Broadway run. Jimmy Nail starred, IIRC. Then he retooled the book and took over the lead, and it's apparently very good now.

                            Comment


                              That should be worth a look. It does seem to be a labour of love for him. A regular concert tour would be an easier cash generator, I'd imagine.

                              Having mentioned absentee artists from the North East lamenting the decline of the shipbuilding industry, The Last Ship with Jimmy Nail in the lead would seem close to a parody.
                              Last edited by Benjm; 20-11-2018, 19:32.

                              Comment


                                I don't suspect he's tight on cash. He's apparently one of the elite group who gets a quarter million for a two hour private, in-home concert. Diana Krall, as well, believe it or not.

                                Comment


                                  Oh yes, he's stinking rich but having more than you can ever possibly need doesn't necessarily preclude trying to rake in as much more as you possibly can. Although I do wonder whether some of the older fixtures of the touring circuit are happy to be seen as grasping mercenaries because that is less embarrassing than admitting that they still need the applause.

                                  Comment


                                    ^ that’s so true,

                                    Comment


                                      Originally posted by WOM View Post
                                      I don't suspect he's tight on cash. He's apparently one of the elite group who gets a quarter million for a two hour private, in-home concert. Diana Krall, as well, believe it or not.
                                      The elite group get millions for corporate/private shows. To be honest, 250k (whether £ or $) sounds a little light for Sting as he’s still an arena act in some parts of the world.

                                      Comment


                                        Originally posted by Benjm View Post
                                        I'd be torn on the free ticket; it'd depend whether the venue was easy to get to, etc. Once there, I'd expect to be lulled into enjoying it until, inevitably, he broke out the lute or told a story that shattered the illusion and offered a stark reminder of why he remains a divisive figure to many, both here and in the wider world.
                                        It would be relative doddle really. If he'd stick to Police stuff, I'd probably enjoy it, but I expect he won't.

                                        Comment


                                          Last night: the Lightning Seeds unplugged at the Groucho. A short but blissful set if you love the LS, as I and my friend do. Ian Broudie sat next to me at one point and we smiled at each other, which was nice. So I’ve been glowered at by Jaz and smiled at by Ian Broudie in the space of 10 days, would be weird if it was the other way round, eh.

                                          Morrissey and Marshall played just three songs. They started with a Beatles cover, which was tuneful but ... well, a faithful cover of a dullish Beatles song (World Without Love). Their next song was their own, and brilliant, giving the impression that they’re better than the Beatles.

                                          Also various jamming by members of Starsailor, the Magic Numbers, Hannah Nichols. All of them genuine musicians, as there’s nowhere to hide with unplugged.

                                          All free, but the drinks at the Groucho cost an arm and a leg.

                                          Comment


                                            That sounds good and all the better for Baddiel and Skinner not popping up for a run through the outlier smash.

                                            I'm going to see Luke Haines run through After Murder Park and Baader Meinhof at the 100 Club this evening. I'm not a massive fan of album recital shows but these two, recorded back to back, are far and away my favourites from his sprawling oeuvre.

                                            Comment


                                              Funny, Lucky You by LS came up on the shuffle today and it sounded great. They were perhaps a bit over-exposed in their peak, my kids were very young and loved Jollification and perhaps my perception became of something a bit whimsical. Not so now. And Pure is one of my favourite songs of all time.

                                              Comment


                                                Luke Haines was very good last night and, contrary to his assiduously cultivated reputation for grumpiness, is almost bashful in his between song interactions. It was good to see him fronting a band again as he has tended to do solo, semi-acoustic performances in recent years. He did manage to position himself in the precise spot where the venue's, ahem, iconic pillars blocked the view from the greatest possible number of vantage points.

                                                Given the recent John Le Carre revival, I was wondering whether Baader Meinhof was simply ahead of its time and might have done better if released now, but it would never be an easy sell.

                                                Comment


                                                  Originally posted by Sits View Post
                                                  And Pure is one of my favourite songs of all time.
                                                  I like Pure but the blatant lift from New Order's Love Vigilantes still distracts me every time I hear it.

                                                  Comment


                                                    The guy I sit next to at work was at the 100 Club last night too. He enjoyed it as well.

                                                    Comment

                                                    Working...
                                                    X