The Big Gig Thread 2018

[Snake Plissken]

At the risk of my login suddenly not working and PMs mysteriously lost ... U2, snakey?

Wife is a massive fan and they are a brilliant live act.

[WOM]

Ah. I saw them on the Zooropa tour about a million years ago, but just couldn't stomach Bono for an evening any more.

Last night we saw the absolutely lovely Milk Carton Kids. We caught them accidentally a few years ago as part of the Lampedusa Tour (fund-raiser for immigrant resettlement) along with Robert Plant, Emmylou Harris, Ron Sexsmith, Daniel Lanois, Steve Earle and a couple of others. They were utterly dry and funny as fuck, and they performed beautifully. Basically two young semi-folkies. The sort of thing I hate. But they were great, and last night was no different. Sort of a Simon and Garfunkel type of thing, but when they still liked being around each other.

I don't see me putting an album on, but I'd probably go see them again.

[Snake Plissken]

U2 were, well, they were U2. "One", in front of an EU flag with a Union Jack on it had a huge poignancy. Not a single track from The Joshua Tree (as they toured that in full last year) so room for some others, including Zoo Station.

John Carpenter. Brilliant venue helped it be a much better show than the fuckup that was his previous visit to Manchester. You can tell he is not a performer, but he's trying to engage with the crowd in an endearing Dad dancing type way. The music has been rocked up a little for a live gig - Assault on Precinct 13 is absolutely immense. And he segued a track from the new Halloween movie into the classic theme and it fit perfectly. Almost full crowd too just giving the man some absolute love and respect, especially when certain clips from the movies that accompanying the tunes happened. (Biggest cheers for Roddy Piper finally putting the glasses on Keith David and his final scene to camera.)

Also "Last track of the night. Drive home carefully... Christine is out there..."

[Guy Profumo]

oo.

Two consecutive days out to hear two differing styles of music

The Proclaimers

Robert Cray

[Wouter D]

Brit Floyd last Friday. Good show, but they might want to overthink projecting a massive Union Jack on their backdrop between songs. Surely, "Brit" is in the band name, but the audience started booing Brexit upon this sight, and that cannot be the desired effect.

[elguapo4]

Following Reg to the Tivoli tonight for the slightly different sounds of Toots and the Maytals,they're halfway through their tour so hopefully Toots' voice holds up

[WOM]

Fucked Up tomorrow night. Milk Carton Kids on Sunday night. Passenger...(ugh)...on Tuesday night.

And, of course, Passenger was lovely. Engaging, funny as fuck, really connected with the crowd, talented. Ugh. Folky singer songwriters, man. But yeah, props to the man.

[scratchmonkey]

November is Algiers/Young Fathers and then, four days later, The Orb.

Jesus and Mary Chain and NIN for December, quite looking forward to that one.

[Patrick Thistle]

I went to see Darius Rucker at the O2 Academy in Bristol last night. Place was rammed. Apparently they sold 500 tickets more than capacity and everyone turned up (or so a steward said).
Support act was Russell Dickerson. I liked him but was feeling annoyed by the bloke next to me who seemed to be all elbows and must have been dyspraxic as he couldn't breathe without elbowing me. I spent most of the set thinking 'This is it, I'm not going to gigs any more." A tall bloke in front of me had a moon-sized moon-shaped head with the squarest ears I've ever seen on any human or robot.

We moved inbetween sets and ended up on a step up so could see past the moon-headed tall freaks. All was well until a few songs into Darius's set when a pushy smug girl decided our vantage point was a step up (literally) from where she was, and she literally forced her boyfriend into the space I was currently occupying. He looked sheepish and ashamed because he knew it was poor etiquette but did what he was told while she looked all smug and 'See there was room here!' when there wasn't. I hope he cheats on her and gives her a nasty STD. Anyway, I eventually manouevered back into a space where I could see quite well.

Darius himself was great, although he had a looming bodyguard on stage with him which was odd as anything. It's the second time we've seen him and he is a slick showman who really can sing anything (including a cover of No Diggity). He played some of the Hootie hits, but either stripped them back or arranged them differently to make them feel fresh and new. And then he played the main hits from his country career and finished with a second encore, a cover of Champagne Supernova, which has become his outro song now.

By the end I felt in a much better mood and maybe this won't be my last ever gig that I go to. Maybe.

[WOM]

Yeah, crowds at standing gigs are largely unbearable. Tuesday's show was at a standing venue we swore we'd never visit again after the drunken louts at The Mavericks a couple of years ago. Idiots crowding you, talking in your ear through the songs, holding their phone up in front of your view to record the show, etc. And as I noted on Tuesday, it seems the stupider they are, the louder they are. Thankfully the memory passes quickly and you stupidly buy tickets again. But yeah, pretty much only ticketed, seated gigs now.

[Ross McLochness]

Standing only for Alejandro Escovedo last night, but mercifully free of any of the standard annoyances WOM listed above and it was a terrific show. Top marks to the man for using 'shite' instead of 'shit' during a bit of between song chat, too. It's the little things that make the difference.

[Fearful Symmetry]

Idles at Leeds Uni on Wednesday night was everything and more. So much love in the venue between band and audience.

[Hot Pepsi]

I didn’t go to the Furs. I went to the hockey game instead. Penn State beat Princeton 4-2.

[Benjm]

I stayed in the pub with the 'thon last night rather than crossing town to see Go-Kart Mozart.

Tomorrow is DAF and The Young Gods, which I'm quite excited about.

[MsD]

That’s a good line-up, hope it lived up.

[Benjm]

So, the DAF/Young Gods show was actually part of an all day festival, although we only went along for the two headliners. My sartorial choice of a red jacket and turquoise Breton shirt was, it is fair to say, not entirely in keeping with the prevailing look at Black Celebration. The crowd at the Forum was surprisingly thin which was great for comfort and ease of movement but can't have been good for the promoters. The gender balance was pretty much 50/50, which I wouldn't have been my preconception of an industrial event and made for a good atmosphere.

The Young Gods were entertaining but started with a Tangerine Dream-ish instrumental which wasn't really what was called for. The sound was great, with the bass travelling along the floor and, once they upped the tempo, nicely hard edged. The more sweeping aspects of their sound were strangely reminiscent of U2, as was some of the singer's stagecraft. Gratifyingly, just after I suggested this to my companion, he picked up a searchlight and started raking the audience with it, as if to prove the point. Of course TYG have been going for so long that I wouldn't put it past Bono and co to have consciously borrowed from their schtick when they decided to go 'European' at the start of the '90s.

On the face of it, DAF and TYG is a dream line up. In practice I found it a bit hard on TYG because if you're going to see DAF, which is a rare and exciting event, pretty much anything else is going to seem slightly extraneous and soggy. DAF's no frills musical approach is mirrored in their stage set up; Robert Gorl knocks seven shades out of a drum kit while Gabi Delgado racks up impressive yardage across the stage, bringing their (mostly German language) catalogue to life. He's in good shape, in an Andrew Ridgeley kind of way, and engagingly balances sex, humour and bombast. Pouring numerous bottles of water over his head was a good visual gimmick. The whole set was very danceable, confirming their pop credentials. A unique take on pop, but pop nonetheless. Badges were bought.

[Bermuda Iron]

Visited Chicago for the first time last week, great city. Busy with my kids most of the week as they were on a school of music tour, but my wife very kindly got me tickets for PiL on the Monday night, and The Beat (none of this English Beat nonsense) on the Tuesday. PiL were excellent, John was in fine form both in his singing and banter with the crowd. The Beat (essentially Dave with a young band) played in a very small venue but were also great to hear. I ended up (like a sad nearly 50 year old groupie) on their tour bus chatting with Dave for 2 hours about his upbringing, leadership, politics, Ranking Roger and how Terry Hall is so weird.

[Benjm]

That sounds great, BI. I Just Can't Stop It was the first ever album that I bought for myself. Are relations fairly cordial between Dave and Roger over each having a version of the band going? I had assumed that it was a pragmatic arrangement, given that they are based on different continents.

[WOM]

I ended up (like a sad nearly 50 year old groupie) on their tour bus chatting with Dave for 2 hours about his upbringing, leadership, politics, Ranking Roger and how Terry Hall is so weird.

Yeah, I'd like to hear a whole lot more about this part. Saw them on one of their many 'Dave Wakeling and young'uns' type of tours many years back.

[Bermuda Iron]

Yeah, I'd like to hear a whole lot more about this part. Saw them on one of their many 'Dave Wakeling and young'uns' type of tours many years back.

It was a very surreal evening. They played for 90 minutes or so in front of a small crowd (many sat at tables at the front of the room) in an upmarket bar/venue in the north Chicago area, all The Beat hits sprinkled with a couple of General Public tracks and one or two from their new album, Here We Go Love. Essentially, I was in the middle trying my best to 'dance' and 'sing' through all the songs. In the middle of Doors of Your Heart, I was shouting along to the toasting lyrics 'bet you wouldn't know if he was black or white' etc, when I noticed (as did the group around me) that the toaster, Anthonee First Class, was looking and pointing directly at me. After the show, Dave left the stage first and rushed off out an emergency exit door straight for the tour bus. As Anthonee came off stage, he made a bee-line for me (no shit) and wanted to know what an English guy, obviously heavily into the songs, was doing in the area. He then proceeded to invite me onto the tour bus 'for a chat with Dave, as he would love to meet you' (again, no shit). Long story short, I sat for 2 hours on the bus with Dave and Anthonee, while the rest of the band wandered in and out. I made them all (except Dave, doesn't really drink anymore) Dark 'n' Stormies. We talked about how The Beat was formed in the late '70s, and how he and Roger were still mates (Roger has not been well recently, a stroke I think), and he had no issue with the 2 versions of the band on either side of the Atlantic. The real issue Dave has/had is with Roger's agent, who clearly was not on his Christmas card list. Having played Stand Down Margaret in the set, we talked about politics and how whilst Dave remained essentially left of centre, he was more pragmatic and realistic these days. He still plays the song because most of his fans expect it. He did tell me a story about Red Wedge, and how Paul Weller had badgered him and Roger for weeks to play on their tour. Dave really wanted to do it, but for some reason Roger wouldn't commit or give an answer. Eventually Dave pinned him down and asked why he wouldn't give a straight answer. Apparently Roger's response was 'well, as we have some money now from the records and that, aren't we supposed to vote Tory?'. Dave was laughing as he recounted this story, seeing as how all the royalties went to him as songwriter but he always split the money with the band. As he said, "Roger never did a bleeding thing and know he thinks he is a Tory". We talked at length about the military; with me being retired military and his dad was ex-military, and always wanted Dave to join up. In order to keep his old man quiet, Dave joined the Fire Service for a couple of years 'just to prove he could wear a uniform'.

We also chatted about the whole Two Tone movement, and how Dave thought the Beat were not really part of it as he wanted them to 'be more poppy' that the others. He has fond memories of the time though, and did not have a bad word to say about anyone, he genuinely is a nice guy. He also asked my opinions and advice on leadership, given my own background and experience, as 'he wanted to learn more skills in order to keep his 'children' in the band in line'. This was said tongue in cheek (I think) as they were all listening at the time. He was also winding up the sax player (Matt I think), who apparently would rather play the trombone and according to Dave 'was certainly no fucking Saxa'.

So, all in all, having gone to Chicago with my kids as they played the violin at various schools in the area, I ended up having a great evening with a band I loved back in the day, and spending time chatting to a genuinely nice man who still loves what he does.

Oh, and PiL were great too the night before, but I never got near to John....

[WOM]

That's lovely. Thanks for sharing it. He seems like a pretty happy guy, and whatever fountain-of-youth potion he's discovered is defo working for him.

And Terry Hall eh? Saw him last year and he's a weird combination of funny and miserable at once. Still like him, though.

[Bermuda Iron]

I still look on Terry as another 'icon' from my youth. I know he has always had issues with depression and stuff. Dave did mention that Terry came to see him and the band a couple of years ago when in LA, and it was nice to catch up 'with an old mate'. However, Dave said that Terry asked him how he was doing, to which Dave replied 'good thanks'. Less than a minute later Terry asked how he was doing again, same response from Dave. This apparently went on for a few minutes, Terry repeating himself, until Dave asked him 'are you going senile or something?'. Not sure what Terry's answer was to that.

[Ray de Galles]

Rammstein finally announce a UK stadium show and it's at Franchise's hole, bugger!

[MsD]

I had a chat with Terry Hall late last year and he was perfectly lucid and charming. We have a mutual friend (Siobhan Fahey) so we talked about her and their work together (he sang on her album a few years ago) and he was looking forward to seeing Bananarama.

He’s had long-term problems with depression, but I wouldn’t say he’s losing it. Maybe he acts “weird” when he feels anxious, many people do. He moved to the country because he couldn’t cope with city life.

[Furtho]

As previously mentioned on this thread, tonight I'm putting on a show by the fantastic epic45 at the OU's campus in Milton Keynes. It's very (very very) tough to get a crowd out in MK, but doing this is great. Just so exciting, dealing with queries from people asking about paying on the door, that sort of thing. Feels like such a positive thing to do.