| Author | Message | ||
     Pádraig Collins Member Username: Pádraig_collins Post Number: 8791 Registered: 05-2005 |
Saw my first gig of the year tonight, Nick Cave at the Opera House. For three hours, he answered questions from the audience and sang songs at his piano. It was wonderful. Two friends of mine got randomly chosen to be on stage, just metres away from Cave. My seat was behind the stage. | ||
| Randy Adams Member Username: Randy_adams Post Number: 4050 Registered: 03-2005 |
I just saw that the Church will be performing Starfish in downtown LA on May 4. I have until tomorrow to decide whether to buy, which is when tickets go on sale for the folks on the venue's email list. I'm not even sure if I'll be in town. | ||
| TROU Member Username: Trou Post Number: 452 Registered: 05-2005 |
Barbara Carlotti tomorrow, Dominique A the day after. If I'm not too tired… | ||
| Randy Adams Member Username: Randy_adams Post Number: 4051 Registered: 03-2005 |
Is he more subdued nowadays Padraig? Mind you, I wouldn't object. The one time I saw him (1987) I thought he was too bogged down with his schtick. Trou, looking forward to hearing about the Carlotti show. Her newest album is a bit handicapped by her record company's obvious desire to get her some radio play. But there's still enough genuine Barbara Carlotti to be found. | ||
| Stuart Wilson Member Username: Stuart Post Number: 1522 Registered: 10-2006 |
How are the house prices round where you live, Trou? | ||
| Pádraig Collins Member Username: Pádraig_collins Post Number: 8800 Registered: 05-2005 |
Randy, no schtick anymore, but some artifice, naturally. He talked about his son who died quite a bit. It must be cathartic for him, or surely he would not do it. Some of the questions from the audience clearly annoyed him, but he brushed them off in a fairly polite manner. | ||
| TROU Member Username: Trou Post Number: 453 Registered: 05-2005 |
Randy, the Barbara Carlotti was "époustouflant". The girl is so strange and funny, it's something you couldn't resist! With her excellent musicians, she played mostly her last record (only available the day after the show in Belgium).I found these songs very convincing live, so I bought one copy and made some weird selfies with the Artist. Concert of Dominique A was quieter, he was alone and although it was interesting to hear all these stripped songs, I prefer to see him with a band. | ||
| Pádraig Collins Member Username: Pádraig_collins Post Number: 8802 Registered: 05-2005 |
Randy, I just noticed your Church post. Did you get a ticket? Starfish is inextricably linked to LA in my mind, as I listened to it a lot there in November 1989. | ||
| Randy Adams Member Username: Randy_adams Post Number: 4052 Registered: 03-2005 |
I haven't Padraig. It turned out that the advance sales were for "meet and greet" tickets at $99 a pop. No thanks. The regular tickets are still available. Just not sure I'm feeling the Church at this time. Believe it or not, I'd be more excited if they were billing it as a stage performance of "After Everything, Now This." I might still change my mind. The Regent is a big place and I'm not convinced the Church have that much of an audience here. (I'm happy to be wrong about that.) Trou, I'll bet Barbara's live versions of her new album's songs were better than the album versions. My issue with the new album is the sound. It's very compressed. There's also less detail in the arrangements than you will find on her previous two albums. The songs themselves are fine. I do envy you being able to see her and then Dom A--even by himself--in such rapid succession. Maybe I should echo Stuart's question. I suppose the EU doesn't need some Yank fleeing Trumpland when it is already looking at so many Brits fleeing Brexiteria. | ||
| Andrew Kerr Member Username: Andrew_k Post Number: 1267 Registered: 04-2005 |
Feu! Chatterton last Wednesday in Bordeaux. Superb !!! I find some of their songs pretty difficult to get into on record, but live it was a whole different dynamic. Very dense lyrically. I think that I might be going to improve my French. The singer (Arthur) is one hell of a front-man. The music is practically unclassifiable...goes from sounding like Pink Floyd (era Echoes) to house...to krautrock. And that’s all in the same song. Special mention for the fabulous venue...the “salle des fêtes” in the Grand Parc area of the city, which had been shut for 26 years before being refurbished by the city last year. Wonderful acoustics and perfect size...800 standing and 400 sitting down the 2 sides. And I’ve never seen a Bordeaux public quite as responsive and receptive...and the band seemed genuinely surprised and grateful at the audience reaction. | ||
| Randy Adams Member Username: Randy_adams Post Number: 4061 Registered: 03-2005 |
Thanks for the report Andrew. I was underwhelmed by the one album of theirs that I tried, Ici le Jour. I remember liking the first track but not much else. Maybe I should explore further. | ||
| Rob Brookman Member Username: Rob_b Post Number: 1939 Registered: 08-2006 |
Laurie Anderson at the Art Institute of Chicago last night as part of Pitchfork's Midwinter Festival. It was funny, touching, thought-provoking, charming ... it was the best show I've seen in a long time. She told a story about how Yoko Ono released a recording of herself screaming for a full minute the day after Trump won election. In honor of Yoko's birthday (which is today), she had the audience scream for as long as we could. She timed us. She also did a "duet" with a Lou Reed vocal recording that had me and a lot of the audience in tears. She told a story about how she got roses from Jack Kennedy at age 13 because she won a student council election and had written him for advice during the campaign. (She's from my hometown and graduated from my high school, so I loved that one.) She even ended the show with a Tai Chi demonstration. If it sounds weird, it wasn't at all. It was transcendent. | ||
| Simon Withers Member Username: Sfwithers Post Number: 581 Registered: 08-2005 |
Went to see Fairport Convention at the Bath Forum on Saturday - very good, not great. Would have preferred a little less humorous banter and a couple more songs, but with a 52-year back catalogue and a lineup unchanged for two decades or so, they know how to put on a very fine show, and they finished with two stone-cold classics: Matty Groves and Meet on the Ledge. The surprise for me was the support band. I got there just in time to see them, staggered that the auditorium was full to bursting. And then on walks on a figure who looks familiar. And it was indeed Robert Plant, fronting his new band, Saving Grace. He was in very good voice and it was great to see a genuine rock 'icon', a word I rarely use. Not my type of music particularly, but great musicians and vocalists at the top of their game is always enjoyable. | ||
| David Gagen Member Username: David_g Post Number: 437 Registered: 02-2007 |
Teenage Fanclub at The Triffid in Brisbane last Saturday night. Norman Blake had voice problems but they put on a great show. One of my favourite bands. | ||
| Pádraig Collins Member Username: Pádraig_collins Post Number: 8819 Registered: 05-2005 |
Microdisney at Cyprus Avenue in Cork on February 19, their final ever show. Luke Haines of The Auteurs played support. I don’t know why he bothered. Between his various bands and solo work I have at least a dozen of his albums. I’m a big fan, but this was just rubbish. I recognised almost nothing he played. Microdisney, though, were an emotional tour de force. The first thing Cathal Coughlan said when they got onstage was: “Táimid i gCorcaigh.” The direct translation is “we are in Cork”, but he was basically saying, “we’re home at last”. The audience was about 95% males in their 50s and I’m pretty sure it was the tallest audience I’ve ever seen. Even a friend of mine who is 6’4” noticed he was not alone in being very tall. It was an odd thing. The looks on the bands’ faces as they played was a sight to behold, especially Cathal and Sean O’Hagan. At one point Cathal said “The vibes are sending the guitars out of tune”, at another he spread his arms wide and said “canonise me”. Cathal and Sean did a fist pump after one song and Cathal said they were “down with the kids... of the 90s”. The whole show was fantastic, one of the best gigs I’ve ever seen, as were the two I saw them play last June. This was more powerful, though, being in Cork. The setlist was broader than the June shows as they were not centring it on The Clock Comes Down The Stairs, though they did still play most of that album. The whole set was a highlight, but some songs still stood out. Hearing Our Children was a lovely surprise. Birthday Girl was beautiful. Past, just weeks from Brexit, was a cautionary tale. Rack was unexpected and great. And ending the set with their five poppiest songs, Loftholdingswood, Gale Force Wind, United Colours, Singer's Hampstead Home and Town To Town was all I’d hoped for, and more. For the encore, they played High And Dry and a cover of Frankie Valli’s The Night. Before that, Cathal mused if Frankie Valli had ever visited the nearby bar, the Long Valley. I’d met old friends I hadn’t seen in almost 30 years in the Long Valley before the gig, so it was nice to hear it mentioned. The cover of The Night looked very much like being Sean’s song, such was his obvious joy in playing and singing on it. Then again, he also knew it was the last song at the last ever Microdisney show. It must have been bittersweet. And so Microdisney went out with a bang, in a sweaty club in front of maybe 450 people, back where it all began 40 years ago. I’m so glad I was there for it. Setlist: Mrs Simpson Horse Overboard Our Children Birthday Girl Past Are You Happy? Genius Begging Bowl A Friend With A Big Mouth And Rack Everybody Is Dead Pink Skinned Man Sun 464 Loftholdingswood Gale Force Wind United Colours Singer's Hampstead Home Town To Town Encore: High And Dry The Night | ||
| Stuart Wilson Member Username: Stuart Post Number: 1532 Registered: 10-2006 |
What a great night! You lucky guy!! | ||
| Fred Tadrowski Member Username: Ftadrowski Post Number: 87 Registered: 03-2015 |
Last Friday, I saw Peter Murphy and David J perform "In a Flat Field" album plus an assorted mix of Bauhaus songs at the Gothic Rockefeller Chapel on the University of Chicago campus. It was an ok concert in a great setting and felt like Peter Murphy was going thru the paces sometimes. They are one of those bands that I used to listen to back in the 80's, but not so much today. Tomorrow night, it is the Chills. Rob are you going? | ||
| Rob Brookman Member Username: Rob_b Post Number: 1940 Registered: 08-2006 |
It is with great sadness I must report I am not. I had tickets to see them in Boston, which I had to can because of work, then I found out I had to travel to a client meeting in Minnesota yesterday through Friday, so I'm missing the Chicago show, too. I gave my tickets to my girlfriend. Two chances to see the Chills, dashed. I'm beyond disappointed. Have a blast and lemme know how it is! | ||
| Randy Adams Member Username: Randy_adams Post Number: 4074 Registered: 03-2005 |
Last night: The Chills at the Regent in downtown LA. It was originally booked at the Echo, a club located maybe two miles or roughly three klicks from my house. I would have driven. With it shifted downtown I took the subway, the green choice but one that cost me something. Martin and the group took the stage at about 10:15 p.m.. Idiot me, I showed up nearly two hours early. First a hiccup when there was no signal from Martin's big Gretsch. Frantic testing and reconnecting by the stage crew! Then they got going with "Night of Chill Blue." I remember them doing "Bad Sugar", "Wet Blanket", "Male Monster of the Id", "Submarine Bells", "House with 100 Rooms", "Deep Belief", "Pink Frost", "Underwater Wasteland", "Kaleidoscope World", "Heavenly Pop Hit", "America Says Hello", "I Love My Leather Jacket." I'm probably forgetting something; I always do. Martin was in great voice and the band were a tour-forged phalanx. In other words The Chills sounded absolutely wonderful. For once! we in LA got an antipodean act AFTER they had adjusted to our hemisphere. Most of the time it seems we are the first port of call on a tour, as Air NZ and Qantas both fly direct to LA. The audience response was what it should be: ecstatic. I was punished for my choice to come via the subway because I had to hustle out of the venue as soon as the encore was finished so as to catch the last outbound train. Martin had already announced that they would come out and meet the audience and sign whatever we wanted. I'd just bought a copy of their BBC John Peel recordings and would have had them sign that. I'm a healthy and fast walking 62 but I don't have a whistle on my keyring and I figured it's just not smart for me to risk wandering through late night LA looking for a cab. (I used to do it all the time decades ago.) I love using my hooves and being green but on this occasion it was the wrong choice! The opening act Cotillon (no, I am NOT forgetting the second "i") was a resolutely anti-loud band presenting an array of three guitars, bass and drums. Even when they occasionally drifted into dreampop it was relatively undistorted and not loud. I took out the earplugs and never put them back in for the rest of the night. It seemed like every one of their songs was no more than 2:15 in length except for the finale which was maybe all of 3:30. That's a great way to be an opening act; don't overtax the impatient audience with long meandering things. Imagine a dreampop song that's only two and a half minutes long and not loud! My only advice is to ditch the Korg with its vocoder fitting, which the vocalist occasionally used in place of his guitar and ordinary mic. | ||
| Randy Adams Member Username: Randy_adams Post Number: 4075 Registered: 03-2005 |
I knew I forgot something. The encore was "Rolling Moon." Fred, how was your show? | ||
| Fred Tadrowski Member Username: Ftadrowski Post Number: 92 Registered: 03-2015 |
It was a special show, which was the first time I have ever seen the Chills live. My only complaint was that they performed 15 songs. But they were 15 songs that I wanted to hear live and yes, everyone was in great form. Martin did say that he wanted to come back sooner next time. Maybe with the documentary, which is premiering next week at SXSW, they will. P.S. I did not get to hear them play Rolling Moon, which it seems like they are playing every other show on the tour. | ||
| Randy Adams Member Username: Randy_adams Post Number: 4085 Registered: 03-2005 |
Fred, it was a big thrill to see somebody on the quality and legendary level of Martin Phillipps in a relatively small venue. It was wonderful to see him in such good health and spirits. He occasionally told us little bits of trivia about some of the songs, such as the fact that "Pink Frost" was actually a couple years old when it was finally released in 1984. Since I never saw the Chills onstage before I didn't realize how much of the famous recognizable guitar bits were Martin's. For whatever reason I had the impression that he played a bit of guitar, a bit of keyboard etc. as an accompanist but not as the lead. In fact, he was always the guitar voice of the Chills as well as the vocalist and writer. A week later this is one of the few shows which I wish I could see all over again because I feel like I didn't take it in well enough. I feel somehow as if I didn't do it justice. Even though I sang along to more than half the songs and never stood still, I didn't absorb it enough and want to try again. I feel privileged to have seen the Chills. It was THAT good a show. | ||
| TROU Member Username: Trou Post Number: 458 Registered: 05-2005 |
Outchi Mamma! B52's sold out in ten minutes, think I'll never see them… | ||
| Randy Adams Member Username: Randy_adams Post Number: 4127 Registered: 03-2005 |
Criminy, this particular late spring holiday I'm doing is really costing me in terms of lost gig opportunities. L.A. Salami plays in Los Angeles on June 1. I return to the U.S. on June 8. Maybe I shouldn't mind so much because it looks like he's only supporting the Specials, at an overpriced show in a nasty corporate venue the likes of which I normally never go to. But Fontaines D.C. play in Hollywood at a proper theater, two subway stops from me, on May 22. That's the day I board the plane to go to Madrid. | ||
| Pádraig Collins Member Username: Pádraig_collins Post Number: 8867 Registered: 05-2005 |
Randy, that sucks. I still haven't checked out L.A. Salami, but will soon. I hope Fontaines D.C. play in Australia soon. I think they will, given the album has had a domestic release In Australia, it's not imported copies in the shops. | ||
| Andreas Severins Member Username: Andreas_severins Post Number: 429 Registered: 11-2007 |
A note from the BV's from https://www.facebook.com/kus2015/ The BV's need your help ! We're still looking for a couple of shows for our Indietracks UK tour in July ! Can anyone help us with with bookings/contacts for London, Bristol, Leeds or Manchester ? ....contact Ronny from Kleine Untergrund Schallplatten, if you can help out! Andreas. | ||
| Rob Brookman Member Username: Rob_b Post Number: 1946 Registered: 08-2006 |
Holy crap, Robert's playing Chicago November 11. I never thought I'd see the day. Fred! We might actually meet! | ||
| Fred Tadrowski Member Username: Ftadrowski Post Number: 93 Registered: 03-2015 |
Thanks, Rob. That is good news! | ||
| Fred Tadrowski Member Username: Ftadrowski Post Number: 94 Registered: 03-2015 |
Rob, I can't find any info about the concert. Where is he playing? | ||
| Austin Member Username: Bruegelpie Post Number: 195 Registered: 09-2004 |
This is great! Robert hasn't played Evanston since the 16LL show in 1989! | ||
| Fred Tadrowski Member Username: Ftadrowski Post Number: 96 Registered: 03-2015 |
Austin, did see the Go-Betweens in Evanston back in 1989? I have seen that gig listed, but I did not believe it (Evanston used to be a dry city). I was living in a different time zone at the time. Now, I live 10 minutes away. | ||
| Austin Member Username: Bruegelpie Post Number: 196 Registered: 09-2004 |
Fred, Yes, the gig at the Student Union (then called "The Bar") did indeed happen. It was in another time, when not only did university-sponsored Union bars have alcohol, but they also sponsored quarter beer night and brought in bands. The GBs must have had an empty day in their schedule, and plugged it with this university gig. It was a great day for me, since before the gig I interviewed Grant and Amanda for my radio show. The next night they played Chicago proper, at Metro. There was some discussion of that gig on the Right Here Facebook page. It sounds like there was a big party after the Chicago gig, which left a few band members banged up! | ||
| Rob Brookman Member Username: Rob_b Post Number: 1947 Registered: 08-2006 |
Fred, sorry for delay - he's playing at Space. Tickets go on sale tomorrow at 10, I believe. | ||
| Fred Tadrowski Member Username: Ftadrowski Post Number: 97 Registered: 03-2015 |
Austin, do you have a copy of the interview or you think WNUR still has a copy of it? Thanks Rob, you made my day yesterday with the news. | ||
| Austin Member Username: Bruegelpie Post Number: 197 Registered: 09-2004 |
Fred, Yes, I'm sure I have a copy of the tape. I'll have to dig it out. I'm also sure it is very, very cringe-worthy. I'm not sure I can listen to it. The guy I did the radio show with, Jason Cohen, is a writer and frequently writes about rock. For example he wrote (with Garbage) "This Is the Noise That Keeps Me Awake." It is very good! | ||
| Rob Brookman Member Username: Rob_b Post Number: 1948 Registered: 08-2006 |
Got my RF tix. So happy. | ||
| Randy Adams Member Username: Randy_adams Post Number: 4136 Registered: 03-2005 |
Yay! Tickets purchased to Robert's Echo Park show. I really envy you who had heard the Go-Betweens back in the day. A college gig would have been the classic thing for them back then, even if not very remunerative. | ||
| Fred Tadrowski Member Username: Ftadrowski Post Number: 98 Registered: 03-2015 |
Got my tickets to the Evanston Space concert! Grant and/or Robert have not performed much in the Chicago area. I missed the aforementioned Evanston and Metro shows in 1989 (there is a good bootleg out there of the Metro concert). I missed the 1999 Double Door concerts with Grant & Robert. I also missed Grant opening for a not yet famous Jewel at a small coffeehouse in 1995 (I found out about it the day after). I did see Grant & Robert open for Lloyd Cole (Robert Vickers was in Lloyd's band) in 1991 and the 2005 Go-Betweens concert at the Abbey Pub. I seen Robert three times since, but I have had to travel to the gigs. | ||
| Hugh Nimmo Member Username: Hugh_nimmo Post Number: 1143 Registered: 03-2007 |
Randolph's Leap and The Burning Hell at the Blue Arrow, Glasgow, on Wednesday 24th April, 2019. A small, intimate, basement venue in Sauchiehall Street. The Burning Hell performed as a duo ( Mathias and Ariel. ) Randolph's Leap was the full band lineup ( bass, drums, acoustic guitar, electric guitar, keyboards, violin, trumpet and trombone.) Both bands were in high spirits and put on wonderful shows. For the last song of the night, The Burning Hell joined Randolph's Leap for a version of 'It Happens In Florida.' https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r3s-RQpJ Mn8 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-CB82vnM IhY | ||
| Hugh Nimmo Member Username: Hugh_nimmo Post Number: 1144 Registered: 03-2007 |
For some unknown reason, only part of the post appears above. Will try again. | ||
| Hugh Nimmo Member Username: Hugh_nimmo Post Number: 1145 Registered: 03-2007 |
It has now appeared in full. Strange. | ||
| Randy Adams Member Username: Randy_adams Post Number: 4138 Registered: 03-2005 |
Good new Adam Ross song, Hugh. | ||
| Hugh Nimmo Member Username: Hugh_nimmo Post Number: 1146 Registered: 03-2007 |
Randy, Not exactly new. It is an alternative version of the song on the 'Worryingly Okay' album. A distinctly different version which I did not pick up on right away either. | ||
| Randy Adams Member Username: Randy_adams Post Number: 4143 Registered: 03-2005 |
Hugh, obviously I need to pull out that disc again. Aside from a handful of songs it did not have the direct appeal of Cowardly Deeds. So I uploaded only a small portion of the album and that's what tends to be heard. | ||
| Simon Withers Member Username: Sfwithers Post Number: 588 Registered: 08-2005 |
Off to see The Undertones tonight for the third time - and hope they were as good as the last two times I saw them. They have an awesome back catalogue of perfect two-and-a-half-minute pop songs. | ||
| Alexey Member Username: Alexey_p Post Number: 16 Registered: 03-2019 |
Fantastic concert in Bonn last night... Still full of impressions. I guess I will have to narrow it down to ten things: 1. Robert Forster is a man of impeccable taste. 2. The instrumental interplay during "A Poet Walks" is pure orgasm. 3. The whole band were wearing shirts. I approve - I generally do not trust bands who wear T-shirts onstage. 4. Robert dismisses all requests. Again, I approve. 5. It's very interesting to follow his facial expressions when he is singing. There's a lot of feeling there, and memories, and pain. 6. In terms of song choice, the biggest surprise to me was "Twin Layers of Lightning". Fantastic performance, too. 7. A spirited version of "In The Core Of A Flame". 8. No young people in the audience. My wife and myself (I'm 32) were by far the youngest. I find this quite sad actually. 9. His favourite song by Nick Cave is "Tupelo" (that's the smartest question I could come up with after the show). 10. The man is a rock star, through and through. | ||
| Andreas Severins Member Username: Andreas_severins Post Number: 436 Registered: 11-2007 |
100% agreed! I was there with my younger brother, and he didn't know "Twin Layers of Lightning". As you said Alexej, a big surprise and a fantastic performance...  | ||
| Rob Brookman Member Username: Rob_b Post Number: 1949 Registered: 08-2006 |
Saw Television Friday night at Chicago's Old Town School of Folk Music theater, an intimate place with 300+ seats and perhaps the best sound in the city. It was amazing. I've seen Television, and Verlaine solo, many times, and this was the best I've ever seen them. They seemed to love the room (and said as much) and were loose and funny, except when they were playing, when they were fierce and majestic. Jimmy Rip - Verlaine's longtime guitar sideman - is playing the part of Richard Lloyd these days, and he's a more-than-adequate replacement. But it's Verlaine's guitar that lifts everything. His playing is so lyrical and unpredictable - Rip would lay down some riff and Verlaine would play some not-yet-invented futuristic jazz over the top of it. It was a pleasure to see. Yeah, they only do the Songs You Know, but those songs sound uncannily fresh after 40 years. | ||
| Randy Adams Member Username: Randy_adams Post Number: 4146 Registered: 03-2005 |
Y'know Rob, in the case of Television, the Songs You Know are forever worth hearing. The ones from Adventure would profit from live performances. | ||
| Fred Tadrowski Member Username: Ftadrowski Post Number: 100 Registered: 03-2015 |
Rob, I was at the first show Friday night. It was a great concert in such a nice venue. I have into Television/Tom Verlaine longer (1980, I believe) than I have been following the Go-Betweens. | ||
| TROU Member Username: Trou Post Number: 463 Registered: 05-2005 |
Chameleon Vox for the second time yesterday. Mark Burgess is slightly overweight now but it doesn't matter. He has celebrated loudly Manchester City victory. No words to qualify the band! They're too good. And so much good songs to remember.. | ||
| Rob Brookman Member Username: Rob_b Post Number: 1950 Registered: 08-2006 |
Haha, Fred, I suspected as much. Based on various feedback I think I knew half the crowd at the 7:30 show. I missed you again! And I'm with you - the first Verlaine I heard (back when "Marquee Moon" was impossible find) was "Flashlight." I've loved him ever since. And Randy, they only did "Glory" off of "Adventure." A good choice but I'd have loved to hear more. | ||
| Simon Withers Member Username: Sfwithers Post Number: 592 Registered: 08-2005 |
TROU, thanks for flagging that up – Chameleon Vox are playing quite close to me next Thursday and I may go. I'll listen to the Strange Times album first, as it's not one of those I actually have. | ||
| Burgers Member Username: Burgers Post Number: 116 Registered: 05-2005 |
Strange Times is probably The Chameleons’ third best album. First is Script of the Bridge which is the best album of all time. Second is the Peel sessions particularly for the flawless version of Perfume Garden, their greatest song. Third is Strange Times. They nearly made it in the USA with that album. What Does Anything Mean Basically? Is terribly produced The post reformation stuff is okay but nothing more. | ||
| TROU Member Username: Trou Post Number: 464 Registered: 05-2005 |
This is the Strange Times tour. But they are generous, when they've finished with it you can shout the songs you want to hear… Yesterday I saw And Also the Trees, after more than 30 years. The band has some kind of cult status here and in France. I don't particularly like the records I've heard of them, but live I've enjoyed it a lot. | ||
| Andreas Severins Member Username: Andreas_severins Post Number: 439 Registered: 11-2007 |
Hi jean! For me their first single Shantell / Wallpaper dyiing is a classic. Like it very much! Just bought a ticket for Lexington, London in september. Seeing the Monochrome Set and Jetstream Pony!! | ||
| peter ward Member Username: Peter_ward Post Number: 360 Registered: 06-2005 |
Robert & his fantastic band on top form in Dublin’s Button Factory last night. A great mix of solo & GBs Classics delivered with moody delicate touches & tight velvets like chugging. Came away with nothing from the early solo albums but some real treats from the GBs catalogue & the band did the more recent work justice. Maybe the best time I’ve seen Robert Solo & he was really enjoying himself up there, demanding the spotlight at one stage. Don’t you know.. he’s a star Set List – The Morning Crazy Jane on the Day of Judgement Born to a Family (The Go‐Betweens song) I Love Myself (and I Always Have) In the Core of a Flame (The Go‐Betweens song) A Poet Walks Dive for Your Memory (The Go‐Betweens song) Life Has Turned a Page Remain Inferno (Brisbane In Summer) Man O’Sand to Girl O’Sea (The Go‐Betweens song) Demon Days One Bird In The Sky Twin Layers of Lightning (The Go‐Betweens song) Spring Rain (The Go‐Betweens song) Here Comes a City (The Go‐Betweens song) Encore: Love Is a Sign (The Go‐Betweens song) Finding You (The Go‐Betweens song) Learn to Burn Encore 2: The Clarke Sisters (The Go‐Betweens song) Don’t Let Him Come Back (The Go‐Betweens song) Surfing Magazines (The Go‐Betweens song) | ||
| Pádraig Collins Member Username: Pádraig_collins Post Number: 8919 Registered: 05-2005 |
Any Cure fans out there? If so, you can see a live stream of their Sydney Opera House show from 8pm on Thursday. I'll let you figure our yourself what time that is in your part of the world. https://m.youtube.com/watch?feature=yout u.be&v=z9uSPf9WDbw | ||
| Pádraig Collins Member Username: Pádraig_collins Post Number: 8922 Registered: 05-2005 |
That Cure show was wonderful. I'm glad I live in a city where its Opera House occasionally live streams sold out concerts. On Friday I saw a young Australian female musician called Charlie Collins in Red Eye records. Unfortunately the bus I was on to the city was delayed in traffic, so I missed most of her set. What I saw was enough to make me, and a whole lot of other people, buy her debut album. There was a long queue to get it signed. I don't think she realised how long the queue was as we were mostly hidden behind an aisle of books, CDs and magazines. She seems like a lovely person (no relation, by the way, though I did tell her that I'm also a Collins). She's an Aboriginal woman from rural New South Wales and has a country charm about her that can't be faked. And now I'm just back from seeing Underworld at the Opera House. The show was mostly great. There were a couple of songs I wasn't familiar with, which I didn't particularly like (I think I probably have the albums they're on, but haven't played them more than a couple of times), but they played one new song, Border Country, which was great. Cowgirl was immense. I would have been very disappointed if they didn't play it. People in their 60s playing music for (mostly) people in their 40s and 50s. I'll take it. | ||
| Rob Brookman Member Username: Rob_b Post Number: 1951 Registered: 08-2006 |
Saw a double bill of Eleventh Dream Day and Dream Syndicate last night at Chicago's (very) intimate club, the Hideout. Holy cow, what a screamer. Very complementary bands with a ton of shared loved, and they teamed up at the end for a cover of "Cinnamon Girl," which suited EDD's Rick Rizzo and his Neil-esque guitar style just fine. Both bands were terrific and Steve Wynn loved the venue, suggesting they might become the new out-of-town-house band. It was one of those shows that exceeded the sum of its parts. | ||
| Randy Adams Member Username: Randy_adams Post Number: 4156 Registered: 03-2005 |
Got a ticket to see Brum’s legendary Mighty Mighty at the 100 Club tomorrow night. https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=t3RY8-KrxH A Support act: Davey Woodward of the Brilliant Corners and Experimental Pop Band. The sort of folks I cannot see in Los Angeles. | ||
| Randy Adams Member Username: Randy_adams Post Number: 4157 Registered: 03-2005 |
Rob, coincidentally my iPod pitched up Dream Syndicate’s “Halloween” while I was waiting for a flight. I didn’t even know Wynn had revived the band. | ||
| Hugh Nimmo Member Username: Hugh_nimmo Post Number: 1157 Registered: 03-2007 |
Randy, I read recently that Mighty Mighty will be releasing a brand new album in July, 2019, via Firestation Records so I am guessing you will get to hear some new material tomorrow night. | ||
| Hugh Nimmo Member Username: Hugh_nimmo Post Number: 1158 Registered: 03-2007 |
Randy, Track from the forthcoming album. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OZiiFci8 itc | ||
| Randy Adams Member Username: Randy_adams Post Number: 4158 Registered: 03-2005 |
Wow, that’s great news Hugh. I had no idea they were playing together again but decided to see what was on in London for my tiny few days here and jumped on it. I should have the new Claim album waiting for me when I get home. It seems like everyone is coming back together. Meanwhile I picked up the new Stroppies album at Rough Trade East And also a Pictish Trail album I tried to get in Edinburgh last year, but the disc was missing. Hope they don’t turn out to be crap, for all the effort. | ||
| Hugh Nimmo Member Username: Hugh_nimmo Post Number: 1159 Registered: 03-2007 |
Randy, All three are good artists / bands and I certainly would not expect you to have any problem with 'Whoosh' and 'The New Industrial Ballads' as both are, in my opinion, very good albums. I have a couple of Pictish Trail albums, which I like very much, but I really don't know what you will make of Johnny and his music. The opening track from 'Whoosh.' https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LUajxde1 O_c I have tickets for their gig at the Hug And Pint in Glasgow next month. | ||
| Randy Adams Member Username: Randy_adams Post Number: 4160 Registered: 03-2005 |
Hugh, it’s Pictish Trail I am wondering about. I didn’t write that clearly. Mighty Mighty were fun tonight. They mostly played songs from the upcoming new album but did play “Law,,” “Is There Anyone Out There,” “Built Like A Car” and “Everybody Knows the Monkey.” They’re a bit rusty but quite enthusiastic. Davey Woodward’s band was almost a reincarnation of the Brilliant Corners complete with trumpet. I love the Corners so this was a real treat. I think all of the material played was original to this new band. It was mostly worthy of the pedigree. I bought both of the albums Woodward had on offer. And the whole thing was finished shortly after 22:00! Perfect for the middle aged fans on a Thursday night and great for me as it meant there was no danger of my having to walk the four miles back to my hotel. (I refuse to download Uber.) | ||
| Hugh Nimmo Member Username: Hugh_nimmo Post Number: 1160 Registered: 03-2007 |
Randy, I did think it was probably the Pictish Trail you were referring to but I was not sure. Going out on a limb here but, given what I know about your musical taste, I am not sure it will be your thing. The Rolling Blackouts Coastal Fever are touring the U.K. again and will be playing in Glasgow ( St. Luke's ) on 15th July, 2019. I have tickets to see The Stroppies in Glasgow on 10th July, 2019, and will probably pick up tickets for this gig as well. New single by the band which was released in late April. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ToteR-Iz Pqg | ||
| Pádraig Collins Member Username: Pádraig_collins Post Number: 8926 Registered: 05-2005 |
Tonight I saw The Triumph & Tragedy of Martin Phillipps in the Hollywood, New Zealand’s oldest cinema, in Avondale, a suburb of Auckland a half hour train ride outside the city centre. The documentary is brilliant. The director and Martin Phillipps were interviewed on stage afterwards (I asked a question). And then Phillips did a short set, just him with an electric guitar. He played Pink Frost, Halo Fading, Night Of Chill Blue, Wet Blanket and Deep Belief. The whole night was just wonderful. | ||
| Pádraig Collins Member Username: Pádraig_collins Post Number: 8927 Registered: 05-2005 |
Tonight I saw The Monkees at Auckland Town Hall, which is about 200 metres from my hotel. The show was really great, far better than I thought it would be. Michael Nesmith and Mickey Dolenz made quite a few gags about their age, but they look a lot younger than much of the audience. And they can still sing and play. They didn’t just play the hits, there were quite a few deep cuts too. Every song was great, but some of the highlights for me were (I’m Not Your) Steppin’ Stone, Me And Magdalena, Birth Of An Accidental Hipster, Pleasant Valley Sunday, Listen To The Band and Daydream Believer. | ||
| Randy Adams Member Username: Randy_adams Post Number: 4166 Registered: 03-2005 |
Somebody nicely posted a Davey Woodward song from the 100 Club show: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BPnEu_bc 0Cg No idea if this is a new song, or an Experimental Pop Band song or a cover or what. It's not on either of the discs I bought at the show and I don't remember it by the Brilliant Corners. | ||
| Rob Brookman Member Username: Rob_b Post Number: 1952 Registered: 08-2006 |
Got to see a double bill of Wussy and Superchunk in St. Louis on Saturday night as part of Twangfest. Well worth the five-hour drive. Wussy was typically great - and funny (the onstage banter is worth the price of admission) - and played a mix of songs old and new. The place went nuts - and I mean nuts - when they played their cover of "Aliens in Our Midst," which was gratifying for me and a little bewildering for them. Mark, the bass player, asked people to greet the next song with perplexed silence so they'd feel more at home. Superchunk followed and were simply mighty. Their new record is my favorite and they played a few songs from it, but plenty of other great songs intervened. They closed with "Slack Motherf**ker," which was my anthem as a young man and on Saturday it roared like a, well, you know. | ||
| Andreas Severins Member Username: Andreas_severins Post Number: 442 Registered: 11-2007 |
The B-52's yesterday in cologne together with TROU (Jean). He came to see them from belgium. Was a wonderful evening! The B-52's - Planet Claire (Live in E-Werk/Cologne) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YDlktMWV N9k The B-52's - Rock Lobster (Live in E-Werk/Cologne) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rEEmRT1i dU4 After the show you could have bought their first to vinyl records as a repress (signed) for 85 euros each. And a lot of people bought!! The female bassist was really good... | ||
| TROU Member Username: Trou Post Number: 467 Registered: 05-2005 |
Rock Lobster, I could hear it easily more than ten times in a row, especialy this video : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n4QSYx4w VQg I've finaly seen Kate and Cindy, the stars I was enamoured when I was a school boy! And incredible Fred Schneider with the talkie walkie, the only musical instrument I could also play! Very hot evening! | ||
| Austin Member Username: Bruegelpie Post Number: 201 Registered: 09-2004 |
I'm seeing B52's again in a few weeks. I agree, they are a band that totally over-delivers compared to what is expected. Saw a great double bill of Jason Isbell / Father John Misty in Detroit a few weeks ago. Seeing Jefferson Starship in two days. I love bands that have dueling competing versions touring. Now I just have to see Starship with Mickey Thomas to compare. The setlists of the artists looks very similar. If I was putting on a festival, I'd have it composed of bands with different competing versions touring. I'd hire Jefferson Starship + Starship with Mickey Thomas, the two competing versions of Yes that are touring here in the US, Styx + Dennis Deyoung and the Music of Styx, and as headliners, I'd have Noel's and Liam's bands. I'd put in their contract that they would have to arm wrestle to see who closed the show. (Am I the only person that would pay for this group of artists? Are there any other competing versions of bands touring?) My other idea for a festival is to book a festival with zero original members. I'd book 38 Special, and now that Foreigner is playing shows without Mick Jones, they could headline. Are there other bands touring without any original members (hologram tours don't count!). | ||
| Simon Withers Member Username: Sfwithers Post Number: 595 Registered: 08-2005 |
Like a few of you here, I'm off to see a new bang-up-to-date musical act tonight: Graham Nash! i tried to get tickets when he performed in Bristol last year; tonight's he's playing in Bath, a 10-minute bike ride from home. (And a few months ago I took the train from Casablanca to another city in Morocco – yes, I rode the Marrakesh Express.) | ||
| Stuart Wilson Member Username: Stuart Post Number: 1584 Registered: 10-2006 |
The Quantocks are sort of in your neck of the woods, then, aren't they, Simon? Have you ever biked or hiked in that area? I was planning a Coleridge-inspired trip down that way for some time in the future. | ||
| Randy Adams Member Username: Randy_adams Post Number: 4193 Registered: 03-2005 |
Graham Nash! Give us a report Simon. Is he playing with an actual backing band? I have my issues with some of his musical decisions over the years but Nash has always seemed to be a genuinely good person. Rather like Springsteen in that regard. And I appreciate the way he has lived his life as a journey. Meanwhile I have bought tickets to see the Mekons this coming Monday. They're playing at a small venue an easy walk from a stop on LA's nascent rail transit system. The Mekons are an institution that has completely passed me by and this will be my first exposure to them. I learned of the Mekons gig the same way I learned of the Mighty Mighty/Davey Woodward gig when I was in London: Songkick. If you haven't tried this live performance aggregator I recommend it, especially for everyone who lives in big cities that inevitably have more going on than you can ever keep tabs on, i.e., Rob, Padraig and Hugh. Assuming you're near Detroit and Ann Arbor it should serve well for you too, Austin. You can search for specific artists but my recommendation is that you force yourself to tediously scroll through all the listings as that's how you'll find the things you'd never think of such as (for me) the Mekons and an old mostly forgotten 80s C86 band that you didn't even know had reunited like Mighty Mighty. | ||
| Simon Withers Member Username: Sfwithers Post Number: 596 Registered: 08-2005 |
Randy, it was a fantastic performance. He looks and sounds far, far better than anybody should at the age of 77! It was a super-sharp three-piece line-up: Graham on acoustic guitars and occasional keyboard/harmonica; Shane Fontayne on an array of electric guitars and mandolin on one song and Todd Caldwell on keyboards. Both Shane and Todd harmonised beautifully a la CSN. I massively appreciated the absence of bass and drums, which meant the vocals were nearly all discernible. I saw Neil Young years ago and this was much more enjoyable; Neil played what he wanted to, Graham played what the audience wanted. It ranged from CSNY - Marrakesh Express, Teach your Children, Our House, 4+20 - to a couple of Hollies numbers, a superb Bus Stop and King Midas in Reverse and selections from an extensive solo career. The last number of the first half was a Beatles cover - A Day in the Life. Astonishingly strong with just the three of them on stage. As for the Mekons, I don't know their music, but in my days as a sub-editor for a science fiction magazine I regularly worked with Dave Langford, brother of the Mekons' guitarist Jon. | ||
| Randy Adams Member Username: Randy_adams Post Number: 4194 Registered: 03-2005 |
Sounds great Simon. In my fantasy world Graham would fill out the picture and choose some of his classic deep cuts from the Hollies years, like "Stop Right There," "Tell Me To My Face" and "Butterfly." Or "Postcard," the precursor to "Marrakesh Express." He was a fully formed talent before he joined up with Crosby and Stills. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w7sE1d3c smA https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=odu3nfV8 2YI https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-6CEbf0t P18 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iKB_ab8s Q90 Generally people only know the Hollies by their singles. But it's their album material that distinguishes them and Graham was responsible for much of the best. | ||
| Randy Adams Member Username: Randy_adams Post Number: 4195 Registered: 03-2005 |
Mekons last night at an old decommissioned Masonic Lodge in the Highland Park area of Los Angeles. This part of town has become the hipster haven as my own neighborhood (Silverlake/Los Feliz) is now firmly too expensive for any proper hipsters. It was impressive to see that the Lodge was sold out for the Mekons. Most of the crowd were in my age group. I kept seeing people who visually reminded me of friends and relatives of mine. The interior of the room is attractive but much too "live" in sound. The sound bounces off the surfaces. I had to resort to earplugs. The opening act was a young one called Skokie Girls, apparently actually from Skokie, Illinois. The berets worn by the two women who were presumably the songwriters as well as the singers said it all. This was a very self-conscious throwback to the 80s. I appreciated their tight band discipline but felt that the music was too kiddish, too reliant on schtick. It was a weird thing to couple with the Mekons. Interestingly, the song I liked best was a disco number with drums, bass and melodica that (I think) was called "Black Queen." As for the Mekons, this was literally my first exposure to them. I have none of their records and, except to listen to one song from their current album from youtube, I hadn't heard anything. They have such a huge back catalog it just seemed more practical to go and see what I think of them live. First off, they were more electric (and loud) than I was expecting. I told my evening companion that they made me think of Billy Bragg as a band. Later I added the idea of them being a folk pub rock band. The audience was theirs and they got a strong demand for an encore and also for another one, but we decided that we'd had enough of standing. Once again I fell for the fiction of show times in Los Angeles. The Mekons didn't hit the stage until at least 90 minutes after I arrived and that wore down an essential part of my concert stamina before they even started playing. I hated leaving when I did because it really sounded like that crowd was going to get them to come out for a second encore. It was fun to watch a bunch of borderline elderly British bohemians perform. I cheered for their suggestion that California secede from the U.S.. Sally Timms literally stopped the band at one point because there was fighting in the audience near the stage. Apparently somebody was being unreasonable making a video with a smart phone and getting in the audience's way. Sally called for security to move the video lady to the back of the hall. She really meant business but there was none of that "we want to protect our copyright" stuff. She just wanted the audience to enjoy the show. "Security mobilized" as Mark E. Smith said in "Lie Drive of a Casino Soul" and an impossibly tiny woman was muscled to the back of the room, still idiotically holding her smart phone. I thought about how nice it is to reach that stage of your career when you can just assert yourself for the benefit of your crowd and not worry about how it comes off. Sally also said something about how everyone was past 60 now and they just couldn't indulge in the physical hassles that they could before. And she asked the crowd if they'd all come because they thought they'd never see them again? (This seemed to be another allusion to their ages.). Musically they'd careen from raucous pub rock numbers to actually very pretty ballads but never without a bit of dissonance or tartness about them. And then back to more raucous pub folk rock numbers. Besides thinking of them as a band-form incarnation of Billy Bragg, I also thought of them as a British answer to the Plastic People of the Universe. But really I was just grasping at straws. I didn't know what to make of them. I glad I went. | ||
| Pádraig Collins Member Username: Pádraig_collins Post Number: 8979 Registered: 05-2005 |
I love this review, Randy. And I love that Sally Timms got the iPhone eejit moved to the back. Proper order. | ||
| Randy Adams Member Username: Randy_adams Post Number: 4196 Registered: 03-2005 |
Thanks Padraig. Wish my fingers hadn't autotyped "Drive"; the Fall song's name is "Lie DREAM of a Casino Soul." Seeing an obit for Art Neville in the NYT this morning reminded me that Jon Langford told us about Neville's death Monday night. But nobody in the audience seemed to recognize the name and even I had to think for a few seconds--"duh, the Neville Brothers"--after Langford remonstrated with us for our lack of response to the news. This really wasn't a crowd of funk or soul fans. | ||
| Rob Brookman Member Username: Rob_b Post Number: 1956 Registered: 08-2006 |
Thanks for the report, Randy, and I'm super glad you had fun. The Mekons are kind of in my pantheon of musical greats and I've seen them more times than I can count, dating back to the 80s. It helps that Langford lives in Chicago - I see him a lot in various guises. But the Mekons are singular and a mighty, timeless unit, IMO. "Fear and Whiskey" and "The Mekons Rock 'n Roll" are records everyone should own. | ||
| Fred Tadrowski Member Username: Ftadrowski Post Number: 102 Registered: 03-2015 |
Randy I saw them play over a week at the Hideout in Chicago. I always enjoy seeing the Mekons and their various guises as a band (acoustic, Mini-Mekons and Freakons) and also solo projects. They are messy, anarchic, real, and still have some that old English Punk/Post-Punk anger. | ||
| Randy Adams Member Username: Randy_adams Post Number: 4197 Registered: 03-2005 |
Thanks for the tip as to where to begin Rob. I'm thinking maybe getting the "Original Sin" CD combining "Fear and Whiskey" with extras. Doing just a slight bit of reading on them I see one of their sometime members was also a member of Ashtray Boy, a longtime regular in my iPod music libraries. I didn't realize that they were functioning as a binational group now. I wonder if they are more popular in the US than in the UK. This is the first time that I can recall when I decided to approach a new-to-me group first as a live proposition with no familiarity with their records. I can absorb new songs easily enough but such a random sort of band with the Mekons' long history challenges the idea. It was really fun to do! So, Fred, they will do acoustic shows sometimes? I don't remember which of the songs from the new album I heard on youtube as my Mekons sampler but I went there thinking I was going to hear something a lot more acoustic that what we got. Clearly they are "messy, anarchic, real, and still have some of that old English Punk/Post-Punk anger." In fact early on Langford commented about how spawn of the Thatcher era in the UK are still in control. This before BoJo canned half the May appointees and, with the possible exception of Sajid Javid, replaced them with the worst flat-earthers he could find in his party. | ||
| Jerry Clark Member Username: Jerry Post Number: 1283 Registered: 08-2004 |
Sajid Javid is a banker so at the very least qualified and a tax avoider. So definitely 'of them'. | ||
| TROU Member Username: Trou Post Number: 469 Registered: 05-2005 |
The Good, the Bad and the Queen yesterday in Luxembourg. I thank God to have been there. A kind of magical night in "intimate" place with a so little stage that the string quartet had to play on the balcony behind the public. I don't know on records, but live the music is fantastic. Paul Simonon alone is an attraction (these London Calling bass notes in the middle of a song…). The old Tony Allen (nearly 80!) was extraordinary, not to mention Damon Albarn in full form. A concert that will be hard to forget! | ||
| Pádraig Collins Member Username: Pádraig_collins Post Number: 8994 Registered: 05-2005 |
Sounds great. I've seen Blur three times and Damon Albarn solo, and would love to The Good, The Bad And The Queen. | ||
| Pádraig Collins Member Username: Pádraig_collins Post Number: 8998 Registered: 05-2005 |
Seeker Lover Keeper at an instore in Red Eye. They only played four songs, but it was great. I got their new album signed by all three of them afterwards. What lovely people they are. | ||
| Pádraig Collins Member Username: Pádraig_collins Post Number: 8999 Registered: 05-2005 |
And next week I'm seeing Ride on Thursday and The Chills, Straitjacket Fits, Mermaidens, Blam Blam Blam, Mermaidens, Jen Cloher and a whole load more on Friday at The Others Festival. https://www.undertheradar.co.nz/news/163 12/Timetable-Revealed-For-The-Others-Way -Festival-2019.utr | ||
| Pádraig Collins Member Username: Pádraig_collins Post Number: 9011 Registered: 05-2005 |
Ride were brilliant in Auckland. It was the first time I’d seen them since 1992. They played the right mix of old and new material, though a lot of people seemed not to recognise the songs from their two comeback albums. They were supported by a Melbourne band called Shiva And The Hazards, who were very good. I’d never previously heard of them. The next night I spent five hours standing on a concrete floor, which wasn’t ideal, but I saw three great bands and one good one. The good was the opener, Mermaidens. I prefer post punk cut with melody, eg Wire. Mermaidens will hopefully learn you catch more flies with honey than vinegar. The Chills were superb. Martin Phillips was in great form. Surviving a near death experience has been good for his mood. It was my fourth time seeing them, and maybe the best. Everything sounded great and the band were so tight. I think I’d only ever heard one Blam Blam Blam song before seeing them. I was blown away. They were great. I knew so little about them I didn’t even know Don McGlashan was the drummer. I’d assumed he was the frontman as he was in The Mutton Birds. Blam... are much heavier - in a post punk way - than McGlashan’s next band were. They missed a trick in not rereleasing anything of their slim catalogue in time for the reformation shows. By the time Straitjacket Fits came on, I was tired from all the standing and feeling a bit claustrophobic in the too-packed venue, but they were still great and played all I’d hoped to hear. I didn’t see anyone else at The Others Festival as I just stayed in the one venue to make sure I got to see The Chills and Straitjacket Fits. If you left a venue to see someone at another venue there was no guarantee of getting back in as far more tickets were sold than any one venue could hold. Still, I’m so glad I went and intend to return to The Others Way next year. | ||
| Austin Member Username: Bruegelpie Post Number: 202 Registered: 09-2004 |
Hi Padraig, The Others Way festival sounds great! My impression is that festivals in the US have really turned away from a heavy concentration of "indie / alternative" music in favor of rap, techno / dance. I was thinking of going to Riot Fest in Chicago next weekend, but I don't think the lineup is strong enough. (I've really enjoyed going in past years.) Instead, I'm going to a couple of "oldies" shows here in Detroit - Morrissey / Interpol on Friday and B-52s / OMD / Berlin on Saturday. I'll be ready to hear some new music after all the old music. I will check out Blam Blam Blam! Thanks for the tip! | ||
| Pádraig Collins Member Username: Pádraig_collins Post Number: 9013 Registered: 05-2005 |
Austin, Blam Blam Blam’s music is very hard to find, though it is available on iTunes. Their entire output was one album, one EP and three singles in 1981/82. A 1992 compilation rounded up almost everything they’d recorded, but has never been reissued. Oh, and I forgot to mention that I met Flying Nun founder Roger Shepherd in the Flying Out shop. It was like walking into an Apple shop and meeting Steve Jobs, except a million times better. | ||
| Hugh Nimmo Member Username: Hugh_nimmo Post Number: 1176 Registered: 03-2007 |
Austin, Links to a couple of articles on Blam Blam Blam. http://www.simongrigg.info/blamblam.htm https://www.audioculture.co.nz/people/bl am-blam-blam The compilation that Padraig mentioned above is available on Discogs ( secondhand copies only ) although pretty expensive these days. | ||
| Austin Member Username: Bruegelpie Post Number: 203 Registered: 09-2004 |
Hi Hugh, Thanks for the links! Padraig, Saying that you have met the "Steve Jobs of New Zealand indie pop "will get you far during your next cocktail party, I'm sure | ||
| Pádraig Collins Member Username: Pádraig_collins Post Number: 9014 Registered: 05-2005 |
Austin, yes, that’s gone straight into the top drawer of my best chat up lines. | ||
| TROU Member Username: Trou Post Number: 472 Registered: 05-2005 |
I've twitched Eels this week. Don't know what to say. It was long very rocky show, with lot of covers (Prince, the Who,...). Despite not my cup of tea, I liked 40 % of the show very much. Next are Wedding Present, Psychedelic Furs, Robert, Mono, Ride, Cigarettes AS. Old bands... | ||
| Randy Adams Member Username: Randy_adams Post Number: 4211 Registered: 03-2005 |
Trou, don't feel too bad about old bands. On October 3 I'm going to see Michael Nesmith. | ||
| Hugh Nimmo Member Username: Hugh_nimmo Post Number: 1179 Registered: 03-2007 |
Trou / Randy, I have tickets for a gig by Steeleye Span in November. Their 50th Anniversary Tour ( 1969 - 2019.) Only one original member of the band remaining ( Maddie Prior.) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uUwn4ewr fhM | ||
| Randy Adams Member Username: Randy_adams Post Number: 4213 Registered: 03-2005 |
Hugh, Steeleye Span is somebody whose records I'd used to see in the racks way back in the days of flipping through vinyl (rather than CDs) but never explored. Maddie Prior's name is familiar. | ||
| Simon Withers Member Username: Sfwithers Post Number: 598 Registered: 08-2005 |
In the pub over the road from the Chapel Arts Centre in Bath, where I'm about to see Steve Kilbey and Amanda Kramer. Looking forward to it. And Randy, I'd go to see Michael Nesmith at the drop of a hat. He was due to play in Bath years ago but had to cancel. Love The Monkees and he's written some great songs... Different Drum, Rio... | ||
| Simon Withers Member Username: Sfwithers Post Number: 599 Registered: 08-2005 |
And, I just said hello to Steve Kilbey and shook his hand in the pub, where he's off to meet more fans – he did invite me and had it been Mr Forster, Mr Phillipps or a few others, I'd have said yes. Not sure what I'd say to Mr Kilbey!! | ||
| Hugh Nimmo Member Username: Hugh_nimmo Post Number: 1180 Registered: 03-2007 |
Randy, Maddie was one of the founders of the group way back in 1969. She was also a member of the Silly Sisters with June Tabor ( another traditional folk singer ) and has performed with the Carnival Band, whose repertoire focuses on popular music from the 16th and 17th centuries, for many years. I would imagine that Steeleye Span records may have been a hard sell in the U.S.A. back in the day. The current lineup has produced some decent albums in recent years so I am looking forward to seeing them at the Oran Mor. I expect a large number of the audience on the night will be in their 70s so it is good that the gig is seated!!! | ||
| Simon Withers Member Username: Sfwithers Post Number: 600 Registered: 08-2005 |
Steve Kilbey was excellent, in good voice in front of a small audience of just 40 or so of us sat at little round tables as if we were watching a cabaret. It was just him on a 12-string acoustic and Amanda Kramer on an electric keyboard (a Nord Stage, fact fans!). He did Church songs – including Under the Milky Way, Destination – solo songs from Sydney Rococo and a fair few covers, Bob Dylan, Simon & Garfunkel's America, David Bowie's Boys Keep Swinging, Lou Reed's Lady Day, Tom Rush's No Regrets (as covered by the Walker Brothers). In addition there were a lot of anecdotes with a fair bit of swearing. He's not happy that he made no money from Starfish, for example. Highly recommended and his voice is well suited to such a small-scale performance. | ||
| Pádraig Collins Member Username: Pádraig_collins Post Number: 9018 Registered: 05-2005 |
Simon, is the venue very small or was it near empty? Someone is making a big loss booking a guy who lives in Sydney to play for 40 people on the other side of the world. | ||
| Simon Withers Member Username: Sfwithers Post Number: 601 Registered: 08-2005 |
It's a small venue at the best of times – 200 standing, 150 seated, 105 cabaret style. It's not exactly a mainstream venue – I've seen Emily Barker there and the excellent Kast Off Kinks – but I was surprised at how small the audience was. It did at least make for a very intimate performance and Steve and Amanda weren't going through the motions. | ||
| Randy Adams Member Username: Randy_adams Post Number: 4215 Registered: 03-2005 |
I do appreciate a show with seats, Hugh. I take foolish pride in the fact that I can still stand for a show but I won't claim it's fun. Ironically, the Mekons show was a standing affair. Simon, does Kilbey still have his weirdly youthful voice? He can't have treated it very well over the years. I've never explored any of his solo stuff. | ||
| Randy Adams Member Username: Randy_adams Post Number: 4230 Registered: 03-2005 |
I'm a week late but here's my report on the Michael Nesmith show. By the standards I have become accustomed to, it was a pricey ticket at $50 each. The venue is a smallish place with seats, maybe 200 or so, where I previously saw Lloyd Cole play without a band. Everybody was my age or older. Some women got into a squabble about seats in the front row. I and my friend were in the third row in the middle. Perfect location. For this show, the First National Band consisted of two guitarists, keyboard, pedal steel, drummer and two female backup singers. Nesmith played an acoustic 12 string. The band were excellent. None of the original members of the 1970 vintage First National Band were present but that's not a surprise. The lead guitarist was obviously a massive fan of Nesmith's songs and it showed. The song selection was deep and non-obvious. They started with "Nevada Fighter." They did "Rio" and "Different Drum," "Some of Shelley's Blues" and "Papa Gene's Blues" but other than those everything came from the first three First National Band albums. They did Nesmith's two solo hits "Joanne" and "Silver Moon." They did "Crippled Lion," one of Nesmith's non-hit greats. They did quirky numbers like "Keys to the Car" and "Bye, Bye, Bye" and "Tengo Amore." They roused the crowd with "Mama Nantucket." Things I was hoping they'd do but didn't? "Propinquity," possibly my personal favorite Nesmith song, "Listen to the Band" and "Conversations." Nesmith was a great interpreter of other people's material but unless I've forgotten something he did no outside songs. Michael Nesmith will be 77 on December 30. Bearing that in mind he was still in pretty good voice. He could still do some of his gorgeous falsetto. The problem was memory. Either he did not rehearse the material sufficiently or he is having major problems with memory. Like most older artists he used an iPad on the stage to see the lyrics. That's not a problem. The problem is that he clearly needed to actually read them all the way through for each and every song. His effort to read them meant that his phrasing was not at all rhythmic and if he lost his place on the iPad he just fell silent until he could find it again. The words to a song like "Grand Ennui" require suitable delivery for the humor to come through. It was lost in the effort. Nesmith has always been weirdly modest about his own songs. I can't help suspecting that he didn't realize that they deserve total focus in preparation for presentation to the public. In other words, my sense was that he didn't take his part of the deal seriously enough. He should have practiced those songs until he knew them well again. He told plenty of funny and perfectly coherent anecdotes with just a bit of doddering old man charm, which suggests that he probably isn't missing the necessary brain cells to learn his material. Summary: a spectacular set of underrated songs performed gorgeously by a large band but sung desultorily by an unprepared singer. Worth it? Yes. Frustrating? Yes. | ||
| Pádraig Collins Member Username: Pádraig_collins Post Number: 9037 Registered: 05-2005 |
Great review, Randy. Did the lead guitarist look like a younger version of him? If so, it's his son. I saw The Monkees in Auckland in June and the son acted as musical director. The son's wife was on backing vocal, as was Mickey Dolenz's sister. | ||
| Randy Adams Member Username: Randy_adams Post Number: 4232 Registered: 03-2005 |
Great info Padraig! Yes, the lead guitarist was married to one of the backup singers. There were some issues in the early part of the show with the sound from Nesmith's mic so some of his early commentary was lost. Unusually, Nesmith introduced the band at the beginning instead of near the end. I definitely didn't catch that the guitarist was his son. And I think we can assume that Mickie Dolenz' sister was the other backup singer. I thought it odd to have the female backup singers as Nesmith's solo records weren't female backup singer type things. I love the idea of one of them being Dolenz' sister (because I do remember one of them being made up to the nth degree like an older woman might do for stage work). In the band, my big focus was on the pedal steel player (Pete Finney I think?) who did a sterling job of recreating O.J. "Red" Rhodes' unique pedal steel arrangements. | ||
| Stuart Wilson Member Username: Stuart Post Number: 1611 Registered: 10-2006 |
As a knowledgeable Nesmithian, then, Randy, what of his solo output would you regard as essential? | ||
| Hugh Nimmo Member Username: Hugh_nimmo Post Number: 1189 Registered: 03-2007 |
Randy, Pete Finney is currently one of the most sought after sessions musicians in Nashville. He plays pedal steel guitar on 'Four Lost Souls' by Four Lost Souls ( aka Jon Langford's Four Lost Souls ) which I purchased recently. Jon Langford, as you probably know, is one of the founders of The Mekons. I assume it is Pete Finney in this video. Welsh punk rocker dives deep into the soul of Muscle Shoals. Bethany Thomas has a fabulous voice. It is a very good album. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ieDPIPSZ a7E | ||
| Hugh Nimmo Member Username: Hugh_nimmo Post Number: 1190 Registered: 03-2007 |
Stuart, As a less knowledgeable Nesmithian, I would certainly recommend his first six albums ( three with The First National Band and three with the Second National Band.) You can pick up five of them here leaving only Standard Ranch Stash outstanding. https://www.amazon.co.uk/Original-Album- Classics-Michael-Nesmith/dp/B00ZWMFZ3I/r ef=sr_1_6?keywords=michael+nesmith&qid=1 570816370&s=music&sr=1-6 If you feel like splashing out then you can pick up the majority of his output here. https://www.amazon.co.uk/Songs-Michael-N esmith/dp/B07N3S5PWM/ref=sr_1_2?keywords =michael+nesmith&qid=1570816598&s=music& sr=1-2 If you are only going for one title then I would recommend the following. Please note that these versions are from the expanded version of the album :- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3N2JQfGB uw4 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oj6Di5gN WeQ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qo3LOj63 q8w | ||
| Randy Adams Member Username: Randy_adams Post Number: 4233 Registered: 03-2005 |
Stuart, Hugh provides a great link there. I personally prefer records with bass and drums. The absence of those on "Standard Ranch Stash" and "Hits Just Keep Comin'" has always left those off my favored list. Both albums have great songs though. I probably should listen to it again, but the first of the Second National Band albums, "Tantamount to Treason" was always a disappointment to me: too much concept and not quite enough song. It does have the great "Wax Minute" though. My personal favorite album is the third of the First National Band albums, "Nevada Fighter." It's by no means definitive because it has neither "Joanne" nor "Silver Moon" which appear on his first and second albums respectively. What I like about "Nevada Fighter" is that it features a Side One of Nesmith originals and a Side Two of superb interpretations of other people's songs. Nesmith wasn't in the Monkees for nothing. He knew how to pick a song and then how to do it. He does a Michael Murphy song ("Texas Morning"), breathes new life into an old country swing standard from a 1935 Gene Autry film ("Tumblin' Tumbleweeds"), an Eric Clapton song ("I Looked Away") and one of the Harry Nilsson songs that everybody did but Michael Nesmith made his own: "Rainmaker." For my money "Nevada Fighter" is Michael Nesmith's single best album as an album. The two previous albums have absolutely necessary songs on them but they are both much collections of songs and not really albums per se. If I were you, I'd choose the RCA five-pack that Hugh linked you to. You'll get most of his great things. And I can send you the other chunk to have: his work during the Monkees years including not only the songs on their releases but also the songs recorded but not released until Rhino started doing reissues. | ||
| Randy Adams Member Username: Randy_adams Post Number: 4234 Registered: 03-2005 |
Adding to Hugh's links for song samples: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X6NYFkzv 71E https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RP5D2wAY 0NY https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7gQWfUtr UrA And for good measure, since I mentioned it in my gig review: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0cYb4sOA p6A | ||
| Stuart Wilson Member Username: Stuart Post Number: 1612 Registered: 10-2006 |
I must admit, I do have my eye on that big chunky boxed set thing. Buying virtually the whole of an artist's ouevre in one fell swoop is always a satisfying sensation. But the verdict of the KNs (Knowledgeable Nesmithians, now properly in the plural) is therefore that after those first six albums his work should be consigned utterly to the further reaches of infernal darkness? | ||
| Hugh Nimmo Member Username: Hugh_nimmo Post Number: 1191 Registered: 03-2007 |
Stuart, Not in my case. Although the music on the later albums is a departure from that on the first six albums it is still recognisably Nesmith and there is a lot to like. The Songs Box Set works out at about €4.50 per album. Great value for money and a steal at the price. Go for it. You won't be disappointed. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WnpcTsy1 0dE I listened to 'The Prison' earlier and I am currently listening to 'From A Radio Engine To The Photon Wing.' | ||
| Stuart Wilson Member Username: Stuart Post Number: 1613 Registered: 10-2006 |
Excellent, Hugh, good to know! That's my Christmas present sorted then! | ||
| Randy Adams Member Username: Randy_adams Post Number: 4235 Registered: 03-2005 |
Stuart, I drop off here. I didn't go beyond Nesmith's first six albums and haven't heard the newer ones. In general, as music moved deeper into the 70s I stopped paying attention (and moved backwards to obscure 60s music) until a new generation arrived. Specific to Nesmith I wanted records with full band arrangements and after two albums lacking that I wandered off. | ||
| Stuart Wilson Member Username: Stuart Post Number: 1614 Registered: 10-2006 |
Well, come Santa Claus, we shall see what's what! | ||
| peter ward Member Username: Peter_ward Post Number: 362 Registered: 06-2005 |
Was trying to recall what year the Big Star Dublin show was until I was reliably informed by Padraig’s review,.. oh what a night: https://www.google.ie/amp/s/www.irishtim es.com/culture/big-star-1.321915%3fmode= amp | ||
| Randy Adams Member Username: Randy_adams Post Number: 4238 Registered: 03-2005 |
Hugh, somehow I missed your post above about Pete Finney and the Jon Langford group. The guy in the video definitely is not the guy who played at Nesmith's show. The Pete Finney at that show was a lot older, with white hair. He was maybe ten years younger than Nesmith. Great song. | ||
| Hugh Nimmo Member Username: Hugh_nimmo Post Number: 1193 Registered: 03-2007 |
Randy, I did wonder as the person in the video seemed very young to be a seasoned Nashville Session Musician. I searched online but could not find a photo of Pete Finney. It is really good album with some excellent songs and lovely pedal steel guitar throughout. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U3pSOk9A BhY | ||
| Pádraig Collins Member Username: Pádraig_collins Post Number: 9038 Registered: 05-2005 |
Thanks, Peter! It’s nice to see that again. | ||
| Rob Brookman Member Username: Rob_b Post Number: 1962 Registered: 08-2006 |
Saw Luna do "Penthouse" in its entirety Sunday night. That record remains an all-time fave and the band did it proud. Live, it thundered a little more than it does in the recorded version, and it was pretty thrilling. There aren't many bands I'd want to see recreate classic albums live but I thought this one might bring the right mojo and it sure 'nuff did. Now I can't get those damn songs out of my head. | ||
| Pádraig Collins Member Username: Pádraig_collins Post Number: 9043 Registered: 05-2005 |
I’d love to see that show, Rob. I can’t imagine them bringing it to Sydney though. When I saw them here a few years back it was in a tiny club that was only about two-thirds full. Such a pity, given Dean Wareham was raised in Sydney and still has an Australian accent. | ||
| Rob Brookman Member Username: Rob_b Post Number: 1963 Registered: 08-2006 |
Yeah, Padraig, I think they were smart to pull out the album concept for these appearances. They did "Bewitched" on Saturday and "Penthouse" Sunday, and I'm pretty sure both were sold out. Honestly, if it'd just been a regular Luna show, I'm not sure I would've gone. But the idea of seeing a great album plus extras was pretty compelling. And they nailed it. | ||
| TROU Member Username: Trou Post Number: 475 Registered: 05-2005 |
Saw the Psychedelic Furs in Bxl. A disaster. The sound was so awfull that it was nearly impossible to recognize the songs. The magnificent Butler's voice was nearly unhearable. Sister Europe and the final song apart, there was nothing to be saved in this short and insane concert… Unfortunately for such good band, something to forget | ||
| Simon Withers Member Username: Sfwithers Post Number: 605 Registered: 08-2005 |
I've bought my ticket for a certain Robert Forster Esq at the Glee Club, Birmingham later in November. Woohoo! I'm going to take a couple of days off work, visit Birmingham's excellent Museum and Art Gallery (great collection of Pre-Raphaelite art) and visit the new and apparently huge HMV shop, all of which, like the Glee Club, are in Central Birmingham. | ||
| Pádraig Collins Member Username: Pádraig_collins Post Number: 9053 Registered: 05-2005 |
I look forward to your reports on all three, Simon. | ||
| Randy Adams Member Username: Randy_adams Post Number: 4244 Registered: 03-2005 |
Robert Forster tonight, at the Echoplex in Los Angeles. This is the space where I saw Sad Lovers & Giants and was going to see the Chills until demand for them proved too great for the size of the room. There were chairs! I didn't expect that and thus didn't bring anything for Robert to sign as I didn't want to stand around in a crowd clutching an album. He accompanied himself and gave us a nice all-round selection spanning from "Part Company" up to "Life Has Turned a Page," "One Bird in the Sky" and "Inferno." The Grant song was "In the Core of a Flame" plus the half-Grant song "Demon Days." He seemed relaxed and in good shape in all senses, in good voice, properly familiar with his songs and playing the guitar just fine. There was no hint of jet lag though LA was his first show in North America. His short hair suits him. He looks wonderfully like his new painting. No he didn't wear a multicolor William Morris type outfit. He was his usual charming self, very helpfully explaining the locations of the places name-checked in "Life Has Turned a Page." After finishing each song he would walk back to a table situated in the right rear corner of the stage, take a swig from a bottle of water and consult his set list. At one point he raised his brows with a look of delighted surprise at what was the next selection which made us all laugh and then he returned to the mic to do "Inferno." The water ran out and as Robert played the next song someone sitting close to the stage got up and discreetly went to the bar and obtained another bottle for him. I loved that. Robert knew we were his audience. Besides the chairs I loved the fact that he came on when he was supposed to and we were out and on our way by shortly after 10:00 p.m.. Perfect for this fellow 62 year old and even more so for my 59 year old companion who still has to work in the morning. | ||
| Pádraig Collins Member Username: Pádraig_collins Post Number: 9057 Registered: 05-2005 |
That sounds wonderful, Randy. | ||
| Rob Brookman Member Username: Rob_b Post Number: 1965 Registered: 08-2006 |
This does sound great. I'm looking forward to the week ahead: I see Robert on Monday here in Chicago (well, Evanston, technically) then head to Boston on Wednesday to hang with old friends and see him there on Thursday. I need a vacation and wrapping a Robert show into it is just the thing. | ||
| Fred Tadrowski Member Username: Ftadrowski Post Number: 105 Registered: 03-2015 |
Nice review, I am also looking forward to Monday night. Because we had some unused plane tickets to Dublin for a trip we had to cancel for family reasons, we are traveling to see Robert again there in two weeks time. | ||
| Randy Adams Member Username: Randy_adams Post Number: 4246 Registered: 03-2005 |
Robert in Boston and Dublin! How wonderful sounding for the both of you. I haven't been to Boston but would like to go. (Too California wimpy to try it in November though, Rob.) I really enjoyed my visit to Dublin to see Microdisney, Fred. It's a human-scale town with a lot of interest. Go ahead and laugh but they have a great dead zoo--Natural History Museum. If you can, take one of your evening meals in a pub. It led to a night of conversation with some Dubliners who'd also lived in California for a part of the previous decade. | ||
| Austin Member Username: Bruegelpie Post Number: 204 Registered: 09-2004 |
So excited to see Robert again in Evanston, 30 years after seeing him play there with 16LL tour! Fred and Rob, we will have to say "hi"! | ||
| Fred Tadrowski Member Username: Ftadrowski Post Number: 106 Registered: 03-2015 |
Austin, my wife and I will be sitting at Table 23 (center). I remember searching a table with a banana on it before the Go-Betweens Abbey Pub gig. Say hello! | ||
| Rob Brookman Member Username: Rob_b Post Number: 1967 Registered: 08-2006 |
Oh, man! I can't believe I missed this post! I've been busy and trying to get ready to go out of town. I got up to Evanston just in time for the show and I left right after it was over, so I didn't really crowd surf. I'm soooo sorry I missed you guys. It was great show, tho. I'm also seeing him in Boston on Thursday. | ||
| Rob Brookman Member Username: Rob_b Post Number: 1968 Registered: 08-2006 |
Saw Robert last night in Boston. Special bonus: meeting the delightful Jonathan Turner from this board. It's always such a pleasure to meet up with folks from this little clubhouse because, no surprise, Go-Betweens fans are nice people. After seeing Robert twice on this tour, the thing that stood out to me was how his body of work hangs together in quality and aesthetic focus. Hearing the songs stripped of time-stamped production and various accompaniment, it's striking how uniformly terrific his songbook is across time. Recent stuff sounded every bit as impressive as old, established favorites and got an equally enthusiastic response from the crowd. I'm sure he has a lot more material in him, but this definitely felt to me like a victory lap, a well-deserved one. Seeing him on this tour has a been a special treat. | ||
| Fred Tadrowski Member Username: Ftadrowski Post Number: 107 Registered: 03-2015 |
It was a wonderful gig Monday night in Evanston (Chicago) and also finally got my copies of "Grant & I" and "10 Rules of Rock 'n' Roll" signed. Below is the setlist from the concert, he ended it with Rock 'n' Roll Friend, which is one of my favorite songs of his and a perfect way to end the evening. Hopefully, it will not be another 14 years until he returns to the Windy City. 1. Born to a Family 2. Spirit 3. I'm All Right 4. I Love Myself (And I Always Have) 5. Clouds 6. One Bird in the Sky 7. Here Comes a City 8. Darlinghurst Nights 9. Baby Stones 10. Spring Rain 11. Life Has Turned a Page 12. Part Company 13. Inferno (Brisbane in Summer) 14. Remain 15. In the Core of a Flame 16. Learn to Burn 17. Demon Days 18. Head Full of Steam 19. Surfing Magazines 20. Rock 'n' Roll Friend | ||
| Randy Adams Member Username: Randy_adams Post Number: 4251 Registered: 03-2005 |
Thanks for the list, Fred. I always forget some of the songs at a show and you remind me of them here. Once refreshed by your list, it appears Robert played the same songs in Los Angeles. Very canny of you to bring Robert's books. I never even thought of that. Padraig, I totally forgot about the Church! Ok, so there is/was some sort of Sydney music scene. Kind of defies a musical stereotype really. | ||
| Randy Adams Member Username: Randy_adams Post Number: 4252 Registered: 03-2005 |
Oops, last comment meant for a different thread. | ||
| Rob Brookman Member Username: Rob_b Post Number: 1969 Registered: 08-2006 |
No one's put up the setlist from Boston yet but it was slightly different than what I saw in Chicago. For instance, he didn't play "Demon Days" but he did play "121," which was a nice surprise. I'm blanking on the other differences but he mixed it up just enough I was glad I saw both shows. God knows he has the catalog to mix things up a bit. | ||
| Pádraig Collins Member Username: Pádraig_collins Post Number: 9068 Registered: 05-2005 |
I saw U2 on Saturday night. I went because they played The Joshua Tree in its entirety. It was a great show and I’m glad I went. It may well be the last time I ever see them. The only thing that could make me go again is if they played Achtung Baby in its entirety. That was the last great album they released and it was 28 years ago, so it’s not likely they have another great record in them. You never know though, maybe they do. | ||
| Stuart Wilson Member Username: Stuart Post Number: 1633 Registered: 10-2006 |
Finally caught up with Mr Forster in Barcelona. He looked a bit tired, to be honest, and his voice was a little ragged – it’s been a long summer of touring for him, so it’s understandable. He eulogised the city, and I did get the impression that he’d rather have been down by the seafront with a lobster paella and a bottle of verdejo. But the old trouper thing kicked in and he got through the evening pretty well. He sang One bird in the sky and Demon days, which kept the wife happy, and, perhaps inspired by the local seagulls, Dive for your memory, my own personal favourite. He was as droll as ever in some of his introductions, especially with reference to his “only guitar solo of the night” which, he warned us, was going to feature towards the end of 121. There were two oddities: the concert was billed as a husband and wife event, so I was looking forward to harmonies and a bit of guitar and violin interplay; but Karin made no appearance, and no mention of her was made throughout the evening or any explanation given. And then, at the end, famed meeter, greeter and signer though he is, he refused to pop out to see the handful of elderly men hoping to have a quick word and maybe get an album sleeve signed (there was a beautifully pristine Danger in the past LP cover waiting there, too). And, of course, I was hovering as well, with a couple of CD sleeves and the memoir and the one question I’ve always wanted to ask him carefully rehearsed. But ‘twas not to be. | ||
| Randy Adams Member Username: Randy_adams Post Number: 4260 Registered: 03-2005 |
Great report Stuart. I envy you "Dive for your Memory." And all of you who got "121." Robert was always very conscious about catching a bug. I wonder if maybe that had struck by Barcelona. | ||
| TROU Member Username: Trou Post Number: 476 Registered: 05-2005 |
On Mr Forster fb : Sadly, Karin Bâumler will not be playing with me in Dublin, Birmingham, Paris, Brussells, or Amsterdam. She wishes to remain with her sick father In Munich, and help with his transition out of hospital over the next days. Thank you for your generous understanding on this, and Karin expresses her regrets that she cannot be on the road at the moment playing the shows. | ||
| Simon Withers Member Username: Sfwithers Post Number: 606 Registered: 08-2005 |
Review of Tuesday's excellent Glee Club gig (not my review), which gives a pretty good idea of the setlist. http://www.godisinthetvzine.co.uk/2019/1 1/28/robert-forster-birmingham-glee-club -26-11-19/ | ||
| Pádraig Collins Member Username: Pádraig_collins Post Number: 9070 Registered: 05-2005 |
What a lovely review. Thanks for the link, Simon. | ||
| TROU Member Username: Trou Post Number: 478 Registered: 05-2005 |
Perfect concert also in Bruxelles! | ||
| Fred Tadrowski Member Username: Ftadrowski Post Number: 108 Registered: 03-2015 |
Back from a week of rain, stout, seafood chowder, and Robert Forster at Whelan's, Dublin. It was a great gig and Robert had the audience in eating out his hands all night, which was singing along for songs other than Surfing Magazines. Highlight was a great version of Danger in the Past. Pádraig, thanks for the recommendation of The Long Valley Bar, Cork. | ||
| Pádraig Collins Member Username: Pádraig_collins Post Number: 9072 Registered: 05-2005 |
You’re welcome! I’m glad you liked Ireland. |