Metamatic Forums Socialising The Green Room Gigs - News and reviews

>>McCluskey described it as "the best multimedia arts project on the planet".

This actually got me thinking. The nest show I ever saw was Gary Numan at Wembley on his first farewell tour ('82 I think). He produced a show of sound and lighting that blew my 16 year old socks off because of its scale and presence. If Gary had access to the tech that is available now, what on earth could he have done? Sure, he can use it now, but I'm pretty sure he doesn't have the funds he had then - he made a loss on most shows.

Steven Wilson - Glasgow ABC

This was a fantastic gig. His new album is his best yet & his band line up excelled themselves. Guthrie Govan on guitars, Marco Minnemann on drums, Nick Beggs on bass guitar, Adam Holzman on keyboards and Theo Travis on woodwind. The set lasted 2.5 hours & he was off stage by 10pm. Some of his songs last over 10 minutes & Raider II comes in at over 20 minutes. The solos in this were awesome , especially Marco on the drums. The visuals were excellent too.

Thanks for posting Scott, I consoled myself on Saturday evening by purchasing more of his albums, and this week should see the new one arrive. A good long set and he still managed a 10pm finish, good grief I could have got back to my town at a reasonable time just for a change

Low - Bristol Trinity 29/4/2013:

It is over 10 years since Low stole my heart with their album "Trust". Since then I have naturally worked my way backwards whilst being dragged forwards. Suddenly at the age that life begins ...

New albums have followed - noisier and stranger, especially Drums and Guns with its at times completely separated stereo; then possibly misfiring on C'mon and now The Invisible Way.

They were the last of my "bands I must see". But it has taken until now. Life beginning ...

Bristol is the closest most visitors come to me, close enough to get the last train. Manic bliss. Always watching the clock. Some are powerful enough to stop the clock. Sapphire and Steel?

The voices of husband and wife Alan Sparhawk and Mimi Parker are quite different, both technically excellent* (*of course I may be wrong but if I was to define technically excellent, these voices (and their combination) would be my contribution). Alan on guitar, Mimi on drums, and Steve Garrington on bass and piano. How can they make so little noise and then so much??

Naturally, life having begun, I could not consume without needing the gents, which led to me losing my spot (ironically, the song playing was "Just Make It Stop") (although more ironically it could have been the astonishing "Pissing", one of many highlights). Losing my spot led to me adopting a more central position near the back, although strangely the clearing up of the bar staff and the creaking of doors did not distract. Thank Mr Cage perhaps?

The new album was well represented - "Plastic Cup", "On My Own" (with its rather anguished refrain of "Happy Birthday" - cheers guys), "Clarence White" and the, ahem, haunting "Holy Ghost".

A good T-shirt on sale declared the text "I'm Sick to Death of Low". How we chuckled. You could not be more absurd.

An excellent piece!!

Thanks for sharing Mark

I have to pick and choose gigs to go to these days, as the investment to get to the UK is getting quite expensive (just waiting for easyJet to start serving Tokyo!). I saw a Vimeo version of Depeche Mode live at SXSC and was COMPLETELY underwhelmed.

Depeche Mode Live at SXSC in Vimeo

It just sounded bland, particularly on the vocals. So I decided there and then to not bother with the upcoming tour. Last time I saw them was at Crystal Palace, with Sisters of Mercy (!) supporting. That was a god gig.

But then, on Facebook today, Matthew Dear announces he will be supporting DM on their European tour, and suddenly it now seems more attractive!!

Solenoid. Were you at the Kraftwerk gig (Computer World) on Tuesday May 13th? I saw a bloke that looked like you but he was too far away for me to get to.

Absolutely superb show by the way. If they are anywhere near you, I heartily recommend watching it.

That would have been me - in a suit, near the right side doors!

Maybe we will meet next time!!

Laetitia Sadier was doing a free gig at The Union Chapel just up the road in Islington.

I do like gigs in churches (who doesn’t – I’ve done two myself this year and they were acecakes: even managed to have a full-on Tangerine Dream moment during the first one as everyone else had bunked to watch the rugby) but this one was a bit...ummmmm...well...can you remember 70s sitcoms? Can you remember the bits where Terry and June would go to church and 'hilarious consequences would ensue'? Well it was a bit like that. Seriously - I time travelled.

The host was a good ten years younger than me, but he didn't look it. There's a look in the fashionable parts of London right now that can best be described as '1930s North Sea Fisherman'. It seems to involve having a beard - nowt wrong with beards - it's the clothes though that add to the scene - knitwear last seen flying as a last minute flag of distress outside Shackleton's tent, and trousers or...oilskins. Anyway, there was a lot of that going on - which I'm sure works in Shoreditch (PS - There's no shore in Shoreditch in case you're wondering why men dress as fishermen) but this bloke hadn't quite got it right, so he kind of looked like a 70s sitcom do-gooder type: knitwear crazy but minus the dufflecoat.

He was charming and very earnest - and the place was rattling with the middle-classes, who'd brought their children along (it was a free lunchtime gig) and there was an activity centre for the kids too (I only noticed on the way out - trail of cut paper and squashed crayons). The organisers were selling cake and mugs of tea and coffee - and they were decent-sized chunks of cake, and the mugs weren't new or uniform - they were old and new, all shapes and sizes - just like home.

And it all felt a bit - well - Terry and June, Keeping Up Appearances etc. And then Laetitia Sadier came on and played and it's still strange seeing her solo - without Moogs, Mellotrons, Farfisa's, revolutions, architecture and harmonies - and whatever else Stereolab would find in a skip or a Pelican book. But of course she's solo as Sadier and Gane have split up, so Stereolab have split up or as they say 'on a hiatus'.

The past has gone, really gone – people have parted and gone their separate ways and so a new form has emerged. Her songs are no longer thoughts on Stan Brakage or Free Design, but dreams of wicker submarines and relationships changing and separating. And I think about that, sat on a pew with some cheesecake* and coffee.

I'm not knocking it, honest - but, I get the feeling I may have crossed over into another kind of gig-world recently, and maybe it's just the shock. Really don't get me wrong - the organisers were great, the gig was heartwarming...but still - I may need to find a mosh-pit or two to cleanse my soul. I dunno though – I kinda like having cake at a gig.

*I’m not a cake fan per se – but: if the cheesecake looks to have the correct ratio of ‘stuff and base’ I find it’s usually worth a go. Still think the best cheesecake ever was the one IKEA used to do a few years ago.