Metamatic Forums Socialising The Green Room Gigs - News and reviews

I'm gonna be sick..another childhood hero of mine on the same evening in the same city...only at 8:30 PM
Then again...life is all about choices huh?

btw..i mean Neil Arthur

Nouvelle Vague - the Brook, Southampton. 31st January 2008

Never underestimate the power of shoes

How often do you go to see a band and you don't know what they look like??

Lack of research on my part maybe, but it did add somewhat to the air of anticipation as I stood at The Brook waiting for Nouvelle Vague to appear on stage.
Loving the first album and disappointed by the second, I was also unsure what to expect from the set - and the tempo of the evening. Chilled, at the very least.
A third major ingredient in my anxiety was the presence of Mrs Birdsong beside me - we just don't agree on anything to do with music and have agreed to disagree on the subject for many years.

So in that respect, NV are a refreshing change - something we both like. Time to bury the hatchet with the management of The Brook, who I have struggled to forgive since they spectacularly failed to walk round the corner to my house personally in 1997 and announce the return of John Foxx...

But if I can teach you one thing, my son it is this – never assume!

Phoebe and Melanie (???) take centre stage and sing so well together, and separately, that only two songs in (The Hanging Garden ? and Ever Fallen In Love) was clear that this going to be a rare treat. Mind you, I am a sucker for tall girls, and shiny red shoes.

Phoebe has that beautiful light of madness in her eyes, and her performance of Human Fly (The Cramps) was breath-taking. She took the song to a whole new level, and introduced me to a much darker, Gothic and sinister side of the band. Her later dramatic interpretation of Bela Lugosi (Bauhaus) oozed credibility and confidence like blood from a coffin.
Perfectly followed by a rendition of Enola Gay (OMD) that practically brought the house down! This was Melanie's moment of glory, singing/talking/whispering with just a very low, melancholic keyboard humming in the background.

Other highlights of a set that was much more up-tempo and dance-worthy than I expected were the drum-and-voice solo of Grey Day (Madness) and the seven-minute jazz/baroque/bossa-nova heavy-on-the-double bass interpretation of The Dead Kennedy's Too Drunk (To F*ck)

Nouvelle Vague prove very effectively that experimental music isn't necessarily about making weird noises. You can muck around with arrangements and interpretation with the same effect - no-one is quite sure what to expect, and its a fairly safe bet they won't have heard anything quite like it before.

It's all in the shoes, and I Just Can't get Enough.

7/10. Surprising. Refreshing and sexy. Disappointing encore and over-priced at £16.50

©Birdsong, January 2008

Went to see Gary Numan perform Replicas at Wulfrun Hall Wolverhampton last night. This was my first Numan gig.

Daggers provided support. They sounded like an aggressive version of early Depeche Mode, very 80's. Seemed to go down pretty well.

By the time Gary came out the place was absolutely packed front to back. He certainly looks good for a 50 year old, and strutted across the stage with great confidence. He started with 'Replicas', followed by 'Me I Disconnect From You'. He continued through the entire Replicas album without a break. The standout track for me was 'We Are So Fragile'. In fact, the guitar led tracks were all pretty close to the originals. The disappointments for me were the tracks I was most looking forward to hearing - 'Are Friends Electric' and 'Down in the Park'. I wanted them to sound like the originals. But no, the keyboards and synths now seem to take a back seat role in the modern interpretation of these songs.

For the encore he moved away from Replicas starting with 'Cars'. A nice surprise, although lyrics apart, barely recognisable to the original.

Overall, an enjoyable evening.

Cheers,
Mike.

Thanks Mike

I'm looking forward to the show here on Friday night

Anyone off to the Numan gig at indigo2 Tomorrow (Sat)?

I'll be at the bar b4hand having a birthday drink!

Gary Numan - Replicas.
Southampton University, March 14th

Hot. First time I've actually seen people fainting in front of me.
And you there on the drums - too, too loud. Are there supposed to be that many red lights above the green bars, Mister mixing-desk-man?
Worries me when the set list is printed out in Times New Roman, complete with typos...

Q -How many 'numanoids' does it take to play an album that was originally recorded with three?
A - SEVEN
Three keyboard players. A bassist. A drummer. Two guitarists. And
a bloke to sing.

My fourth experience of Numan live, and as much as I love the music, I really don't mind being at the back and not being able to see much. His antics on stage make me cringe, and looking at the crowd is a great opportunity to spend the time Dancing with Myself. I'd always advocate another mosh pit at the back, us Foxx-fans are too reserved...
Took me until an extended version of 'We Have A Technical' to get into this, which comes about quarter of an hour into the set. Seems that while everyone and their dog these days is doing 'whole album' tours, Numan is at least prepared to update the tracks and play them in a different order. Good idea, really, given that putting 'Are Friends Electric' anywhere other than at the end would have been suicidal.
Agree absolutely that the best track of the night is the passionate, pumped up version of 'We Are So Fragile' which has to be the greatest B-side EVER recorded in the history of everything ever.

There's a guy behind Ade Fenton. What's he doing?
Playing keyboards.
As well?

Interesting 'encore'. I will never accept that 'Cars' fits into this set (although I thought it was closer to the original than any other live version I've heard - and no cow bells). Lacks imagination and suggests a lack of confidence in the other material. (Ever the insecure - hence the cheesy mike-stand waving)
But to follow with 'Every Day I Die' was genius, and this version of this classic song is absolutely superb.
I unstick pages and read
So why trash it with RIP??

Do I get this tub-thumping juxtaposition of songs and interpretations? Yes - it works.

Brilliant, brilliant gig.
Beats standing behind a keyboard with the master tracks blasting out of a computer anyway.

Its a Replica after all, not the real thing.

Was at the London o2 gig on the 15th

Great show, but in my opinion way too loud.
I wear filterplugs on concerts, thats not the point..
But you could hear it was high. And also the bass was ruling it seemed.
o2 is a great venue, no complaints on that.
I got the impression that there was a bit of "tour-fatigue"?

Anyway, i have a few hundred pictures again

Greetings,
fons

WOW! What fantastic photos, Fons.

I was at the Wolverhampton gig & it was too bassy. The live mix needed a bit more clarity, although I must say that Gary's voice was mixed very well. You could hear every word.

I wish Gary would stop doing 'Cars'. I'm sick to death of hearing it live. I don't understand why it was played as part of the encore. I think that he should have done "That's Too Bad' & 'Bombers', to tie in with the 30 years Gary has been in the music business.

I agree with Martin about these 'classic album' tours. I'd much rather listen to new stuff from my favourite artists.

Us Foxx fans are too reserved. I stand at the back aswell. I feel much more comfortable there.

Nice review and pics guys!

The main reason is because a lot of the audience dont go to many (or any before) numan gigs, and would like the chance to hear it live.

I thought that was the reason.