Chiming in rather belatedly, but posting for posterity - if the T-shirt gig was something of an experiment then perhaps all opinions are welcome...
I approached the gig as something of a 'cheeky bonus', in Mighty Boosh speak, you could say. Living near enough to London to be able to turn up and if it proved too busy and had to be turned away, no harm done. Transport to Kilburn for just after four, I took a wrong turn - and bumped into a fellow Foxx fan (hello James!) who had clearly done the same. To the venue, a surprise to find the queue still present and correct, bemused locals still asking 'what's 'appenin' in there today mate?' The queue moved and we were all in. Inside the venue, it was great - I like smaller sized venues the best, so this was ideal. Another pleasant surprise was to bump into an old friend from many other previous gigs, Foxx and non-Foxx (hi Andrew!)
The pre (and post) gig sounds were great - a steady playlist of long gone electronic classics and could-have been classics (at least IMHO), The Normal, Suicide, Fad Gadget, Duet Emmo, Thomas Leer/Robert Rental, , AC Marias, Gina X Performance - good stuff. Just after 5 I think, John and Louis took the stage and the show commenced - there's been plenty written already, I can't add much other than to opine that I felt the selection of material was great, a nice variation. Stand out tracks for me were the selections from Sideways - to me, Sideways is a favourite, it seems to have fallen out of a crack in time - it was really recorded in 1982, it is the album that the original Endlessly would have been from had it crashed into Metamatic during the recording sessions - and 'Sailing On Sunshine' is a good example of what I mean, some kind of psychedelic techno mashup. 'Neuro Video' was good to har live too, and I've now returned to this as a favourite this past week. 'Miles Away', 'Europe After The Rain' and 'Dancing Like A Gun' were all wonderful surprises. The set closers from 'Shifting City were souped-up juggernauts of sound, 'Concrete, Bullet Proof, Invisible' and 'Shadow Man' - great stuff.
After the afternoon show, we went downstairs to the pub (joined by another newface, hello other Ian!) - and a good chat until the time of the second show - at which point I had to leave. But a great afternoon and a nice treat.
The downside has been reading from people who could not attend due to the uncertainty of the entry requirements or cost. Unfortunate and I hope it hasn't proved too disappointing - but it was a special event, making it all the more memorable for me.
