Metamatic Forums John Foxx John Foxx and Louis Gordon Birmingham Barfly

Just back from the Barfly.

Good night,had to leave early because my lift had to go (a long story involving wives & puppies but we wont go there)

Nice to meet Sarah B & husband & Mr & Mrs X,didn't really get time to chat though.

The encore was after Touch & Go where it should have been so dont know what happened last night.

Venue was pretty full in the end.

There was a 2 man support band,clearly miming (apart from vocals) but I couldn't quite make out what they were called.

Best thing they did was a cover of a Joy Division song but I'm no Joy Division expert so I dont know the title.

Will pst some pictures later.

There was a good crowd, and John and Louis were in the groove. We mostly stood upstairs at the back - I think the sound was best up there. The set was excellent and tight up to Blurred Girl, but we were slightly less impressed after that. Some of the blame for that lies with the sound mixing - it was hard to discern the tune on 030, Touch & Go and some of the encore. As usual there was plenty of impressive bass, rising to life-threatening levels on 21st Century! Anyway, a great night - Thanks guys.

They did add a little bit of guitar and keyboards over the backing track, but I know what you mean. They were called The VileEvils, and we thought they were pretty damn good.

I was right at the front.Sounded mostly damn fine to me although I agree about 030.

Here are the best of my pictures:-

http://home2.btconnect.com/mateybloke/PhotoAlbums/album_1191747367/

BTW if anyone has a Panasonic Lumix FX100 compact camera,dont bother with the auto-iso feature unless you like grain

Enjoy

Thanks Brian for sharing your pics. Glad to hear that you had a good night.
Peter

Sonic Shellshock in Darkest Digbeth!

Here’s my take on last night’s Metamatic gig in Birmingham..

Flippin’ ‘eck – my eardrums are SHATTERED!

Firstly, I just wanted to say that it was great to meet more of the Metamatic Crew in the pub beforehand, and then later in the venue itself.

Mmm, the venue.. well, it was dark, a tad on the dingy side, and small. But nevertheless at 8.00pm we all shuffled together to be sonically assaulted by the brutal electronic sounds of the vileevils, who are the remnants of Pop Will Eat Itself. Kicking straight in with almost Prodigy like beats and synth, coupled with the odd chord of electric guitar, they delivered 30 mins of brain-rattling tunes, which included a rather different version of Joy Division’s ‘She’s Lost Control’. The parting piece was a lovely little song entitled ‘Mother F**kin’ Demon’! Just plain evil from start to finish, but I loved it! In fact I woke up with the tune in my head this morning! Not totally well received by all, I must admit, but the vileevils performance was seemingly appreciated by several pogo-ing chaps, obviously enjoying the PWEI content in their set.

After a short break, and time to realign my brain after the immense vibrations of the support act, it was time to welcome the part of the evening that we had all been waiting for. I managed to scrabble my way to the front, after being surrounded by a hoard of tall men who had completely blocked my view. And that will never do. The lights dipped and on walked Louis Gordon, followed by John Foxx to much welcoming applause and cheers. And then, the show began. And boy, it began with a punch, the deep resounding synth vibrating right through me as John and Louis went into ‘Film One’. I noticed a couple of people had fingers wedged down their ears at various points in an attempt to prevent permanent damage. And the show continued, Louis giving it his usual hyper-jerky-jumping around treatment, making the synths scream delightfully, and belting out backing for John, who himself was delivering an excellent vocal throughout. I was surrounded by a few people who obviously knew and loved Metamatic and, like myself were happily joining in with the finger clicking hand gestures of ‘click, click, drone’ during ‘Underpass’, and the finger pointing of ‘Touch and Go’. John appeared to be enjoying himself, smiling intermittently and sucking in those trademark cheeks of his! The encore began with the gentle sound of ‘Glimmer’ and ended on the totally mind blowing, and incredibly loud ‘21st Century’ (as John now sings). Both Louis and John having a good old jump around whilst belting out this big tune bringing this fantastic show to an end.

The crowd cheered and applauded at a seemingly grateful John and Louis, and in the words of John himself, just before he left the stage, ‘That’s Metamatic’!

I really enjoyed the night, albeit there was a distinct lack of crowd atmosphere at certain points and it was far too loud, to the point of it being uncomfortable at times. It didn’t stop there either, the DJ cranked up the tunes straight after Metamatic had finished, and you couldn’t hear a word anyone was saying. I seem to remember Louis and I dancing around and singing to Madonna’s ‘Into the Groove’ and Prince’s ‘Raspberry Beret’, and then proceeding to play air and table synth to ‘Trapped’ by Colonel Abrahams.

Unfortunately, John didn’t do any signing after the show, much to the disappointment of some fans who had bought the new CD’s, but it really wasn’t the venue for meeting and greeting.

Still, to see Metamatic performed live is a special event in itself, and I hope that John and Louis are enjoying performing it as much as I have been enjoying the shows.

Next stop Cargo……

Sarah

Nice review Sarah,

Those pogoists were just behind me & kept on crashing into me & pushing me into the barrier at the front.

At the end of the 1st half I was pounding the metal floor trying to get the crowd worked up for the encore,it worked a bit in the end.

I have some footage of Louis bouncing around at the end of 21st Century that I will try & put up.

Actually Brian, the photos are quite good. Thanks for sharing.

Cheers Maryann

I lost quite a lot to blurring & grain.

I like the one of John on the 2nd page with a strange expression.The b/w ones you could only see any detail if I made them b/w.

Hey, Brian - nice pics!

We also have some, but haven't sorted them them yet. Got a few 'before and after show' ones too.

Cheers!

Sarah

Cheers Sarah,

I also took some test shots of the support band but the guy in red pants would not keep still.
Also took some test shots of John & Louis Keyboards.

Thank you Sarah for the nice review. I hope your ears are now recovering and you are having a nice quiet chill out day getting ready to tomorrow.

At least at the ICA I had a nice clear view of the stage as I stood at the side and I must have been 2' higher than the audience standing on the floor. Thats the trouble everyone else seems to be taller than me LOL I'm just a shortarse. (Not very tall)


Peter

Really enjoyed the show last night. The only part of the set I was disappointed with was 030 (sound of synth seemed too quiet) and Tidal Wave (chorus seemed out of sync?!).......otherwise perfecto!

Were you wearing a black Ultravox Live Retro T-Shirt by any chance?

I was wearing a red one.If it was you I was just in front of you.

What a wonderful gig, hearing my all-time favourite album live and (very) loud was a dream come true. Really peeved that I can't make the Cargo gig now.

I thought the Vileevils were good too, and meeting the lovely people from the forum was the icing on the cake - hi, folks! Sarah's table-synth duet with Louis was classic! Hope the photos came out.

A bit sad that John decided not to sign autographs, but agree that the venue didn't really lend itself to a signing session. I did get a chance to talk to Louis (top bloke!) and thank him for a storming performance.

All in all, a great night! Roll on November and the Luminaire

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2bcaEvnr6Os

Short clip from last night showing Louis head banging on 21st Century

Hi Brian,

No I was wearing a blue t-shirt.....standing with my arms around my wifes waist...........

Wow... What a night!! First of all...Robin, Sarah, Brian, E.G., and everyone else Mr. X and I met...it was great meeting you all! And the gig was beyond anything I could have imagined. Unfortunately, though, our camera was playing up, so none of the pictures we took turned out well. (Most of them were lost, I think - even the video footage.) And to make my luck even worse, before the gig. Mr. X and I were heading toward the pub round the corner from the Barfly when I saw someone who looked incredibly a lot like Foxxy, but he was talking to a couple of people, and I couldn't get up the nerve to say hello. I'd missed him inside the pub as well!! So I missed my one and only chance to meet John. After the gig, I met up with a friend who had an acquaintance called Lee who apparently has "connections" to John, who kindly got my Cathedral Oceans book signed.

...But the gig was fantastic!!!!

Mrs. X

Nice review Sarah, and everyone else.
Sounds like another great night.

A couple of questions.

a) Was it just Johna nd Louis, or was Steve d'Agostino there too?
b) Did they actually 'play' Glimmer or was it a recording like ICA?
c) Was 'metamatic' itself on sale at the gig?

This tour is going down well

It was just John & Louis

They appeared to be playing glimmer

I didnt see Metamatic on sale but then again I was the first person in the q to buy something so the guy was still eating his burger & was not really ready for me.

Because I was at the back, and I was just enjoying the whole experience, I only did two minutes of video on my camera, but here they are:
http://www.youtube.com/v/SDO5JPsfjgw

Cheers Dadge,

You get even more of an impression of the thumping base from your clip.

Thanks Dadge!

Just when my ringing ears were slowly returning to normal, that blew them out again!

Great clip - great memory!

Sarah

This was my first JF gig (and first gig of any description in 23 years).

First impression on entering the venue; oh this is small …. and very scruffy. As for the toilets; I’ve been in worse, but only at Greek airports. Couldn’t help thinking JF deserves to be playing at better places than this.

Anyway, at the wife’s request we housed ourselves on some seats on the side wall. The support act was interesting in a brutal sort of way. We decided to stay in our seats for this one. I had to cover the wife’s ears for their final track (‘Mother F**kin Demon’). Overall, they seemed pretty well received.

We positioned ourselves on the left hand side of the stage about half way back for the main event. Suddenly the cheers went up and John and Louis were on stage. I had to pinch myself. 27 years after first hearing Underpass was this really happening? Straight into ‘Film One’. Boy, this was loud – too loud in fact. And so they went through the whole of the original Metamatic, in order. I enjoyed pretty well every moment, but think the character of some of the tracks (especially ‘Blurred Girl’ and ‘Tidal Wave’) was completely changed by the volume and excessive bass. Off they went for five minutes, returning to play 6 tracks from CD2. If I thought it was too loud before, the sound was cranked up another notch for ‘Burning Car’ and then again for ‘21st Century’. Exit stage to the right accompanied by much applause.

It all went too quickly for my liking. All in all a great night. Would love to go again if John ever returns to the Midlands. But please pick a different venue next time.

In answer to C): -

'Metamatic' was not for sale, but 'Sideways' was.

Originally posted by MikeG:

Quote:

'Metamatic' was not for sale, but 'Sideways' was.

hmm.. Can't help being 'surprised' that Metamatic is not available to buy at the gigs. It's a concern, because certainly Virgin London and HMV Southampton have copies of the 2001 issue in stock, but not the new release??

Does it matters WHICH version passing punters buy in the shops?

The music seems to be consistently too loud for the size of the venues

Knowing what Barfly venues are like, even if I could have, I might not have wanted to go and see John in one of them, sadly.

Call it bad experience or just too small, I don't think it's the right kind of place for him.

Now, Birdsong, your question - which I think is a rather good one, and might not be out of place in the best of thread:

Does it matter which version they pass in the shops?

My answer would be no! There have been so many occasions where I have seen either empty Foxx places on the shelves in Virgin or HMV or, worse still none at all.

Whether it's the 2001 or 2007 reissue that's on the shelves, the fact that it's there is important. That's my opinion anyway!!

I guess the shops are trying to sell their old stocks. To be honest if I didn't know better and brought the old version, then found out that actually there was a newer deluxe version available I might feel a bit miffed.

Peter

That's a good point Peter.

I guess it depends on your "level of fandom"... a casual electronica fan who only wants Metamatic, might not care for a whole host of bonus tracks.

Somebody after buying up John's back catalogue, might be, or maybe those who are for example, buying Metamatic on CD for the first time, having rediscovered John's music.

There isn't much that is really "deluxe" about the deluxe version... certainly not the packaging, as has already been discussed. I think all the "best" tracks were on the 2001 reissue anyway. So I suppose it really depends on if you want to hear rarities you might only play once or twice and the two 'new' tracks.

...however, it might be a different story entirely, if the 2001 edition had ONLY been the original album with no bonus tracks!!

Imagine that... I would never have heard "This City" or "Mr No" until now! Nah, that's just unthinkable!

The music seems to be consistently too loud for the size of the venues [/QB][/QUOTE]

I dont know if it was too loud compared to other gigs.Ever since I've been going to gigs right back to Ultravox in 1983 I've come out with my ears ringing.

It just seems normal to me.Are sounds levels too loud? yes.Is our hearing being damaged probably.

I've been to noisier,smaller places though.

Last years Coventry gig was tiny & noisier compared to the Barfly.

Brian (deafer than last week )

I think every gig I've been to in a smaller venu has been too loud.

It does tend to be that way for some artists. Its like the sound is set for larger buildings, but then no-one resets it when playing the smaller places. Theres a lot of groups that have sounded really bad live, but not due to their song choices or musical skills. Its just that it blasts out full of distortion.

Sorry to hear that, Brian.

I SAID, SORRY TO HEAR THAT, BRIAN!!!!!

Must admit it was LOUD......Off to see Rush at the NEC on Friday so my ears should get another battering! :p

WHAT!

I was there, didnt think it was loud enough.You lot are old.

I have a sore throat, and cant font any bigger.

If it's too loud, you're too old.

I was at the back on the balcony, and I didn't find it too loud at all!

Mrs. X

THE LOUDER THE BETTER I SAY

The loudness at Glasgow was all part of the enjoyment,especialy with the heavy bass drone/kick

Loud is good until your eardrums hurt. Then it's just bloody stupid.

Or when it warps the space-time continuum like John & Louis did

Hmm. I'd pay good money to see John and Louis warp the space-time continuum!

Well, if anyone can do it, Foxxy can .

I've added a final few stills from the show on page 2 after the Sunday Times scans:-

http://home2.btconnect.com/mateybloke/PhotoAlbums/album_1191747367/

They are frame grabs from the Louis head banging session

Excellent! Love the lighting.

Just going through my memory card & found this

Short clip of Underpass

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0qKdSDAsFoo

Won't let me access it.

Actually the whole of Youtube is down at the moment

Hope that last wafer thin JF video was not to much

I'd try again later.

It's working now, because I've just relived the moment!

Great little clip that Brian.

My ears are now recovered. I don't thik that TCM at Leeds will be quite as skull shattering, but the Luminaire could make my eardrums cry once more!

Sarah

Yeah, thanks for the clip. Which does now work.
Must have been their site, as earlier other clips did not auto start either.

Someone has posted some more video of the Birmingham Barfly:-

A new kind of man:-

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h7aWIycDXZ0

21st Century:-

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AW5sm0jUEHM&mode=user&search=

These are both much higher quality than the previous versions.Enjoy
Brian

Yes, these are much better than the others in sound and picture quality. Thanks for the link.

just watched them all the way through now.

Full versions as well.Good stuff

Whoever took then was at slightly to the left of me.