Jump to content

Gigs and concerts


Carbomb

Recommended Posts

  • Paid Members

I was invited to a jazz gig at the weekend - Jason Rebello on piano, Tim Garland on sax and bass clarinet. I didn't really know anything about it.

Had to get a couple of trains and then a bus to get there - there's something about getting a train andĀ thenĀ a bus that feels really peculiar; getting a bus to get to a train station feels like the natural order of things, the other way around feels like you're off into the wilderness, even though it was just somewhere in South West London.

Having got off at the "nearest" bus stop, we then had to walk for ages to get to the actual venue, walking further and further from the high street and any pubs or viable venues or anything, just on to a residential street. We were joking about how it felt like we were just going to someone's house.

Turns out that's exactly what we were doing. Some concert cellist had booked these two jazz musicians to play under a marquee in his back garden. The "bar" was a table set up with a few bottles, staffed by that particular breed of Very Posh Young Person who's all smiles and enthusiasm but utterly fucking useless at the task at hand. Couple of portaloos out front, and then rows of chairs laid out in the back garden.

I didn't know the musicians at all, so when the first song they played was some very smooth dinner jazz type stuff, I was dreading it. I was in an environment I felt quite uncomfortable in, listening to music I found incredibly dull. Luckily it all picked up from there, as their second track was a really cool saxophone composition, in which Garland at times played the sax into the body of the piano, so you got this great echo effect, but also a sustained note from the reverberation off the piano strings. That was neat.

Everything beyond that was really fun - Tim Garland telling stories about playing with Chick Corea, and playing a couple of his songs, a few originals, a Herbie Hancock cover, a couple of standards, and closing on Miles Davis' Blues In Green.

The music was great, setting was bizarre, audience were frustrating. One woman turned around to shout at two people who were talking for "making a scene", when they were barely audible and she was the only person bothered by it, and madeĀ farĀ more of a scene by drawing attention to it and shouting. Everyone was just sat quietly appreciating it like it was a classical concert hall performance, even while the musicians talked about the importance of music being fun and having a sense of humour. Even when they played aĀ tango, no one was even tapping their foot.Ā 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • Paid Members

I keep thinking I haven't got many gigs lined up, but things are slowly picking up (provided they all actually happen). The Wildhearts in Brighton in September will be my first gig since seeing...The Wildhearts in early February 2020 so that's got a nice symmetry to it.

Despite being double jabbed I still feel quite anxious about going back to a heaving room of sweaty people. Not even necessarily because of Covid itself, but just being in that close proximity to so many people seems a bit odd now after such a period of distance and separation.Ā 

After that initial gig IĀ have The Bronx, De Staat, Ginger and The Sinners, and (hopefully) Devin Townsend at the Royal Albert Hall all on the schedule as we roll into 2022 so I am hoping I'll be able to get comfortable with being back at gigs pretty quickly.Ā 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 4 weeks later...

Off to see Black Stone Cherry on Tuesday. Same thing, need a Covid passport from the NHS app. Also concerned about catching Covid and not looking forward to being amongst a crowd again, I struggle with anxiety at the best of times so... we'll see.Ā 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • Paid Members

Got Hot Milk on Wednesday followed by Dodie next Tuesday so nice mix of genres for my first gig gigs back that wasn't Download Pilot.

I've recently had Covid last month so I'm not worried about that regard but definitely being back in a busy cramped space will take some getting used too. Just nice to be in the atmosphere of a gig again though.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • Paid Members
4 hours ago, Panhead said:

Went to see the Manics in Halifax last night. It was my first gig since January 2020. It was weird being around so many people again. I'm really fucking hoping that I haven't caught COVID.Ā 

How were they?Ā 

We're seeing them in Edinburgh in a couple of weeks. Kind of wary of being in a packed crowd though.Ā 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

33 minutes ago, martyngnr said:

How were they?Ā 

We're seeing them in Edinburgh in a couple of weeks. Kind of wary of being in a packed crowd though.Ā 

It lagged a bit at times. Four new songs plus two covers, that's nearly a third of the set. They started at 9:15 and were done for about 10:30. I know it's selfish on my part, but after three postponements and a pandemic, I'd have been happy with a greatest hits set. The new stuff was good, but when everyone starts pissing off to the bar, it just kills it a bit.Ā 

When it was good though, it was fucking great.Ā 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

so excited because I'll be fully recovered from covid but in 2 weeks I will be seeing Bring me the horizon in Sheffield.

It will be my 7th/8th time seeing Bring me live but I haven't seen them in over 3 years and I got my ticket for Christmas so I'm so so excited for itĀ 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

1 hour ago, Kfogg1991 said:

so excited because I'll be fully recovered from covid but in 2 weeks I will be seeing Bring me the horizon in Sheffield.

It will be my 7th/8th time seeing Bring me live but I haven't seen them in over 3 years and I got my ticket for Christmas so I'm so so excited for itĀ 

Hope their backing tape still works.Ā 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

6 minutes ago, 5pints said:

I was there for this show. What's with the backing tape comment?Ā 

Because at certain shows and big festivals at one point they were unfortunately as much as it kills me to admit it using backing tracks and miming instead of singing live.

However they haven't done it in years but haters gonna hateĀ 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Itā€™s not about ā€œhaters gonna hateā€, people pay their money to see a band play.

Paul Stanley canā€™t sing for shit any more, but whenever KISS play he gives it all and the other members of the band cover for him because thatā€™s what a professional band does.Ā And yes Iā€™m aware of the irony of using KISS as an example when their live albums are over-dubbed to the point of parody.

Better example - James Hetfield has sounded like shit for years now, but he isnā€™t using recordings of himself to plaster over the cracks, you hear it in all its cringeworthy glory because people have paid to see Metallica play, so thatā€™s what they do

Edited by WyattSheepMask
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Paste as plain text instead

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.

Loading...
×
×
  • Create New...