Gig plans - 2023
Discussion
5pen said:
Butler, Blake & Grant at The Apex, Bury St Edmunds. It was brilliant night for a middle-aged music fan. Great songs, good chat in between and all done by 10pm.
Excellent.Did Mr Grant do the joke about Dick Black ? There was another one that had me tittering for ages, but it's gone out of my head !
And Mr Blake : "Oh, where's my capo ? I', in the wrong key - what key should I be in ? Where's my capo again ? Ah, there it is, in the wrong place. I really must make a note for next time. Erm, what's next ? Hang on, I can't find my glasses. Can you two start and I'll follow ? Ah, just a minute.. just wait.."
No Dick Black jokes that I can recall unfortunately. JG was funny in a self-deprecating kind of way all through the show. Norman was a bit like you describe - when introducing his songs, he could never remember which Teenage Fanclub album they were from, though Bernard did and helped him out.
Great gig though. My wife, who knew nothing of JG’s work and little of BB’s but absolutely loved it.
Great gig though. My wife, who knew nothing of JG’s work and little of BB’s but absolutely loved it.
PurpleTurtle said:
I went to The Hold Steady at the Electric Ballroom in Camden on Saturday and whilst the band were great it was so rammed it was really uncomfortable.
Given that I'm a tall bloke and I like a beer I normally hang out at the back of venues near the bar, I've been to the EB many times and there is generally a bit of 'breathing space' near the bar where you can walk between a thinner part of the crowd and the bar/bogs. Saturday was absolutely packed to the gunwales, had to barge past everyone, not really pleasant.
My theory having been to a lot of UK venues pre/post Covid is that nowadays many places seems to be ramming the punters in to maximise returns, I'd be interested to know if any of them have toyed with capacity, recent Brixton Academy issues noted.
Some of my mates went to Bullet For My Valentine the same night up the road at the Roundhouse and from some photos I could see they posted online it wasn't anywhere near as rammed, despite being sold out. I think the Roundhouse, being that much bigger, is able to manage numbers better so they put on a profitable show without it being like sardines!
What are others experiencing elsewhere? Is it a change since the pandemic? Or am I just getting old?!
I’ve only seen 3 gigs at The Electric Ballroom (all pre-pandemic) and they’ve always been pretty packed, but not by the bar, so maybe they are upping the capacity a bit. I can’t say I’ve noticed ianything similar at any of the venues I’ve been to recently.Given that I'm a tall bloke and I like a beer I normally hang out at the back of venues near the bar, I've been to the EB many times and there is generally a bit of 'breathing space' near the bar where you can walk between a thinner part of the crowd and the bar/bogs. Saturday was absolutely packed to the gunwales, had to barge past everyone, not really pleasant.
My theory having been to a lot of UK venues pre/post Covid is that nowadays many places seems to be ramming the punters in to maximise returns, I'd be interested to know if any of them have toyed with capacity, recent Brixton Academy issues noted.
Some of my mates went to Bullet For My Valentine the same night up the road at the Roundhouse and from some photos I could see they posted online it wasn't anywhere near as rammed, despite being sold out. I think the Roundhouse, being that much bigger, is able to manage numbers better so they put on a profitable show without it being like sardines!
What are others experiencing elsewhere? Is it a change since the pandemic? Or am I just getting old?!
PurpleTurtle said:
I went to The Hold Steady at the Electric Ballroom in Camden on Saturday and whilst the band were great it was so rammed it was really uncomfortable.
Given that I'm a tall bloke and I like a beer I normally hang out at the back of venues near the bar, I've been to the EB many times and there is generally a bit of 'breathing space' near the bar where you can walk between a thinner part of the crowd and the bar/bogs. Saturday was absolutely packed to the gunwales, had to barge past everyone, not really pleasant.
My theory having been to a lot of UK venues pre/post Covid is that nowadays many places seems to be ramming the punters in to maximise returns, I'd be interested to know if any of them have toyed with capacity, recent Brixton Academy issues noted.
Some of my mates went to Bullet For My Valentine the same night up the road at the Roundhouse and from some photos I could see they posted online it wasn't anywhere near as rammed, despite being sold out. I think the Roundhouse, being that much bigger, is able to manage numbers better so they put on a profitable show without it being like sardines!
What are others experiencing elsewhere? Is it a change since the pandemic? Or am I just getting old?!
I think the Problem with gigs at the ballroom is it's a nightclub, it's capacity 1100 IIRC includes areas with no view at all of the stage, so the same capacity if everyone wants to view a sold out gig is daft. Astoria had the same problem by including the Keith moon bar. Get a slayer gig with a load of 18 st meatheads and you needed vasoline to get to the bar.Given that I'm a tall bloke and I like a beer I normally hang out at the back of venues near the bar, I've been to the EB many times and there is generally a bit of 'breathing space' near the bar where you can walk between a thinner part of the crowd and the bar/bogs. Saturday was absolutely packed to the gunwales, had to barge past everyone, not really pleasant.
My theory having been to a lot of UK venues pre/post Covid is that nowadays many places seems to be ramming the punters in to maximise returns, I'd be interested to know if any of them have toyed with capacity, recent Brixton Academy issues noted.
Some of my mates went to Bullet For My Valentine the same night up the road at the Roundhouse and from some photos I could see they posted online it wasn't anywhere near as rammed, despite being sold out. I think the Roundhouse, being that much bigger, is able to manage numbers better so they put on a profitable show without it being like sardines!
What are others experiencing elsewhere? Is it a change since the pandemic? Or am I just getting old?!
5pen said:
No Dick Black jokes that I can recall unfortunately. JG was funny in a self-deprecating kind of way all through the show. Norman was a bit like you describe - when introducing his songs, he could never remember which Teenage Fanclub album they were from, though Bernard did and helped him out.
Great gig though. My wife, who knew nothing of JG’s work and little of BB’s but absolutely loved it.
James Grant said something like "That reminds me of my favourite album title. There's an accordionist called Dick Black. He released a compilation album called 'A taste of Dick' ".Great gig though. My wife, who knew nothing of JG’s work and little of BB’s but absolutely loved it.
PurpleTurtle said:
The Hold Steady at The Electric Ballroom tomorrow night, second of their London Weekender gigs.
The Hold Steady at EB?Walkmen at Koko
National at Ally Pally?
I feel like I am being stalked - you will be telling me you are going to Springsteen at Hyde Park next.
Are you the really tall git that always stands in front of me?
usually get tickets for at least 1 night of the Teenage Cancer Trust gigs at Royal Albert Hall.
fancied Underworld on the Monday and Kasabian on Saturday but already have things planned for both nights. Then the comedy on the Tuesday but I'm seeing Jim Jeffries...
so a last roll of the dice was the Sunday for Roger Daltry & 'friends'. This so far includes Richard Ashcroft, Joan Armatrading and Far From Saints and 'more surprise guests'
Ashcroft is always very good and the chance to see JA sing 'Love & Affection' in that venue should be worth the ticket price alone..... all for a very good cause too.
fancied Underworld on the Monday and Kasabian on Saturday but already have things planned for both nights. Then the comedy on the Tuesday but I'm seeing Jim Jeffries...
so a last roll of the dice was the Sunday for Roger Daltry & 'friends'. This so far includes Richard Ashcroft, Joan Armatrading and Far From Saints and 'more surprise guests'
Ashcroft is always very good and the chance to see JA sing 'Love & Affection' in that venue should be worth the ticket price alone..... all for a very good cause too.
tuscan_raider said:
Going to see Underworld on Monday in London
very very excited having been following them for about, oh, 30 years
It is always a small risk seeing your favourite 'old' bands - I wasn't sure about Killing Joke as I saw them many times about 40 years ago when they only had a couple of albums to their name. Some bands seem better than ever and some are cringe.very very excited having been following them for about, oh, 30 years
I think you will have a great experience with Underworld tho - they are great
272BHP said:
PurpleTurtle said:
The Hold Steady at The Electric Ballroom tomorrow night, second of their London Weekender gigs.
The Hold Steady at EB?Walkmen at Koko
National at Ally Pally?
I feel like I am being stalked - you will be telling me you are going to Springsteen at Hyde Park next.
Are you the really tall git that always stands in front of me?
As far as Hyde Park goes, I stopped going years ago when the neighbours started getting up in arms about volume levels but more importantly when they started introducing all that 'gold circle' BS, segregating the standing audience based on wealth.
As I've said up the thread I've always had no problem with people paying more for seats with better visibility, but I've always been a stander at gigs wherever possible, and I feel that as a leveller there should just be one price for standing, and those who want to be at the front should turn up early, invariably watching the undercard, rather than waltzing in at the front for the headliners five minutes before they come on.
It's a small hill that I'm prepared to die on, so don't really go to gigs that feature it.
PurpleTurtle said:
Ha ha, no!! I do have a Bruce-obsessed ex-naval mate though who will be there, seeing him for something like the 95th time in about 12 different countries (no joke!). I am tall but I make the distinct effort to never moving in front of someone shorter than me.
As far as Hyde Park goes, I stopped going years ago when the neighbours started getting up in arms about volume levels but more importantly when they started introducing all that 'gold circle' BS, segregating the standing audience based on wealth.
As I've said up the thread I've always had no problem with people paying more for seats with better visibility, but I've always been a stander at gigs wherever possible, and I feel that as a leveller there should just be one price for standing, and those who want to be at the front should turn up early, invariably watching the undercard, rather than waltzing in at the front for the headliners five minutes before they come on.
It's a small hill that I'm prepared to die on, so don't really go to gigs that feature it.
Hyde Park is not a great venue admittedly and I see your point about the gold circle tickets.As far as Hyde Park goes, I stopped going years ago when the neighbours started getting up in arms about volume levels but more importantly when they started introducing all that 'gold circle' BS, segregating the standing audience based on wealth.
As I've said up the thread I've always had no problem with people paying more for seats with better visibility, but I've always been a stander at gigs wherever possible, and I feel that as a leveller there should just be one price for standing, and those who want to be at the front should turn up early, invariably watching the undercard, rather than waltzing in at the front for the headliners five minutes before they come on.
It's a small hill that I'm prepared to die on, so don't really go to gigs that feature it.
I quite like Koko as a venue and it will be interesting to see the Walkmen there - never been to the Ally Pally.
For EB I just stand at the back as well - my bladder would protest if I ventured further to the front
PurpleTurtle said:
I went to The Hold Steady at the Electric Ballroom in Camden on Saturday and whilst the band were great it was so rammed it was really uncomfortable.
Given that I'm a tall bloke and I like a beer I normally hang out at the back of venues near the bar, I've been to the EB many times and there is generally a bit of 'breathing space' near the bar where you can walk between a thinner part of the crowd and the bar/bogs. Saturday was absolutely packed to the gunwales, had to barge past everyone, not really pleasant.
My theory having been to a lot of UK venues pre/post Covid is that nowadays many places seems to be ramming the punters in to maximise returns, I'd be interested to know if any of them have toyed with capacity, recent Brixton Academy issues noted.
Some of my mates went to Bullet For My Valentine the same night up the road at the Roundhouse and from some photos I could see they posted online it wasn't anywhere near as rammed, despite being sold out. I think the Roundhouse, being that much bigger, is able to manage numbers better so they put on a profitable show without it being like sardines!
What are others experiencing elsewhere? Is it a change since the pandemic? Or am I just getting old?!
Walked past the crowd waiting in the rain from roundhouse down to Morrisons,walked into the Blackheart,got a pint wandered up stairs no queuing,ok tiny venue but last two shows Jared James Nichols n Raven been packed but manageable, Shepherds Bush last two gigs there were packed,last time at electric ballroom last year for highly suspect second night was rammedGiven that I'm a tall bloke and I like a beer I normally hang out at the back of venues near the bar, I've been to the EB many times and there is generally a bit of 'breathing space' near the bar where you can walk between a thinner part of the crowd and the bar/bogs. Saturday was absolutely packed to the gunwales, had to barge past everyone, not really pleasant.
My theory having been to a lot of UK venues pre/post Covid is that nowadays many places seems to be ramming the punters in to maximise returns, I'd be interested to know if any of them have toyed with capacity, recent Brixton Academy issues noted.
Some of my mates went to Bullet For My Valentine the same night up the road at the Roundhouse and from some photos I could see they posted online it wasn't anywhere near as rammed, despite being sold out. I think the Roundhouse, being that much bigger, is able to manage numbers better so they put on a profitable show without it being like sardines!
What are others experiencing elsewhere? Is it a change since the pandemic? Or am I just getting old?!
tuscan_raider said:
Going to see Underworld on Monday in London
very very excited having been following them for about, oh, 30 years
have seen them a couple of times recently and still brilliant. Should be amazing at the RAHvery very excited having been following them for about, oh, 30 years
at the Jazz Cafe seeing Patrice Rushen instead; would have preferred U'world but never seen her and was booked first
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