Too late - you've missed them all. And they were so good. (Top 10 Gigs)

Member Name: hulahoop

Product:	Top 10 Gigs
Date:	20/03/01 (172 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: My cat likes it

Disadvantages: My dog hates it

Gigs are the staple diet of any self-respecting ‘indie kid’. I’m pretty sure I haven’t been to the biggest, the best or the most, but I’ve thoroughly enjoyed the rituals and traditions one is obliged to take part in at them. Not to mention the music.




Top ten, eh? Oh, do I HAVE to put them in order? I enjoyed them all in different ways, so I’m not going to number them, just put them in rough order of memorability and enjoyment, from least to most.

Primal Scream
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Brighton (darn, can’t remember the name of the venue)
2000

I didn’t really really enjoy this gig - on the most part because I had aching, post-shopping feet, felt sick and had a splitting headache, which is not particularly opportune with songs such as ‘Swastika eyes’ thumping over the huge PA. However, it was just so great simply to be in a room with Bobby Gillespie, Mani of Stone Roses fame, and Kevin Shields. It was the Exterminator tour, and quite hard and fast. They managed to fit in a few old favourites, such as ‘Movin on Up’ and ‘Rocks’, which we all had a wiggle to, but Bobby’s subdued stage presence made it a little less enjoyable - he just looked completely wrecked. Fortunately Mani saved the day by frequently shouting obscenities down the microphone, in his slurred Mancunian accent, entertaining everybody - particularly those who couldn’t understand a word he said.

Bellatrix
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(oops I guess this would be my 9 and a halfth choice, joint 10th, I don't know - I'm cheating - don't really want to exclude this lot)
Wedgewood Rooms, Portsmouth
1999

Bellatrix are lovely. I’ve never actually heard any of their recorded songs, but with her Icelandic patois, the lead singer chirped out hits like ‘Jedi Wannabe’, making silly little jokes, laughing and wiggling around when nobody
(except me! I thought she was hilarious!) got them. I wasn’t entirely sure about the music, but I just really loved the band members who were charismatic and very entertaining.

Mogwai
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Glastonbury
1999

Mogwai were the last band I saw at Glastonbury that year and they were superb. The setting was fantastic, it was a still night, and they had a huge projection screen as their background, with lights floating around it, looking like stars and planets in a clear nights sky. The music moved the crowd from high to low, with its intense instrumentals that flowed and swooped in time with the light show.

The Dandy Warhols
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Wedgewood Rooms
2000

I couldn’t decide whether I was bored at this gig. I saw them later that year at Glastonbury, and they really did bore me, but at the Wedgewood Rooms, which is a nice intimate venue, you felt like you got to know the band quite well. The lead singer and keyboardist had a constant dialogue between themselves and us, the audience. They obviously really enjoyed playing, and told us on several occasions. I think this was the longest gig I’ve ever been to because they just jammed along with each other for several hours, encouraging the audience to go to the bar, and talk amongst themselves, chill, and just enjoy the music. It was a pretty mellow experience, and a far cry from their best known song ‘Not if you were the last junkie on earth’, with most songs being slowed down slightly.

Tindersticks
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Glastonbury
1999

I was asked by a friend who couldn’t get to Glastonbury to go to this gig in his absence. I’d only really heard their music once or twice, but was wowed by its intensity. I actually can’t remember much about it except that I was alone, it started to rain, and the music was making me feel quite depressed. But somehow I look back on it with a huge amount of nost
algia because of the band, the lead singers beautiful deep voice and the violin in the background. That was the one time that unhappiness actually felt good!!

Broadcast
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The Scala, London
2000

This band is currently one of my favourites, so it felt like a real treat to go and see them. They are excellent live, reproducing their European sounding music skilfully, and fantastically.

This is definitely a band to watch out for. They combine retro sounds with some quite interesting experimental sounds, and use slightly unoriginal, but nevertheless interesting projections as venue backdrops.

Gorkys Zygotic Mynci
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Wedgewood Rooms
1998

I will always love the Gorkys. They are wonderfully eccentric, and splendidly Welsh. They combine plinky plonky finger picking acoustic guitars, and folksy instruments with cute and lush lyrics that send you off into a dreamworld filled with magic castles and fairy lands. At this gig they performed the songs from their album Barafundle, such as Patio Song, as well as from Gorky 5. At the end they woofed energetically to Poodle Rocking, one of my favourite songs in the world (aaaaaaaaa)

Soulwax
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Wedgewood Rooms
2000

The first time I saw Soulwax they were supporting the Wannadies, and were relatively
unknown. However, my friends had seen them before and hyped me up beforehand. I was not disappointed. Soulwax have it all when it comes to live performances. Their music, a kind of disco funk meets 80s rock, is energetic and gets you in the mood for a bit of hipwiggling. The band dress in smart cream suits and ties, looking particularly suave, and very sexy (not that I’m usually ruled by looks, but on this occasion it’s definitely a bonus). They have their little dance movements and private jokes, keeping the audience entertained. The Casio song, their gig motif, has been used to its fu
ll extent during the tour that they have just completed, which was the lead guitarist playing this fantastic, original 80s Casio guitar, encouraging audience participation to
sing ‘ C A S I O’, and then break into a cracking version of Prince’s ‘Pop Life’. Fantastic. The third time I saw them - the last gig of the tour - they got bored half way through the Casio song, and took requests, which led to a fully improvised, but excellent Casio version of Human Leagues ‘Don’t you want me baby?’. They are certainly best seen live, and if you get the chance to see the Dewale Brothers live, they are fantastic DJs and equally as good as the band. They are the lead singer and drummer of Soulwax, and they rock! Quite simply.

Soulwax’s stage set is also something to see. They have neon light microphone stands, which flash in time with the music, and a huge Soulwax sign made out of CDs.

Flaming Lips
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1999
Wedgewood Rooms

This band would come joint first. I hadn’t heard the Flaming Lips, or even Mercury Rev, before and wasn’t quite used to Wayne Coyne’s voice. The gig went slowly, but gathered speed as they introduced props, such as the gong, the fake snow, and various puppets. I was quite worried about this band’s mental health for a few minutes, but eventually I found myself on their wavelength and it was fantastic! Half way through Wayne started to drip fake blood onto his face, with a mini camera displaying the gory detail on the projection behind them. I think this must have been when they were performing ‘the soft bulletin’. They used the projected videos to great effect, with surreal lycra-leotard clad aerobic beauties bouncing around in time with the music, as well as other videos which used the rhythm and the music together, or were allegorical.

My favourite was the vaseline song, which had a cinefilm of a girl in a b
ath in the garden dipping things into the runny yolk of an fried egg. Very bizarre but great.

Here's an interesting fact that I didn't notice at first. The Lip's drummer and lead guitarist is the same person. Question: So what happens when you see them live? He can't be doing 2 jobs at once! Answer: (hehe this is fun) they have no drummer live, except for the pre-recorded stuff that the drummer has done. This means that for the whole gig they all have to be synchronised with the recorded drumbeat, which is quite scary when you think about it.

The Flaming Lip’s music in its recorded state is fantastic without visual props, but live it is moving and unimaginably memorable.
They were supported by Spectrum, (members previously from Spacemen 3) who were interesting, but unfortunately, in true gig style, I was at the bar through most of it.

Yo La Tengo & Broadcast
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Shepherds Bush Empire
10th April 2001

There was a support band before Broadcast, but I can't remember who they were due to our absence because of being late on trains, etc.
At this gig Broadcast were supporting Yo La Tengo, being the younger and less known of the two. They combined tracks from 'Work and Non-Work', 'The Noise Made by People' and their Extended Plays, as well as a couple of new bits and some purely live wall-of-noise kind of music. They create a kind of kitsch sinister sound which they perform really well, using several synthesisers and keyboards, plus the usual bassist and excellent drummer. Vocals are provided by Trish Keenan who has this angelic voice, which is huge compared to her. None of them say much, except for 'Hello' and 'Thank you, goodbye', just presenting us with their absorbing music and projected images which enhance the mood.

Yo La Tengo added a little more professionalism to the gig with their amazingly controlled guitars and samples.
The three of them swap from drums to guitar to bass to vocals to keyboards, and left me wondering how they decide who plays what for each song? Do they have cat fights over the drums? Ira generally played guitar, writhing around violently during the heavier songs. Between him and Georgia vocals were provided, along with the occasional backing vocal from Dave.

The music went from mellow lullaby to thrashing guitar sounds in a constant flow, and Shepherds Bush Empire seems to have just the right acoustics to emphasise their greatness. They were backed by a huge void of darkness, with a couple of violet lights shining around the room, which was simple and really effective.

Yo La Tengo have been around for a long time, and it really showed. They have the benefit of still having a tremendous energy that is supported by experience, doing a tour for something like their tenth album, 'And then nothing turned itself inside out'. I really really can't recommend seeing this band live enough, let alone buying their music!

The Beta Band
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Wedgewood Rooms
1999

This bunch of arty farts really know how to attract fans. Their 3 EPs have been around for years, but suddenly last year everyone latched onto them and love them, which seems strange to me considering their talent. Perhaps it took their less-good LP to bring their name to everyone’s attention.

Anyway. The gig. Well, what can I say, except brilliant. I enjoyed it so much, probably because the Beta Band are one of my favourite bands, but their melodies are so infectious that even if you’ve never heard them before you have to bop along with them. As with the Flaming Lips, and apparently most other bands around these days, they put a lot of work into their visuals. There was a projection of the band members walking around on some hill, and one showing the shelves of a corner shop, with cunningly manipulated tins of beans, and switche
d labels, which was really amusing. Each band member had light reflective bits on their clothing which added to the effect of the sound equipment being covered in a net of fairy lights. It was really quite stunning. The upbeat version of ‘Dr Baker’ wasn’t so great, but was superseded by the fantastic ‘Dry the rain’ and ‘needles in my eyes’ as well as other greats from the EPs and the LP. The bands performance was excellent, with them repetitively swapping instruments and roles, and getting up on chairs and prancing around to create a friendly, but awesome atmosphere.

I also saw them at Glastonbury last year, which wasn't nearly as enjoyable due to not actually being able to see them (huge crowds etc). They were dressed up in army uniforms to reflect the lead singers alter ego, and this made them a little more rowdy and almost embarassing. But this was great because the uniforms came from a shop (which provided Saving Private Ryan with stuff) down my road, and I met the bassist as he was returning their uniforms! Needless to say I grovelled and acted like a complete brown-noser! Poor bloke obviously isn't used to fame. Especially not in Portsmouth.

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