The All-Singing All-dancing Acoustibollox Review Thread

[Trudi]

We had a nasty incident as they were about to leave the stage when a rather odd bloke who had been banging a tambourine appeared to jump up and try to kiss Ginger who pushed him away quite forcefully back into the crowd from his face I would say the bloke was lucky to get away with just that.

That guy was out of it - when he tried to get on stage he fell flat on his face, then he almost knocked the PA flying, then dislodged Ginger's guitar pedal...when he did finally get off stage he stayed at the front, leaning over the monitors and swaying around, the lurch back onto the stage was another attempt at being part of the band, I think!

He was absolutely clueless as to why Ginger had pushed him away, he was wandering around afterwards saying 'Did you see that? What was that all about?'

Drunken fools aside, it was an excellent night, I thought - good humoured, entertaining and well worth the fee (even though the Water Rats was charging 17 quid on the door - gotta love London, eh?! )

[pete gusher]

the best ever version of geordie was played at leeds. ive never swayed so passionately to a song before

[beerofthedark]

Strange night in London all told. started badly for me and the missus personally, cos we had to rebuy our tix at the door (I still haven't worked out whether it's a ticketweb mix-up, a thievin'postie incident, or whether I just lost em somewhere round the house - all have happened before) which as Trudi said were £17 each .
Didn't watch the loyalties as I haven't liked 'em in the past, but each to their own. Eureka Machines were alright, but I didn't really like their tunes. Wichita Lineman and Take On Me are stone-cold classics tho and, along with Mr Catalyst's banter, well worth leaving the bar area for.
Ginger's set started really well, I thought, great selection of tracks all segueing into each other a la Market harbour which I thought was a nice touch. Sam and me were v near the back for once and we were accompanied briefly by a dancing Jasmine which was unexpected but quite sweet. After the first rush of songs, Ginger had a brief bit of chat ("I haven't even said hello yet have I?"), and he seemed in a great mood. Then with the arrival of the invitee percussion bit it all started to go wrong. Firstly with the idiotic pisshead who delayed it for a while by falling about everywhere, and then with some subsequent too-long noodly jams. Iquite like those bits in the normal run of things but they were stretching out to the five minute mark with no recognisable structure (particularly the one near the end) and frankly were getting boring. And then the drunk-tossing bit at the end of the set added a sour note to proceedings (I'm right behind Ginger for doing it though, least the pissed twat deserved in my opinion. but it was a downer). But, perversely, in the middle of that slow decline he played Moonriver to Jake, who was onstage with him, and it was a really moving moment.
The encore was right back on track though and left me hoarse from singing along. But it was weird night though and the atmosphere just seemed strange toward the end of the gig.
Good to see people again tho, and hope the next one is as memorable for better reasons.

[aphroditemf]

I didn't think we'd get an encore after that drunken tosser's shennanigans.

The Loyalties were pleasant surprise, I hadn't checked them out beforehand. Nice tunes, though they seemed a bit under-rehearsed.

I liked Ginger's speach about how if he was playing to massive audiences like Justin Timberlake, there would probably only be a couple of hundred genuine music fans in the audience, and how we weren't there to be cool, even though we are cool and it was cool to be there!

[Ross]

Suprising that many people on here said that the Wildhearts xmas tour was the best they've/Ginger has played in awhile.

See, I've heard the exact opposite from people not on here... Takes all sorts though...

[burgerrock]

did you see the 5K Kerrang! london review for the wildhearts show at the astoria in December?

Now that was a stunning gig.

[Arm Squirrel]

Finally uploaded Ginger's gig from last night at the Water Rats.
Just go to www.theparanoidsquirrel.com and follow the link.
It can also be downloaded from iTunes.

[InstantKarma]

Strange night in London all told. started badly for me and the missus personally, cos we had to rebuy our tix at the door (I still haven't worked out whether it's a ticketweb mix-up, a thievin'postie incident, or whether I just lost em somewhere round the house - all have happened before) which as Trudi said were £17 each

So you never did spot your local postie then...guess next time he'll have to come in uniform

[Dark Lord of Barnet]

I enjoyed the Water Rats show, but it certainly wasn't the best of the solo/acoustic/whatever shows of his I've seen. I though Ginger was less communicative than normal, but there was still some good banter. It did seem to get a bit too self-indulgent at times with the extended jamming and people were visibly starting to lose interest at times. There was a celtic sounding bit which reminded me of Thin Lizzy which I liked though. Each Ginger show is very different to any of the others, which always makes them interesting, but they seem to vary considerably in mood and atmosphere. The added percussion bit was a good idea, although maybe dragged on too far - good to hear some cowbell in there though!

The night was made more special by the presence of Ginger's kids (accompanied by Angie) and the kids participation in 'You And Me' (That's What I Want)'. A particularly touching moment was seeing Ginger singing 'Jake' - with Jake standing next to him looking up at his dad.

Not being anywhere near the front I didn't realise exactly what drunken audience incidents Ginger was referring to when he returned to the stage as I didn't see what happened. Reading the other posts about last night shed's some light - was the offending drunk the bloke with long dark hair and a black motorcycle jacket? The same drunk percussionist who perched on the speaker and knocked all the glasses flying earlier?

It was great to meet so many friends that I haven't seen for years, as well as those I bump into fairly regularly.

[InstantKarma]

Yep...that was the drunk in question...

[Damian]

I gather that anyone attending last night's Brighton show got treated to Jon Poole doing "Silvery" with Eureka Machines. That would have been fun to see!

[pglove]

......and we also got to see another drunk. This one sort of collapsed right in front of Ginger. From his (Ginger's) face I think he thought he was actually in serious trouble - I understand he had just had one too many wine gums.

[beerofthedark]

So you never did spot your local postie then...guess next time he'll have to come in uniform

Nah, but next time I see him in the street I'll check if he's got a Ginger t-shirt on - and plot my revenge if he has

[Trudi]

......and we also got to see another drunk. This one sort of collapsed right in front of Ginger. From his (Ginger's) face I think he thought he was actually in serious trouble - I understand he had just had one too many wine gums.

What I found amusing was the way the guy did it - he came from nowhere right to the front, swayed a bit, then keeled over backwards in the style of Wile E. Coyote falling off a cliff. Ginger had the 'oh no, here we go again' expression - not surprising after London!

'Silvery' was done just by Jon and Chris as a 'Whores acoustic performance, and at least one person was filming it so hopefully the clip will show up on YouTube at some point.

[Arch]

Aside from the erm.....'Ginger Fan' who threatened to bring proceedings to a halt by being drunk / appearing mentally unstable - it was business as usual in Brighton last night. As mentioned, Ginger's face was one of bewilderment and concern, until he lightened the mood by making a song up on the spot - of which the no nonsense lyrics suggested the drunk gentleman leave the premises swiflty - please. I think he did, but not before trying to urinate in the 'Staff Only' room! Ginger did question whether there was a drunk family following him around the country, with one drunken arse in every area he planned to play!

I think Ginger must have been reading the posts on this forum, as he made a (comparatively) extra special effort to be chatty (combined with his usual genial wit), and even assured us he wouldn't be doing the 'eyes shut, meandering jamming all gig' thing. It was a relaxed and jovial affair generally, with the added bonus of Random's appearance for a 'one off', absolutely insane, manic five minute duet with CC.

I'm assuming Ginger made the same announcement throughout the tour, but he (quite seriously it seemed) said this would be the last tour of the 'Acoustic' style gigs. I think he has tired of the format and in typical Ginger fashion, wants to move on to fresher fields. It's a shame they have to end - but hey, let's wait to see the next tour incarnation!

It's been noted by some that Ginger letting the crowd 29x was seen as a cop out, so he duly sang with the Brighton crowd the entire song - but without any guitar playing, having broken his bottom E string during the previous song. As usual no encore, and Ginger literally said goodnight, walked from the stage and out of the front door and disappeared into the night! He did stop briefly to chat with some guys by the door, but it was certainly 'job done - let's go'!

A great night all in all, with Ginger looking relaxed, playing well and not at all moody in front of the 100 or so crowd.