London gig

by **Trudi** » 22nd Dec 07, 19:37

To be fair, the biggest stop was out of concern for the girl who passed out and had to be carried out over the barrier - security sat her down in front of where we were standing and tried to give her water, but she was still out cold. I think that would be enough to kill off anyone's momentum a bit!

by **godzillas beard** » 22nd Dec 07, 19:42

The stopping and starting never bother me. Ginger comes across as a very charismatic bloke and I always enjoy listening to him talk bollocks. It would have been nice to hear Zomboid but what the hell, the rest of the gig was perfect.

Oh yeah, Fuck Christmas and fuck you!!

by **ilayad** » 22nd Dec 07, 21:03

Just the one for now - red wine and trying to sort photo's is not really a combination i'd reccomend!

x

*Edit* Photo's are now up on my flickr - yup, the saturday before xmas and i'm at home sitting in front of my computer - what a sad git am i

all my mates are either at parents/working/other end of the bloody country, i mean what's that all about eh!

by **markE** » 23rd Dec 07, 00:05

i thought the gig was fantastic and so did my wife! and neither of us even like endless nameless. ginger and the boys were on fine form - loads of smiles and banter. set wise it was great, very different to the summer tour and a good mix of stuff for eveyone. destroy all monsters was absolutlely awesome.

happy christmas everyone

by **Trudi** » 23rd Dec 07, 01:21

Great job Ila

Looking forward to seeing the Wolfsbane ones too!

by **Damian** » 23rd Dec 07, 03:29

Been to a lot of Wildhearts shows and I think that one of the best I've ever seen. No quibbles on the set order or the banter... especially not the banter. I was just astonished that they seem to be getting more popular again, and as a band, much better too. I turned to my friend after Suckerpunch and made some comment along the lines of "bands half their age... take that".

Ginger's comment has been taken a little out of context too - he said earlier on he hadn't wanted to play for some reason (I'm very close to someone who suffers from depression and it can do that sort of thing to you) but that owing to the crowd he had a brilliant one. You could tell that by his reluctance to leave the stage at the end...

I can't get the "F*** Christmas" song out of my head now! I counted five plays of it...

by **InstantKarma** » 23rd Dec 07, 12:27

That was simply one hell of an amazing gig.

It'd been over ten years since I'd seen them last (the older you get the more life can get in the way) and so I'd dragged my vintage top out of it's safe hiding place in the loft (I'd had it since I was 14 - back in '94) and got my butt down to the Astoria to see them.

Well, I started of the gig like a sensible late-20s person, stood nearish to the back but with a good enough view to enjoy the evening. Damone were really good and they reminded me of the old 70s American rock stuff that I like so I will be checking them out. Wolfsbane were brilliant but, once I'd realised exactly where Jack Black has nicked his personality from (especially for the film School Of Rock and the whole Tenacious D thing...I do hope Blaze is getting royalties for it...) I couldn't help but laugh a lot but musically it was great and, if I can get over the Jack Black thing, then I'd definately catch them if they decide to play again.

Then came The Wildhearts. It was my Dad's fault that I like this band. He was the one who brought home 'Earth Vs...' The first week it came out having read a favourable review (yes folks...he'd never even heard any songs) and we as a family fell in love with them instantly. I got to see them several times in my mid-teens but then getting a day job and a boyfriend who liked to go on holiday meant that I kept on missing them whenever they played in London beyond '97 (though I did see Ginger's solo shows a couple of times) so I was thrilled to be finally seeing them again.

The set was just awesome. I'd taken a friend with me who'd never even heard thm before and she was blown away and couldn't understand how she'd missed them all these years. Hearing old songs live for the first time in so long was great and the new ones (plus stuff from Endless, Nameless) which I heard live for the first time were just as magic. Nothing sounded in any way dated....it all sounds as fresh and new as it did first time round.

The euphoria of the whole thing really got to me. I started the gig, as I said, stood at the back in an appreciative manner. However, as The Wildhearts set progressed my inner 16-year-old started to creep out of the woodwork and, by the time the gig finished, I'd bounded my way to the second row right in front of Ginger. Hot, sweaty, squished and highly un-attractive for a young lady really but it was worth it. The last time I'd seen them was at the Astoria and I'd been right in the same place pretty much so there was a real sense of dejavu....but it was worth it. Bumped into a couple of guys I know after the gig and we all agreed we'd happily stay there and do it all over again...all the same songs, same banter, the lot as we'd not be bored even though we'd only just seen it.

I really hope to do it all again soon cos I don't think I've been that happy and full of joy for years. The Wildhearts are good for the soul I swear

by **Damian** » 23rd Dec 07, 14:20

InstantKarma wrote:I'd taken a friend with me who'd never even heard thm before and she was blown away and couldn't understand how she'd missed them all these years.

You're not the first person I've heard say more or less exactly those words. This is one thing I love about The Wildhearts - it's definitely NOT nostalgia - with any band it's good to hear the old stuff too but the point is they're still a living breathing unit. The new stuff goes down as well as the old, and it's not just us crumblies coming back in diminishing numbers every time, standing at the bar until they play Caffeine Bomb.

Bless The Wildhearts. Roll on 2008. And welcome to the board by the way!

by **Keith Richard** » 23rd Dec 07, 15:52

It's great to hear that they ended the tour on a high! It just gets better and better.

by **Dark Lord of Barnet** » 23rd Dec 07, 18:35

EMMO wrote:i preferred the Koko gig in April.
for me the start was all wrong and as someone pointed out too many stops.

I don't like that venue at all - give me the Astoria any day even though it's a bit of a dump.

As for the start - I guess it would have confused a lot of people who don't have the latest single and had never heard the song before. How many bands would have the bollocks to start a major show with a B-side that probably most the people present don't know? I liked the way the show started - quite unpredictable I thought.

by **SteveP** » 23rd Dec 07, 19:17

Dark Lord of Barnet wrote:How many bands would have the bollocks to start a major show with a B-side that probably most the people present don't know? I liked the way the show started - quite unpredictable I thought.

Doesn't that tell you how strong a song Unbroken is??

So much so that it's been the song going through my head continually since Tuesday!!!

by **sparky** » 23rd Dec 07, 20:41

The 'hearts are know for their top quality B-side tracks so as I see it there is no reason why they should not include them in their set list..

by **lemon & ginger** » 23rd Dec 07, 22:03

give me the Astoria any day even though it's a bit of a dump.

The Astoria is horrible. If it is sold out it is sold out by about double. I saw a band there from the stairs by the toilets - that was grim. I think koko is one of the best venues in london (although if it is sold out it isn't so good). Basically, if a venue isn't sold out I like it!

PS I should stay away from mulled wine.

by **InstantKarma** » 23rd Dec 07, 22:10

lemon & ginger wrote:
give me the Astoria any day even though it's a bit of a dump.

The Astoria is horrible. If it is sold out it is sold out by about double. I saw a band there from the stairs by the toilets - that was grim. I think koko is one of the best venues in london (although if it is sold out it isn't so good). Basically, if a venue isn't sold out I like it!

PS I should stay away from mulled wine.

I love the astoria. many happy memories of so many gigs I've been to there over the years. I'm just sad that it looks as though it'll be demolished in the near future to make way for more trains, shops and offices.

You can sign the petition to try and save it here http://www.petitiononline.com/savethea/

I also heard talk of them doing the same with the Electric Ballroom in Camden and we have already lost the Hammersmith Palais. I just think it's tragic that all these great music venues are being lost. It's just not right.

by **Dark Lord of Barnet** » 23rd Dec 07, 22:56

Apparently The Forum in Kentish Town is under threat as well.

London gig

Who is online