Shepherd's Bush Stories

[Owen]

erm, I got to sing the last few lines of 'shame on me?' when Ginger chucked the mic into crowd.

Please say somebody video'd it

And I shared that mic with you

.....although I thought it was News Of The World...?

Could well have been 'News of the world!!'
Whole show was a bit of a blur, amazing song after amazing song

[Owen]

did they really play all 21 songs?

[dangerlust]

Hi everyone - I'm obviously new to these boards but not exactly new to the Wildhearts.....

Great gig last night, shame about the sound but I don't thik either the band or the crowd were going to let it spoil the night - it would have been nice to have a clearer mix, especially on the vocals but hey, whatever.

Awesome to hear so many of the old songs again - and some of them for the first time. I don't think that there is a single song of theirs that I don't love but what a joy to hear the likes of Down on London, Show a Little Emotion, Beautiful Thing You and Two Way Idiot Mirror live for the first time ever!

It was good fun meeting up with a few boardies from the Download Forums (Hi to Hopscotch & Jez) and also jon from Norway. Anyone in O'Neills before the gig will have heard him randomly shouting out lyrics to Wildhearts and Barkyard Babies songs.

What a star, pissed as they come but why not?!?! This guy is a superfan, he flew in from Norway just for this gig. Quality guy ! Excellent tattoos on his arms too, all Wildhearts based - the latest simply reading 'Destroy All Monsters'

What a night people, Guiness, KFC, Awesome Gig, more KFC - the perfect night!

[taz]

I'm still grinning - it was an awesome night...sound troubles aside the atmosphere was amazing. Must say 'Hello' to the completely random and lovely Dan and Neil who i spent the evening (danced/drank/sang raucously with) due to the god of tickets having split me up from everyone I knew (previously!) *waves*

Well worth the journey from leeds for me

taz.x

[Dark Lord of Barnet]

A great night, but a bit of an anti-climax for me in some ways after spending months looking forward to it - although not the band's fault at all. I planned to get there early enough to go to the pub before Eureka Machines, but as usual that went wrong and I didn't bargain for part of the Hammersmith & City line being shut. I met quite a few people I knew which was nice! However, there were a few friends who were there that I never saw at all due to not getting there early enough for the pub or to get a good place at the front where I'm sure some of them were.

I thought Eureka Machines were great. Again. Fouth time I've seen them - twice acoustic with Ginger and twice electric. Good album too.

Then I remember it as the night of queuing. I do not like this venue at all and never enjoy going there due to it's inadequate bar facilities when full. I was worried the special aniversary T-shirt might sell out so didn't want to wait till the end before buying one. I missed virtually the entire Godamn Whores set while waiting to get a T-shirt. Then after waiting nearly half an hour just to get a shirt it took me 25 minutes just to get a drink - I didn't bother anymore after that as I missed the begining of the Wildhearts set while trying to get the first drink my parched throat had got since leaving home. The above problems wouldn't have happened at better ROCK venues like the Astoria or the Forum.

The atmosphere was great, but we all knew it was going to be! As expected, the band were on good form and played well while obviously enjoying themselves. No fault of the band, but the sound was shite, although I've heard worse. It will be interesting to see how much they can 'fix in the mix' for the DVD? No comment needed on the setlist really, apart from I thought we may get some 'Mondo' material too, but maybe another time? Apart from that it was superb - it couldn't not be really. More B-sides than you could shake a stick at! It was great to hear some rarely (if ever) heard songs getting an airing. I still miss Jon Poole in the band, so it was good to see him guesting on guitar for a song, and his crowd surfing exit from the stage was a highlight!

Met a few of the usual suspects during and after - some of whom I haven't seen for years! Missed some completely unfortunately. Met some more of you in the pub after - I owe one of you a pint. Then realised how late it was and made a hurried exit from the pub at 11.59 and got the last train (for the connections I needed) with less than a minute to spare!

I look forward to seeing many of you again (and those I missed) in December!

[KnievelTim]

A great evening all in all
My thoughts:

Eureka Machines were quite good- couldn't remember if I had seen them before or not. Good banter and some nice tunes.
The God Damn Whores were entertaining to a point, some good tracks- the Cardiacs-esque ones stood out most for me.

What a shame about the sound! I play in a band and I know what it's like when the sound on stage is shite- it makes you work so much harder and really does seperate a tight band from a sloppy one. Lucky The Wildhearts are as tight as they come. It does seem stupid that the sound should be compromised for volume like it was last night, that's my only problem with the gig.

Amazing atmosphere- got to be one of the loudest crowds I've been in at this type of venue. The venue does offer a sense of occasion, it's quite grandiose but not in the same league as the Astoria for a good old fashioned rock gig.

The vocals suffered worse probably, not helped by shitty mics/mic stands. Ginger's guitar was too quiet, especially when doing his solos.
Ritch's drumming was superb- I'd forgotten how accomplished his live performances are.

The setlist then...well the band managed to get it wrong (that's RnR for ya!) playing up to Miles Away Girl in order then jumping to News of the World and Drinking About Life before CJs word in Ginger's ear and playing Headfuck and Suckerpunch!

Wasn't it nice hearing those B sides? They sounded so natural live too- that's always going to be the issue when there's that many awesome songs at your disposal though; the better known ones are more likely to be played regularly.
SYFM&UYFB with the GDW was fun - RJP crowdsurfing all the way to the back was cool, although he did land on my head (forgiven!)

I had no problems getting drinks at the bar, the queue for the Tshirts was a bit mad but I got my bits ok after the bands.

Was nice being among so many cool people, always feels like a special club that none of my mates understand
Nice to meet you Andy btw- glad the tic went to good use.

The band seem so happy and upbeat at the moment, the stability in this line-up is so refreshing and it bodes well for the future I think. This wasn't the best I've ever seen the band but it was an awesome evening's entertainment- a great night.

~Tim

p.s. anyone else notice the glaring spelling mistake on the posters/Tshirts tracklisting??! Clue: it's in the bottom half of the list...

[InstantKarma]

With all the comments on here about the sound being poor....the only bit about the sound for me that was annoying was that, when Ginger was speaking, I could hardly understand a word of it and that, for me, is as much a part of the gig as the music is...

[Trudi]

All I have to say right now is that if the awesomeness of a gig can measured by how much you hurt the next day, last night has to be one of the best ever. I'll never be too old for the front row, I just need to factor in more recovery time

[wildsam6o]

was pretty good, great to hear stuff not heard for ages/before

the after show party was the best tho, really funny

[inglorious1]

T'was a good day...but I guess my expectations were very high and am therefore a little disappointed.

Great to meet so many people pre-gig. I wasn't on top form, so sorry if I seemed off with anyone. Hope you made it back to the hotel ok, Christoph!

Eureka Machines: these guys are really doing it for me at the moment - Chris is a natural with the crowd, and the songs are catchy. Nice to see them get a good reception. BTW, check out their 'cribbs' episode on their myspace page - hilarious!

The GDWs didn't quite pull it off. With Jase on guitar, Denzil (sp?) on drums, Jon on guitar and Chris on bass should be a great combination - yet it seemed to fall a little flat last night. There was one very Cardiacs-esque number that was impressive musically, but 'She Took Me Out' bores me stupid (although I'll forgive them because they played 'We're The New Gods').

The Wildhearts set was very enjoyable from the front row, and I had no voice left after the gig. If I'm being objective (!), then I'd say the evening was blighted by the technical problems. It clearly affected the band's performance (as a result, some of the vocals/backing vocals were shocking from where I was). So the DVD, if it surfaces, will be interesting to hear - maybe it's not as bad as I thought.

Perhaps I'm being greedy, but I was also hoping for an encore - even with just a couple of songs. So yes, a good gig with a great atmosphere...but the shine I was hoping for wasn't blinding. Picky sod aren't I!

Rob

[InstantKarma]

The sound will be fine for the DVD I reckon as the feed into the sound desk is always better than what comes out the speakers anyway....

[inglorious1]

The sound will be fine for the DVD I reckon as the feed into the sound desk is always better than what comes out the speakers anyway....

That's not my worry - it seemed to me that the poor monitoring affected CJ and Ginger's vocals, plus Ginger missed lots of lines because he was often switching to CJs mic and also checking his guitar sound.

I'm sure it'll be fine though.
Rob

[Owen]

The sound will be fine for the DVD I reckon as the feed into the sound desk is always better than what comes out the speakers anyway....

As long as the beautiful singing at the end of 'News of the World' comes out ok, the dvd will sell millions!!

I did overhear somebody say that it was the best part of the night (although it could well have been the voices in my head, 'masturbating my ego')

[skychaserhigh]

Superb Weekend

Arrived in the capital on friday and did all the tourist stuff (opentop bus full of japenese photograpers )

Had a few Strongbows and a burger in Wetherspoons beforehand, then made our way to the empire..

Got chatting to some nice folks (wildies fans are the best ain't they)

Got the wife to wait in the merch line with my order while i staked my position at the front

Loved the Eureka Machines, Great band!, Great Songs, Also Funny as fuck

Best bit of the god damm whores was the end (shame i like the album)

Apart from said sound/monitor issues a awesome show SO MANY classic tunes, although ginger looked fucked from the travelling and playing 24hrs earlier

Was fucking rammed at the front mind got some nice brusies to show for it always a sign of a good show

p.s

I gotta be on the dvd i was giving it my best rock star face every time the camera went past

[Sarc]

Am I the only person who didn't have a problem with the sound at the venue?, fair do's there was a couple of glitches to the vocal mikes but other than that I had no problems with it and I for one don't think Ginge was singing out of tune.