Adventures on the wheels of steel.
I went up to London yesterday for the KMFDM gig. Review, photos, tales of drunkenness and epic train fails beneath the cut. :-)
Well, the train journey up into town went okay. I arrived in time to meet up with Sal, Oliver and Helen for pre-gig drinks in The York. Two or three pints later, we headed over the road. Interesting experience number one was queuing to get into a gig as a paying punter for the first time since, well, I can't remember since when. We got in and headed straight to the bar as Leechwoman hit the stage.
Leechwoman: Never seen them before and the immediate impression was that I probably wouldn't be seeing them again any time soon. Not being familiar with their songs, the complete mess of noise turned up to 11 that was the first song I saw really didn't endear them to me. After bumping into lee_chaos at the front, I decided it was safer at the back. There I came across naturalbornkaos standing in the corner, which was nice as we've known each other for the best part of a decade but this was our first IRL meeting. I knew I should have brought the book along for him to sign. As it turns out, Leechwoman got better the further away you got from them. With the aural assault somewhat diminished, I was able to start enjoying what they were doing. I may not end up being a fan of their music (it's not really my thing), but the energy and aplomb they deliver it with pushed all my appreciation buttons, so all good there.
At this point, I decided to go for a cigarette but was rebuffed by the door staff who informed me that they only let people out for a fag when there are enough people in the venue. I didn't get that, but there you go. I'm already six or seven pints down by now, so this is where things start getting a bit hazy. Luckily, not so hazy that I wasn't able remember the next band...
Alterred: A complete change of pace, style and attitude as they take the stage. This is no ordinary 'band onstage' thing...this is a total performance piece. Three band members make up the musical part while three extra performers take the roles of The Mechanical Doll, The Engineer and The Patient respectively. The band keeps the music going along in manner that manages to be both understated and aggressive in equal measure, while the performers provide an interesting backdrop to the proceedings. I found it very cool, with no part of the individual performances distracting from the show as a whole. Good music, Mikey, bold and captivating as usual and a lovely visual setpiece. Altered don't so much play a gig as create a new world on stage and draw you into it. Tidy. :-)
Between bands there was more socialising done (and finally, the chance to go out for a fag!). It was a veritable who's who of the scene, including time spent with moonmudge, alterred, missyk8nemesis_to_go, nimstar, vx_a and many others. The drunkenness was really starting to kick in now, but not before getting to watch band number three.
Trauma Pet: Now here's a thing. The last time I saw them, they were a two piece with a nice, individual take on synthpop. No more. Now they're a full-on, five piece rock band. No bad thing in my book. They rock along nicely, so we're three bands into the gig and three enjoyed performances down. I'd like to say more about them, but the drink was driving me by now, so my memory is patchy. I will definitely see Trauma Pet again though. :-)
By this point, I've lost count of what I've had to drink. Spoke more with Mikey, Elie, Tara and others before the final band.
KMFDM: This is where it all starts unravelling. I couldn't tell you what they were like. I know I caught one of their songs but I can't remember if I thought it was any good. It may have been this point when I decided to call it quits and go home.
The next couple of hours is seen as a series of vignettes. Recalling it is more like watching a movie trailer. There was the tube station, Burger King, getting on the wrong train, realising and getting on the right train, leaving London, heading for Crawley. The next time I am concious enough to take in what's going on and process it in a halfway decent fashion is about two hours later. Unfortunately by this time, I am in Brighton. I stumble off the train to confirm that I have drunkenly passed out on the train and found myself at the end of the line. Luckily, the train is actually going back to London shortly, so I'm not looking at four or five hours sat outside Brighton Station waiting for the first train (again). Off we go and, more by luck than real judgement, I manage to keep it together long enough to make sure I get off at Three Bridges and find my way home. Grabbed a cab back to blaadyblah's place and there ended my evening.
Bloody good night out with lots of great live music and lots of great mates. Here, have some photos of Altered onstage. They're taken on my phone while a bit pissed, so obviously not of high quality. :-)
Well, the train journey up into town went okay. I arrived in time to meet up with Sal, Oliver and Helen for pre-gig drinks in The York. Two or three pints later, we headed over the road. Interesting experience number one was queuing to get into a gig as a paying punter for the first time since, well, I can't remember since when. We got in and headed straight to the bar as Leechwoman hit the stage.
Leechwoman: Never seen them before and the immediate impression was that I probably wouldn't be seeing them again any time soon. Not being familiar with their songs, the complete mess of noise turned up to 11 that was the first song I saw really didn't endear them to me. After bumping into lee_chaos at the front, I decided it was safer at the back. There I came across naturalbornkaos standing in the corner, which was nice as we've known each other for the best part of a decade but this was our first IRL meeting. I knew I should have brought the book along for him to sign. As it turns out, Leechwoman got better the further away you got from them. With the aural assault somewhat diminished, I was able to start enjoying what they were doing. I may not end up being a fan of their music (it's not really my thing), but the energy and aplomb they deliver it with pushed all my appreciation buttons, so all good there.
At this point, I decided to go for a cigarette but was rebuffed by the door staff who informed me that they only let people out for a fag when there are enough people in the venue. I didn't get that, but there you go. I'm already six or seven pints down by now, so this is where things start getting a bit hazy. Luckily, not so hazy that I wasn't able remember the next band...
Alterred: A complete change of pace, style and attitude as they take the stage. This is no ordinary 'band onstage' thing...this is a total performance piece. Three band members make up the musical part while three extra performers take the roles of The Mechanical Doll, The Engineer and The Patient respectively. The band keeps the music going along in manner that manages to be both understated and aggressive in equal measure, while the performers provide an interesting backdrop to the proceedings. I found it very cool, with no part of the individual performances distracting from the show as a whole. Good music, Mikey, bold and captivating as usual and a lovely visual setpiece. Altered don't so much play a gig as create a new world on stage and draw you into it. Tidy. :-)
Between bands there was more socialising done (and finally, the chance to go out for a fag!). It was a veritable who's who of the scene, including time spent with moonmudge, alterred, missyk8nemesis_to_go, nimstar, vx_a and many others. The drunkenness was really starting to kick in now, but not before getting to watch band number three.
Trauma Pet: Now here's a thing. The last time I saw them, they were a two piece with a nice, individual take on synthpop. No more. Now they're a full-on, five piece rock band. No bad thing in my book. They rock along nicely, so we're three bands into the gig and three enjoyed performances down. I'd like to say more about them, but the drink was driving me by now, so my memory is patchy. I will definitely see Trauma Pet again though. :-)
By this point, I've lost count of what I've had to drink. Spoke more with Mikey, Elie, Tara and others before the final band.
KMFDM: This is where it all starts unravelling. I couldn't tell you what they were like. I know I caught one of their songs but I can't remember if I thought it was any good. It may have been this point when I decided to call it quits and go home.
The next couple of hours is seen as a series of vignettes. Recalling it is more like watching a movie trailer. There was the tube station, Burger King, getting on the wrong train, realising and getting on the right train, leaving London, heading for Crawley. The next time I am concious enough to take in what's going on and process it in a halfway decent fashion is about two hours later. Unfortunately by this time, I am in Brighton. I stumble off the train to confirm that I have drunkenly passed out on the train and found myself at the end of the line. Luckily, the train is actually going back to London shortly, so I'm not looking at four or five hours sat outside Brighton Station waiting for the first train (again). Off we go and, more by luck than real judgement, I manage to keep it together long enough to make sure I get off at Three Bridges and find my way home. Grabbed a cab back to blaadyblah's place and there ended my evening.
Bloody good night out with lots of great live music and lots of great mates. Here, have some photos of Altered onstage. They're taken on my phone while a bit pissed, so obviously not of high quality. :-)