The Palladium show was great the other night. Favourite part was Neil acting-out the drama for the twist in the tale during the Scott Walker-fuelled majesty of Our Mutual Friend.
It was excellent! The band are just spot on, and the vocals are great. I went to the Palladium on Weds and also sat on the middle balcony - disconcerting movement going on during National Express (Neil: "let's twist!": Me and woman to my left: "no, let's not. Let's really not twist") made me wonder if the 'restoration levy' added to the ticket price was going to need to be cashed in... But yes, great show! I loved it. Booked fairly last minute and didn't expect to love it as I think I've made my feelings on most of the 'hits' clear... (!) But it was ace! I even tapped my foot to Indie Disco! Highlight: Generation Sex with topical porn-watching lyrics. Lowlight: nothing really. Well, maybe I Like Sorry!
We were at the Southampton gig on Monday and night, and I'd echo all of this. The setlist may have obvious, but it was played to perfection. Special mention to The Certainty of Chance which sounded absolutely huge. I'm not doing any of the Autumn gigs - they're just not practical - but my word, they're going to be amazing. There's still a part of me hoping the Barbican will stream them all. That would make me very happy.
Yeah if either the Barbican or Paris gigs were to be filmed then that would be great. I really wanted to get tickets to the first couple of Paris shows (to replace the ones I had for the subsequently-cancelled 2020 shows) but first one thing conspired against it and then another. In the end I decided that someone somewhere was trying to tell me it really wasn't meant to be and just gave up. But being able to watch online would be ample compensation. I did get to see the Copenhagen gig last month and was very impressed though.
We went to Newcastle last night. A great gig with the audience getting involved, which sparked a few comedic comments from Neil. The show seemed better than the Edinburgh show we did a couple of weeks ago, which was rather flat through the first half. Same setlist as Edinburgh apart from the introduction of Quejumper, which went down really well live. Flowers being used as a shaker, laying on the floor at the end of Mutual Friend and an umbrella spinning bowler hatted chap changing Neil’s capo on one song all part of the DC concert experience. Security were a bit OTT trying to stop people dancing in the aisles at which point Neil stopped Something for the Weekend to make a plea to security to allow the ‘really nice fans’ to dance. Of course they wouldn’t, which lead to a round of booing from the audience, but to be honest it kind of added to the theatrics of the show and Neil handled it pretty well despite his obvious annoyance. Great night, great band and can’t wait for the next time.
It's somewhat baffling to me why an artist would choose to book an all-seater venue for a gig and then get in a huff because security won't let people get out of their seats. If it's that important to you as a performer then pick a more suitable venue to begin with! I'm assuming Neil has the final say in what venues are selected for a tour, although I freely admit that I don't know how the selection process works. Personally I prefer seated these days because I'm too lazy to stand, although there are plenty of venues out there which offer standing downstairs and balcony seating, and therefore should make everyone happy in theory.
Semi-resurrecting the thread to ask… Anyone going to be at any of the Barbican gigs in just a few weeks from now? I, somehow, am still planning to go to all 5 despite having gone from “not a care in the world” to “ahhhhh- toddler!” since booking the tickets
Can't afford gig tickets these days as a rule unless they're dirt cheap/in my hometown/once in a lifetime chances. But it's nice to be reminded of this wonderful thread.
Will probably be there for the first two nights. Would've preferred to be at the Paris gigs but it's better than nothing I guess.
Looking forward to the Barbican gigs! Will be going to all 5. Very excited about the first two nights. Unsure what Regen will be like, but excited by Fin. And then the next two nights will still have their highlights, despite not being my favourite albums. I'm just glad it's a seated venue, as I'm not sure I'd have the energy of five nights in a row standing!
I was slightly wondering whether the Casanova/ASAAL gig might be a bit shorter than the rest, but this last sentence from the Barbican program is quite promising: 2) Casanova (1996) / A Short Album About Love (1997) By the third album, Hannon was casting himself as a debonair dandy and lothario figure; part Noël Coward, part Michael Caine in Alfie. Casanova – ‘I’d sung about my desperation to meet women, and then I finally did!’ – became his big commercial breakthrough, driven by the irresistible three-minute hits ‘Something for The Weekend’ and ‘Becoming More Like Alfie’. ‘I’d seen the Britpop scene brewing,’ he recalls, ‘and I loved a lot of what informed Britpop, like The Kinks and movie soundtracks. I needed to get on this bandwagon!‘ ‘Reading my pop handbook, it said, you need a follow-up hit quick or fans will move on. I only had enough for a mini album, so we recorded it, semi-live, with the Brunel Ensemble, a small orchestra from Bristol. I pinched film director Krzysztof Kieślowski’s title A Short Film About Love, and released it on Valentine’s Day, nine months after Casanova. I need to reassure ticketholders tonight; you won’t be short-changed! We’ll stick in a few more.’
Ooh, interesting! I wonder what we’ll get? Apparently Tosh said they rehearsed 5 extra songs so I wonder if they’ll be in the ASAAL set? Johnny Mathis’ Feet, anyone?
Not going to happen BUT I wish they'd play Trafalgar!!! Just sipping a glass of chardonnay knowing that in a couple of hours we will be in the presence of the Divine.
Well that was a truly great night. Everything I wanted from what was billed. Both albums played incredibly faithfully for the most part (and we even got to hear the Booklovers samples louder and clearer than ever before , and can confirm that what we worked out here in this thread was very much correct!) A short encore of two hits (which were songs that will be played on other nights), I didn’t really think this was necessary but perhaps they did it for those people who are only coming tonight? Having said that, who buys tickets for a full runthrough of Liberation and Promenade but would still be disappointed if they didn’t get to hear National Express? Odd one. Still, at least I got to sing into the mic for the first time ever!
You were great!!! Haha!!! Front row then? Great concert. Lovely, friendly atmosphere. You felt like you were part of a fellowship. Loved the dedication for Booklovers and the spontaneous applause when the name of an author who has been in the news was referenced. Odd encores I agree, and not necessary. I had hoped the encores would be songs not on any album but still, a joyous occasion. Worth while not using my season ticket for the footie. Tomorrow will be one of the big nights for me. Great to be called a weirdo by Neil for buying tickets to all the nights!
Extras in the second set tonight were I've Been To A Marvellous Party, Gin Soaked Boy and My Lovely Horse which started off as a ballad strings based arrangement, before going into the version we all know and love! Encores were To The Rescue and Tonight We Fly. It was one hell of a very, very special show
Here's a video I took from the Circle of a good chunk of Promenade - from Geronimo onwards. I couldn't pick a favourite song to record, so just did that big giant chunk. Loved it. Casanova was my first TDC album, and favourite for a long while. I think maybe I sort of agree with Neil about his weird songs on that album maybe not quite hitting the mark with me as much, but still good. Was excited to hear TALASN, although he was a bit too restrained (/old ) for that song to fully hit its mark though. Theme From Casanova was lovely, and Dogs and the Horses was beautiful. A Short Album About Love was then beautiful from start to finish. Maybe I should have recorded that also, but I just wanted to fully enjoy it. Not as much as the two women in front of us who were completely loving it, and up and dancing at the end. Great encores/bonus songs also. I wasn't too sure about the encore after Promenade, as it felt perfect as it was, especially ending with Tonight We Fly. But I think I appreciate the encores now, to have a nice ending to the shows - we'll most likely want something a bit more bouncey after listening to Regeneration and ending with The Beauty Regime this evening!
At all 5 nights here. Will post more later as I’m typing on my phone over a breakfast Pret. Fantastic couple of opening nights so far, Neil & band on possibly best ever form. Also got chatting to plenty of people before each concert, met people from as far afield as New York & Tulsa.
Also doing all 5 nights - I think A Short Album absolutely shone last night. Was really great to see these songs live - seems to me that its the lesser (never?) played songs that are getting the most love from the crowd, and rightly so!
First heard TDC when Neil was supporting Tori Amos in 1994, first headlining concert with my wife in 1996 in support of Casanova. It’s has been a long, long time since I’ve heard Queen of the South, When The Lights go Out All over Europe, Theme from Casanova and The Dogs and The Horses played live. Whilst I’ll never tire of Songs of Love or Tonight We Fly, it is all those either long since played or never played gems that make this whole residency worth every penny. Particularly looking forward on tonight as we missed the Fin De Siecle tour as we were on holiday (although we did see TDC supporting Robbie Williams later that year), and we also missed the tour for Regeneration, again due to being out of the country. Got front row circle, dead centre for tonight too. I’m in if anyone else is!
