[kj] Killing Joke at The Wiltern

[Paul Rangecroft]

Maybe not gig of the year but probably gig report of the year anyway.

Thanks. Funny that they got Geordie a cake!

On Sun, Dec 19, 2010 at 5:52 PM, TB <planetary at socal.rr.com> wrote:


> Finally after just over a year of holding on to my ticket, saw the mighty

> Killing Joke at The Wiltern.

>

> So much in just the last couple weeks seemed to conspire to add up to a

> mediocre show if not it being canceled altogether.  From the

> tour being rescheduled back last Spring to poor publicity for the show

> booked optimistically in a great if clearly too big for the

> band venue to Youth leaving the tour last week to this being the 5th show

> in 5 grueling nights without a break to the utterly

> miserable weather last night, it seemed like everything was conspiring to

> sabotage the final show of this tour.  I can happily say,

> that did not happen.

>

> After a frankly harrowing drive from Huntington Beach to LA in constant

> wind and rain, I got to the Wiltern about 7pm.  Much to my

> surprise, there was only about 20 people lined up (usually by 7pm, there's

> a couple hundred or more lined up depending on the band).

> Bringing an umbrella was probably the single smartest thing I did as they

> didn't open the doors 'til 8pm and some people who came

> unprepared were soaked in a matter of minutes standing out there.  Getting

> my ticket from Will Call was no problem although the guy

> didn't ask for ID and initially handed me two tickets (I came alone).

>

> Once inside, it was a long 1 1/2 hours 'til the opening band came on.  The

> place was *very* slow to fill up and even by the time

> Killing Joke came on, you could still get a pit wristband and the place was

> only about 40% filled. The merch booth was out of shirts

> except for some larges and XXLs.  Bootleggers outside The Wiltern were

> peddling a decent looking rip-off shirt of the "Courtauld

> Talks" art that was better'n the official shirts sold inside.

>

> The opening band was surprisingly decent which means they weren't great but

> at least they weren't "Amen" who opened for KJ in 2003

> and was laughably bad.  Performing mostly instrumentals, they came off as

> sort of like a weird cross between Bauhaus and I dunno,

> The Doors although they looked like typical slackers from Seattle.  At one

> point several of us in the pit yelled "Who Are You?" and

> the bassist/singer mumbled something about "I'm not gonna tell you."  Dude

> needs to get some stage presence.

>

> Sp Killing Joke comes on around 10:30 and opens with Tomorrow's World

> followed by Love Like Blood as usual for this tour.  The

> rather disjointed setlist seems haphazard on paper but it flowed pretty

> well live.  Band sounded superb although at times it seemed

> like they were playing to a big empty hall considering the audience at

> times was pretty sedate even for a less than half full venue.

> The sound mix up front was excellent - I stood about 5 people back in the

> pit just off center on Geordie's side so I could hear his

> guitar straight from his amp cut through the PA mix. It was rather

> interesting that the band packed their gear really tightly

> together on the large stage as if they were playing a tiny club stage.

>

> We got the standard set for the North American leg of the tour, no

> surprises and the encore was Eighties and Pandemonium.  It really

> seemed the band was very focused on delivering a solid, tight, no-nonsense

> performance.  The minor downside was the show lacked a

> certain sense of wild unpredictability like what I saw in '03 when it

> seemed like the band was going to go off the rails at any

> moment.

>

> Jaz was very talkative in-between songs although not as truly manic as I've

> seen him in past shows, especially the '03 show I

> caught.  His vocals were solid the entire night.  Geordie stuck with

> bottled water the whole show.  The substitute Bass Dude really

> did a solid job and was wearing a "Where Is Youth" shirt.  Speaking of

> Youth, I didn't hear anyone around me wonder about his

> absence and I don't think Jaz really acknowledged his absence.  But the big

> star of the gig had to have been Big Paul - absolutely

> storming on drums, even more impressive than at the '08 show I caught, imo.

>  He is really the glue and engine driving the band right

> now.

>

> The new songs came across really well live.  I can see why the band plays

> "The Great Cull" and "This World Hell" at the expense of

> perhaps better songs off the new album as Geordie clearly enjoys playing

> those two tunes.  It's a shame Fresh Fever, In Excelsis,

> Raven King and Endgame have been dropped or never made it into the set as

> the rest of the new material is excellent live.

>

> Before the encore, Jaz led the audience in "Happy Birthday" for Geordie who

> also got a cake which was passed on to those up front

> and wound up all over people and the floor.  Pandemonium wrapped up the

> show with Jaz thanking the audience and leaving the rest of

> the band to close out the song.

>

> Show ended about midnight leading to an even more gnarly drive home in

> driving rain and Saturday night drunks all over the road (I

> saw one car in front of me hydroplane and gently bounce off the center

> carpool lane rail on the 405 freeway).

>

> Here's the best of my mostly horrible photos from the show:

>

> http://i60.photobucket.com/albums/h26/Partyslammer/KillingJokeWiltern3.jpg

>

> http://i60.photobucket.com/albums/h26/Partyslammer/KillingJokeWiltern2.jpg

>

> http://i60.photobucket.com/albums/h26/Partyslammer/KillingJokeWiltern1.jpg

>

> T.B.

>

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