[kj] Fleece Review

Nick Scott npscott at blueyonder.co.uk
Sun Sep 26 09:01:56 EDT 2010


Not the only one, I forgot to include it to when I was trying to
remember what was played off each album.

On 26 September 2010 14:00, Chris Williamson <laughingchris at hotmail.com> wrote:

> Very well written review J.

>

> How could I forget bloodsport?  It's what got me in the mosh!

>

> Chris

>

>

>

> ________________________________

> To: gathering at misera.net

> Date: Sun, 26 Sep 2010 08:09:18 -0400

> From: jpwhkj at aol.com

> Subject: Re: [kj] Fleece Review

>

> Ade - you were well pissed if you thought they played Butcher! <grin>

>

> I was stone-cold sober due to the impending drive back to London, so I

> remember it all very well. I showed up at the venue at about 6.45, to find

> Antoni, Joker Jon, Paul R, and Jon's mate whose name escapes me right now.

> Wayne showed up shortly after I did... crucially, with my ticket!  (Nice

> one, thank you Wayne.)

>

> We went in pretty early (7.30?) and I thought: "this foyer is rather nice".

> Then I thought: "why is there a stage in the foyer?"  Then I thought: "what

> an amazing venue".  It's definitely the smallest place I've seen the Joke.

> Apparently the capacity is 450, but that can only be if you pack 5 people

> into each of the toilet cubicles.  Service at the bar was pretty swift, and

> really the only downside was that there were quite a few pillars supporting

> the ceiling, which interfered with the view a bit.  (But I suppose the

> ceiling falling in would have interfered more.)

>

> Rumour was that the Joke would be on at 8.45, but 8.45 came and went.  I

> spotted roadies putting drinks on top of amps, which seemed like a good

> sign, but we waited some more. 9.00 came and went.  ("The band will be on no

> later than 9 pm" according to the Fleece website.)  Mick Head showed up, en

> route from Leeds to Cornwall, having told wife and family that he needed to

> stop for petrol in Bristol.  By this time I'd written down the setlist (22

> tracks) and was very glad that I hadn't bet on getting the train (last train

> at 10:33).  "Maybe it's quarter past rather than quarter to."  But 9.15 came

> and sent as well.  Finally, at about half past nine, the opening chords of

> Faith Healer crashed out, and finally the Joke took the stage.

>

> They opened with Tomorrow's World, which provided ample demonstration of the

> underlying funk of early Joke (you could see Youth living the rhythm)

> coupled with a very hard edge.  Great!

>

> Next up was In Excelsis, which featured Jaz singing.  So, also great.  The

> crowd seemed to like it, and I really hope they stick to playing a large

> number of new tracks on the rest of the tour.

>

> Next was Wardance.  Groan.  I knew it was coming, but still... give it a

> rest, fellas.  Actually, I have a theory that Jaz may have made some

> Faustian pact with the devil way back in '79, along these lines:

>

> Devil: This song is great!

> Jaz: Do ya really like it?

> Devil: Yes. (pause) Would you play it for me?

> Jaz: (thinks) OK, what will you do in return?

> Devil: You can be vocalist with the best band in the world.

> Jaz: I already am.

> Devil: Good point, how about Absolute Ruler of the World?

> Jaz: OK

> Devil: Right, you must play this at every gig.

> Jaz: No problem.

>

> ...unfortunately for Jaz (but luckily the rest of us), Satan is holding out

> to see if Jaz keeps his word.  So we're probably stuck with Wardance.

>

> After that, Change, which I love - but could do without the stupid sirens.

>

> Then Bloodsport.  I know they've played that a lot in recent years, but -

> like Tomorrow's World - it's an early track that isn't a single, so still

> scores rarity points with me.

>

> Next, oh joy, European Super State.  As predicted, this was a fantastic,

> bouncy number, with the perfect Joke mix of a dance beat with Geordie's

> razor-sharp guitar.

>

> This World Hell... really didn't do much for me.  Sounded fairly clunky.

> Maybe we *are* going to be a microchipped people ruled from microwave towers

> (as Jaz told us before they played it) but frankly I just wanted it over and

> done with.

>

> Fall of Because. This track occupies a special place in my heart, as it was

> the first Joke song I heard... and loved.  That said, it wasn't an

> especially good version, but never mind.

>

> "We wrote this for Paul."  The Raven King was one of the highlights, not

> just because it was a genuinely poignant moment, but also because it seems

> to be one of the strongest tracks from the new album. I'm looking forward to

> hearing the studio version.

>

> Requiem.  OK, I know they play it almost as often as Wardance, but it's

> still a great track.

>

> Great Cull.  As with This World Hell, this didn't do a lot for me.

>

> Madness.  I was never keen on this - basically it's too long - but just

> because it hasn't been played much, I'm happy to hear it.  Sounded very

> solid.

>

> Fresh Fever.  This was good.  My memory of it from the past was that it was

> weak, but it sounded fine.

>

> Well, you knew it was coming, didn't you?  "Aaasterrroiid!"  I like it, but

> seem to have heard it enough.

>

> Depth Charge was good.  Quite punky, bouncy stuff.

>

> The Wait.  The pit - which had been fairly subdued - suddenly went mental.

> I guess everyone knew proceedings were drawing to a close, and gave it their

> all.

>

> When The Wait finished, there was the briefest pause, and then "ow-oww!" (or

> however you write it) and they played Pssyche.  Whenever I hear it live, I

> remember the review in Sounds / NME / MM describing it as the fans' "disco

> favourite".  And it is!  Again, that incredible combination of dance beat

> and vicious guitar...

>

> And despite waiting around for an encore, that was it.  Not sure why there

> was no encore (licence? planes to catch?) but it was still a great set.

> They were very tight, and - it's worth saying again - it was fantastic to

> hear so much new material.

>

> Disappointed not to hear Ghosts... or Kali Yuga.  But maybe at Hammersmith.

> Disappointed that Big Paul was tucked away at the back, but difficult to do

> otherwise with such a small stage.  But nonetheless, a great opener for what

> will hopefully be great tour.

>

> One of the funniest moments was Youth trying to get Jaz to talk to the

> audience.

>

> Youth: Jaz is going to talk to you now.

> Jaz: No I'm not.

> Youth: Jaz, they want you to talk to them.

> Jaz: I'm feeling shy.

> Youth: (to audience) What do you want Jaz to talk about? Pick a subject, any

> subject...

>

> (Doubtless I don't have that exactly right, but you get the drift.)

>

> Here's the set list that I copied down.  The ones in square brackets didn't

> get played.

>

> Tomorrow's World

> In Excelsis

> Wardance

> Change

> [Absolute Dissent]

> Bloodsport

> European Super State

> This World Hell

> Fall of Because

> Raven King

> Requiem

> Great Cull

> Madness

> Fresh Fever

> Asteroid

> Depth Charge

> The Wait

> Pssyche

> ------------

> [Primitive]

> [Complications]

> [Pandemonium]

> [End Game]

>

> Jamie

>

> PS I'm having email formatting issues.  Hope this comes out ok.

>

>

>

>

> -----Original Message-----

> From: ADRIAN WASON <adrianwason at btinternet.com>

> To: gathering at misera.net

> Sent: Sun, 26 Sep 2010 11:49

> Subject: [kj] Fleece Review

>

> I accidentally had 12 pints of pear cider and 2 large red bull vodkas before

> the

> gig so its a bit blurry.The venue was awesome i think they opened with

> Butcher,Fresh Fever was brilliant, most of the new songs were very catchy.

> Ithink they did asteroid but they didnt do an encore and there were 4 more

> songs

> on the setlist.BPF was hidden away in the corner but generally all on

> form.We

> saw Jaz in the bogs and he was completely wasted about an hour and a half

> before they went on so how he gets himself together I'll never know. There

> was a

> bit of moshing but there was a poor fella in a wheelchair down the front. I

> seem

> to remember they did the wait. Hopefully someone else can provide a more

> coherent review so I can remember it!

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