[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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