[kj] TR: Fleece Review

[Frenchy Frenzy]

Many thanks for this great review

 

Stephane “ Frenchy Frenzy”

 

  _____  

De : gathering-bounces at misera.net [mailto:gathering-bounces at misera.net] De
la part de jpwhkj at aol.com
Envoyé : dimanche 26 septembre 2010 14:09
À : gathering at misera.net
Objet : 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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