--------------------------------------------------------------------- T H E G A R Y N U M A N D I G E S T (by subscription only - to unsubscribe, see bottom of this message) --------------------------------------------------------------------- (#2002-160) - Topics this issue: 1) Ocean, Hackney, concert, 2) Passing of Ian Menzies, Numanoid, ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Date: Sat, 28 Sep 2002 10:33:35 +0100 From: "Vickers" Subject: Ocean, Hackney, concert As there has been no complete review of the recent shows, I thought I would offer an impression of the one I saw, in London. If my mode of expression upsets anyone, please skip to the next post. I am trying to give an impression of the venue : purpose- built, with a balcony around. The ground floor stretches a long way back. The sound was not ultra-clear, but for most people it was satisfactory enough. There was a lattice above our heads, upon which the lighting technicians were able to walk, slightly distracting once you were aware of it! The place was pretty full, but whether it was technically a sell-out I do not know! The first band was, I am told, called The Rubics. This seemed plausible, as they had a distracting array of monitors on the stage, arguably representing a Rubik's cube? The singer was a girl, the bassist/keyboard man had longish hair, and there was a drummer. The music had a good beat, and a lot of stuff was on tape. The lady sang with gusto. There were Numanesque intros on some tracks. It was tidy music, and you could hear their musical ideas. The second band was allegedly called In Pity. (I am probably wrong again!) There was an endless tuning-up period, but eventually five musicians assembled on stage. The singer had some vampire-style 'teeth' in his beard. The band made a great deal of effort, but for me, I am afraid it was just noise. It was grungy thrash??? The lead guitarist was working like mad - as indeed they all were! The drummer was violently attacking the cymbals at arm's length. There was a chap on decks, but personally I never picked out any sound from it. The singer was screaming down the microphone, and when I heard someone in the audience ask his friend, 'Have you ever seen 'The Wedding Singer'?' , I knew just what he meant. At some points, they moved seamlessly from one track to the next, which was an unusual touch. This was, however, spoiled on one occasion by a technical hitch! Much later, Gary came on, and if you have read the reviews on AFENet, you read down through all the rave reviews, but finally arrive at the first three posters, who must have written in while still hung over. Someone is moaning there about the set list. I have no idea whatsoever what was supposed to be wrong with the set list! It was an excellent mixture of wonderful recent songs, brilliant early songs and catchy very early songs. Several times I was stumped by new intros, and 'Oh! Didn't I Say?' I did not recognise until the chorus! DITP took me a long time, as did We Are Fragile. Moral threw me - I had it written down as Metal for a while, before it dawned on me what was going on! Set list: 1) Intro, which I think was Exposure 2) M.E. 3) My Jesus 4) My Shadow in Vain 5) I Can't Breathe 6) This Wreckage (new version) 7) Dead Heaven 8) Pure 9) Bleed 10) Prayer For The Unborn 11) Walking With Shadows 12) We Are So Fragile (new version) 13) Oh! Didn't I Say 14) Listen To My Voice 15) Rip 16) (first encore) Down In The Park 17) I Die You Die 18) Moral 19) Are 'Friends' Electric? What was wrong with this set list? Nothing! What was wrong with the show? Nothing! Except a purist might observe that the sound in this venue is not that clear. Gary was wearing something he had borrowed off Russell Crowe, only without the sword. He still rules! Paddy Vickers E & O E ------------------------------ Date: Sat, 28 Sep 2002 10:44:04 +0100 From: "Vickers" Subject: Passing of Ian Menzies, Numanoid Anyone who knew him will be saddened by the news that Ian Menzies, long-time Numan and Stranglers fan, passed away on Sunday 22nd September. He moved around a lot, and lived in Surrey, Kent, Staffordshire, New Zealand, etc. I had a second bond with him after he became a Baha'i, but he had extensive interests, including photography, transport, football, whatever! He was never boring. He had cancer of the tongue, which was operated on twice, then it was found to have spread to his throat. He was taken back into hospital on Saturday, and during the evening wished they would allow him out to go to the concert in Hackney, for which he had a ticket. He passed away on the Sunday night. Paddy Vickers (who does not want anyone flaming him on the grounds that this is off-topic.) ------------------------------ End digest@garynuman.info Digest [09/28/2002 18:01] --------------------------------------------------- ------------------------------------------------------------------- T H E G A R Y N U M A N D I G E S T is produced, moderated, and distributed by Derek Langsford, Dave Datta, and Joey Lindstrom dlangs@sunstroke.sdsu.edu, davdat@allmusic.com, Joey@GaryNuman.Info Back Issues: http://digest.garynuman.info ------------------------------------------------------------------- To reply to the messages in this list, email: digest@garynuman.info If you want to be removed, or someone wants to be added, email: listserv@GaryNuman.info and include this line as the first line of your message body: SUBSCRIBE digest@garynuman.info (email address) or UNSUBSCRIBE digest@garynuman.info (email address) (email address is optional but useful if you have multiple addresses) If you want to switch between receiving Digests or individual posts, again send to listserv@GaryNuman.Info and include either of these in your message body: NORMAL digest@garynuman.info or DIGEST digest@garynuman.info ------------------------------------------------------------------ Please note: this mailing list is configured to automatically unsubscribe you if mail to your mailbox goes undeliverable for any reason. 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