Edinburgh Liquid Rooms – 2nd night, Tuesday 13th March 2007

Set List, May not be correct order

Senior Twighlight Stock Replacer
What About Us?
Fall Sound
My Door
Sparta F.C
Blindness
Hungry Freaks Daddy
I Can Hear The Grass Grow
Over Over!
Mountain Energei
The Wright Stuff
Reformation
Pacifying Joint


I thought this was even better than last night. Highlights for me were What About Us?, Fall Sound, Blindness and Reformation. Even enjoyed Safi Sniper tonight especially the Freddie Mercury stuff.

I agree, tonight was a vast improvement. The sound was way better than last night the performance was better too.

What about Us and Grass grow returned, both none the worse for having a few gigs off.

Highlights as usual Blindness and Reformation. As good as gig as I've seen from this line up.

Fantastic, two down, four to go.

MES and Rob not getting on?

ugh i thought those two songs had gone for good

What time were they on stage in Edinburgh?

I'm going to both Aberdeen gigs and after last time I don't want to get there too early and be hanging around for hours !!!

too right- especially if Safi's playing.

Another great gig.

Got in slightly earlier than 1st gig and caught end of support act who were a pub rock outfit in my eyes.

Next up Safi, Sinead O'Connor, Prince, Freddie Mercury, Led Zep getting the treatment. Enjoyed it again. ecause I've enjoyed this two nights on the bounce , I think I'm a Safi fan.

No 20 minute Housten loop tonight. Phew.

A tight set with some sterling twiddling from MES, especially when enhancing the Eagles bass. The keyboard solo was ace too.

Well I'm going to take a rest for a few nights now till Sat.

The Fall V. Edinburgh (second leg)

Where to begin…

Leaving my house to the sound of my 6 year old son asking me *Will they play Backdrop dad? * (his current favourite Fall song) I got to the Bow Bar about ten past seven to find it already starting to fill with Fall types – Steve H arrived shortly after followed by Phil, Toby and Adam- and for a while Graeme (not sure what spelling he uses). After a brief chat ladies private bits (don’t ask) conversation was all uphill (apart from a digression on Jethro Tull) with stories being told of fags being confiscated from Sun readers ten pound holiday participants (new Fall song title?), and Rezillo guitarists twatting audience members.

Some guy approached our table offering to sell us a ticket for the gig – we saw him later outside the venue offering to give us a ticket for the gig! I tried to sell my ticket for Monday night but no-one was interested

The Fall bass section also turned up for a couple of pints – the bearded one (sorry I don’t know their names) looks about 50 on the internet photographs but in the flesh is revealed to be about 10 years old. Still he did tell us when they were starting – so more pub time…

Leaving the Bow Bar we bumped into Safi Sniper - *What time you starting? * he was asked – * Why so you can avoid me? * was the essence of his response. Sound guy tho’ – an Israeli living in Berlin – he’s contracted to do the whole tour (you lucky people) but will struggle to survive Aberdeen I think – especially if he follows our suggestion to play the new Donna Summer number he’s been working on. He talked fondly gigs where he is the main attraction – people shouting out requests for songs instead of * this is shit*.

Phil was straight in with *what are you doing with all the video footage you are taking of the gig? * - Answer - *nothing * - although when Safi and MES are in wheelchairs they might get together and do a DVD – Mark doesn’t mind being filmed apparently. Phil tried to get Safi to send him some of the footage – but he wasn’t up for it

To the venue then with Phil clutching a business card from Alan Wise, Adam with a sheet of A4 and boring old me with a normal ticket – still we all got in.

Just in time for Safi - what can I say but *this is shit * - well about 80% of it anyway. He played - if that’s the right word – Sinead O’Connor, Queen and Deep Purple – everytime it got interesting (i.e. a tune kicked in) he digressed back into random noodling – he got applause after the first *song * - silence between the second and third – which I suppose was an improvement on Monday’s boo’s – and then –

- straight into the Fall –

- with the exception of Mr and Mrs Smith I don’t know who’s who now – except one is called Orpheo – so the line up was –

- Baldy Bass guy
- Bearded Babyfaced Bass Guy
- on drums – Animal from the muppets
- Menswear reject on guitar
- Mr and Mrs Mark E Smith – Fall Gruppe Leader and lovely keyboard assistant

- like my football team about 80% of the Fall are * Foreign* - unlike my team they have gelled into an effective attacking formation – or some other piss poor footballing metaphor -

- set list was -


Senior twilight stock controller
What about us
Fall sound
My door
Sparta
Hungry Freaks Daddy
Blindness
Mountain Energie
I can hear the grass grow
Wright stuff
Over Over
Reformation
Pacifying Joint

- or as I noted on my mobile after -

What fs md sp hf b me gg ws oo ref pj

- made sense at the time

I have a theory about MES and Edinburgh – it goes that because he used to live there – when he comes back to play he bumps into old mates and invariably gets totally twatted – his mates must’ve been out on Tuesday cos he arrived on stage looking more sober than I’d seen him in a long long time – although he was still playing lets hide Mr Microphone – the onstage * Mixing * or *amp twiddling * TM worked well last night - proof that he can get it right – especially during Blindness when he turned off Bearded Babyfaced Bass Guys amp altogether so he could deliver a definitive rant – he also turned up the guitar and Baldy Bass Guys amp to good effect at various times

- other random moments include -

- a hint of a guitar solo in Hungry Freaks Daddy – Menswear won’t be getting paid this week – pulling Bearded Babyfaced Bass Guy about the stage by his jumper – walking off during the Wright Stuff to allow Mrs Smith to do her thang – she was very good too – a bit more of a Manc accent and she could almost front the Fall (blasphemy I know) – fantastic drumming – I called him Animal as a compliment – the drummer is also a first class gurner – pulling a wide variety of facial expressions throughout the gig – and singing enthusiastically into what was (sadly) a switched off mic – practically every song ending with a slash throat gesture – Bearded Babyfaced Bass Guy being unable to sing more than three lines without descending into a silly very deep singing voice – he does look a bit worried on the stage tho’ – clearly being in the Fall is starting to get to him – unlike the studied cool of Menswear (he won’t last) who also had a bit of a Mackenzie Crook look about him – or do I need new glasses –

- and that was it – Adam legged it for his bus – I legged it for my car and Phil, Steve and Toby legged it for more beer

- leaving me with the problem – how do I break it to my son that they didn’t play Backdrop?

- Pools Panel verdict - *better than Monday *

A wonderful review, PTCW.

Enjoyed that...a darn good read

Good review PTCW.

This was actually my first Fall gig (and this is my first post to this forum), despite being a fan of the band for about, ooh, 30 years?!

It was certainly a blinder. The bass drum was certainly chest-pounding as other reviewers have said and I was impressed (or perhaps disappointed?) by how together the whole band were.

Did they play Pacifying Joint as an encore? I left after Reformation assuming the Fall don't "do" encores. But maybe I actually left after PJ (my knowledge of their songs from the last few years isn't exactly strong...). ;-)

The "pub rock" band mentioned in pinhead's review by the way were local post-punk "legends" TV21.

http://lostbands.blogspot.com/2005/04/tv21.html

It seems every band from that era is getting back together, even the one's no-one's ever heard of...

I thought Safi's contribution was awful, personally. I just didn't see the point. Essentially what he does is shuttle play clips of various performers in action and uses the sound from these sections of video to layer up loops and sound-scapes.

I guess I was hoping there might be more video manipulation/processing than just playing short sequences backwards and forwards. I was amazed how little heckling the guy got...

(The Fall weren't on until after 10pm by the way - I feel sorry for the poor souls who turned when the doors opened at 7pm. Thankfully, I'd checked this forum for the review of Monday night's gig before heading out...)


Robbie

My god was it??!!! I only caught the last song to be honest so perhaps i was slightly scathing but fresian cow waistcoats!!

Hi, i'm new to this forum, but last nights gig moved me to post something..

I've been a big fall for a long time, since they brought out extricate. Would be fair to say they are my fav band. Been to see them a few times too. In recent times i particularly enjoyed the gig they done at liquid rooms march (i think) last year - it was brilliant! I thought last night though was terrible to be honest. Dunno if i wasnt up for it or the sound was crap or what, but I reckon the new band is pretty dodgy. Dont think i'll be going to see the fall again in their current incarnation!

Any comments on this? I know i'll probably get abuse :-)

cheers

Good work ptcw.

There were some rather laclustre moments in last nights show but I thought a lot of it was superb (pretty much everything from Sparta on to Rrrrrrrreformation).

I thought wright stuff was like one of the Cheeky Girls performing VUs The Gift.

A friend stated afterwards that she thought MES had a slow puncture. Another who had seen tv21 the night before said when asked how they were replied 'like the fuckin' Alarm' - thank heavens for that extra pint of Deuchers.

Met loads of friends in the Bow, but only two from here, greetings Pinhead and Rotund Robert.

Greeting Silvershirt,

love the slow puncture comment.

excellent both nights-"always different aways the same" seems to ring true.
"senior, twilight, stock replacer" = geust informant-"baghdad, space cog, analyst"-sing it, you'll see what i mean.
good to meet you briefly on monday pinhead.

Thanks for the reports, especially from part-time commie.

Can't imagine anyone thinking this lot are dodgy compared to the TLCs, but, there you go...

Shame they have apparently abandonded Scenario in favor of Over Over. Scenario is the better song I think.

Anyone taping these Scottish shows?

Not much to add to the other reviews posted already, but a couple of points of interest:

• The song they started with, don’t remember that much about the tune but they’re chanting the title a bit like that Bastard State Cog Analyst bit off of Guest Informant. (EDIT - OK, I just noticed smck3 already mentioned that).

• At the start of Blindness Rob was playing the riff in double quick time. It sounded pretty good. Then when he stopped you could hear the rest of them playing the original tune.

• MES wowed the fans by doing his random keyboard solo bit with one hand while simultanoeusly twiddling somebody’s amp with the other. For some reason it reminded me a bit of Keith Emerson or Rick Wakeman or someone like that playing two keyboards at the same time.

• Safi continues to add new bits to his set to keep it interesting. He’s also built up quite a collection of Fall live videos that he’s filmed, but no plans to make them publicly available, he said.

We were in the pub down the road from the venue before the gig and some members of The Fall were in there too. Apparently they’re working on a new album already and they’ve got a few tunes together. Hopefully we’ll hear some of them over the course of this tour. They said there were a few problems with the sound on the first night at the Liquid Rooms, but they thought they’d got it sorted out and the second gig would be better. I didn’t go to the first one but this one was very good. Somebody (not me) taped it as well.

likewise

I know of one person who was taping.

Expect to see these materialising soon.

Here's one to get the ball rolling:
http://www.dimeadozen.org/torrents-details.php?id=138373

Perhaps this is the advantage of a cross continental band. You're here, let's work. I am willing to bet they may have some studio time booked for when the tour is over, perhaps get half of it done? I miss the past pace of Fall new material. And think they were more consistent when they just got it done. Of course, record companies share part of this blame as well.....
A new record in a year, and Von Sudenfeld. Yes.

Excellent! A great deal of thanks for this djb

is that stock replacer song any good?

can the set be stuck on yousend it or one of the other sites so that we can get at it?

would be much appreciated