Carling Academy, Islington, London — 3rd night, Thursday, 19th July 2007

This new Fall group are really getting spot-on as these gigs progress.
Each night has been totally different.
Brilliant wind up on one of the encores, as started with Man Whose Head X space invader machine intro for twoish minutes and then as people went mental transformed into White Lightning.
Mosh pit took up a relatively large part of the venue throughout gig, encroaching on and eventually penetrating obligatory baldies.

Trainspotters will provide set list in due course but different enough to make each night unique so far.

Hungry Freaks, Systematic Abuse & Blindness all outstanding.

What did they play? I'm looking forward to Fall carnage tomorrow night...

I loved every minute of it.
Dave "The Eagle" and Pete sounded like they belong in this group.
As for Keiron , he drummed his arms and legs off , fantastic.
Eleni and MES , she's beautiful , smiles , MES on top form.
I'm very very happy

This sounds good.

What time did they come on?

Well after 10 I think?
I don't recall the exact time . Safi had me mesmerised

As this venue is total turd, I wouldn't bother getting in before they come on.
Earlier on I asked the door-man what time they would be on, he said 10pm, they came on around 10:20.
I'd suggest you apply same tactics.

Some mates said they had received a text and/or e-mail stating to get in earlier due to an early doors curfew, this was obviously a cheap cock-sucking stunt for bar sales and once in, the bar was knee deep in evil.

My 5th Fall gig. The previous 4 were between Jan 1980 - April 1982, so a 25 year gap in which to make comparisons.

The only connection between two eras were MES repeating at various times (sic) - 'We Are the Fall'. That he might go on to say 'We are back and this next number is "Fiery Jack"' was obviously too much to hope for. Though I did enjoy the (seemingly) impromptu lines he inserted from the Live at the Witch Trials' track 'Like to Blow'.

We were subjected to a sort of video art show prior to the Fall's appearance - starting off with a vey young Black Sabbath doing 'Paranoid', though it was as if Sonic Youth had subverted the performance and constantly wound the tape back and forward 100 times a second to produce a massive noise as the features on the screen became distored. The same with an Elvis song afterwards. When that finished much of the crowd booed. After 25 minutes or so, the point (whatever it was) has been made, but it was laboured to death with Barbara Streisand, the Jackson 5, Madonna, Sinead OConnor and Queen for a total of 40 minutes or do before the Fall mercifully arrived. Perhaps it was the age old tactic of ensuring you annoyed the fans before the band appeared to great relief and greater than normal acclaim all round (if so, it worked). I was starting to think they were killing time so that MES could be raised from a drug/booze induced coma backstage

Well, the band were pretty tight and focussed throughout. MES did his usual breach of health and safety regs by turning up the amps. Ravaged isn't the word - MES looks like the guy from old newsreels who could pull his bottom lip over his forehead if he stretched it enough. The mosh pit got livelier as it went on but it was pretty much hit and miss stuff. A rousing 'Sparta' was the best of the early part of the set. Otherwise, the band were clearly in awe of MES and allowed him to dictate - I always felt they Fall were better when MES could use his band to bounce off ideas, but he was in total control througout - for both good and ill. The only exception was when he only disappeared backstage for one (just one) song.

'White Lightning' was the best song of the night by a country mile and the 70 minutes or so ended strongly, so those also going on Friday will no doubt be full of anticipation. What we got tonight was a bewildering mixture of noise, genius, garbage, wind ups, alcoholic rant and grotesque (sic) ness.

It doesn't appear that MES will be with us in another 25 years time, so I cetainly will aim to go to my 6th Fall gig sometime - but not tomorrow.

Hi!
You won't believe after yesterday's EXPANDED MAN but it was in fact LIKE TO BLOW!
Setlist follows!
Safi started 9.43
Fall on at 10.21
Favourite MES quotes so far:
"I open a packet at the butcher - it is the same" (Systematic Abuse)
"I always have to talk to people like Frank Black & Jack White" (Blindness)

MES reading from a book he later threw in the audience;
gave setlist and lyric sheet to audience.
He had fun with sunglasses somebody threw on stage.
He was in really a good mood, laughing, dancing etc.

Good audience rap during BLINDNESS (more than 5 min.)
Gave mic to somebody during WHITE LIGHTNING again.

Strange Town - last song!

Takin' a nap now.
Tschoe.

I am the deej.

A CLASSIC!

This was my 6th fall gig and it's the best one i have seen yet

It was great. What a relief.

Or is it too "fashionable" to say that?

Morning everybody!

Here's the set list...

WOLF KIDULT
OVER OVER
SPARTA
FALL SOUND
LIKE TO BLOW
MY DOOR
HUNGRY FREAKS
SYSTEMATIC ABUSE
I'VE BEEN DUPED
BLINDNESS
------------------------
WHITE LIGHTNING
------------------------
STRANGE TOWN

See ya round. I'm the unseen.

'Like To Blow' is actually Ponto with Like To Blow lyrics added.

Faaaaaaantastic!! This reallly was something else. All the more so for having begun in slightly underwhelming fashion. Good song Wolf Kidult, but the sound was poor at first, with the bass way too toppy..

Come Sparta, it all kicked off and never looked back. MES looked determined, confident, and (always a good sign) began delivering the vocals straight out into the lights, fixing us all with a benign yet beady glare. The electro garage of Fall Sound alchemised the night into a full-on celebration of these most profound of surrealist broadside observations.

Elena's "I've Been Duped" was proper punk pop; like a far superior take on early Blondie. My Door was a glorious mess. Like To Blow over Ponto - what can I say? Who'd have thought we'd hear those lyrics again live??

Not the best Blindness ever (that was the last night at Cricklewood), but in the top three. White Lightning was the biggest surprise of the night. Driven by The Man Whose Head Expanded's bloody blimey space invader, it tuned into a motorik beast..

Safi was superb too - well up to and including Barbra Streisand. Unfortunately he stayed on 10 minutes too long - more to do with the band being late on I surmised. But he is the ultimate Fall support act.

A great night! Big-up to Cupid's Bullet, Max and Michael Bed Expanded, with whom I had a very pleasant pint afterwards..

'Like To Blow' is actually Ponto with Like To Blow lyrics added.

I don't think so.
Compare it to 1st night's "Ponto".

Anyway,
really LONG versions of Wolf, Sparta, Duped - each up to 6min or so...

And MES beating the drums and cymbals like I've never seen before....

I’ve made it into bed at 2.30am three nights in a row now, so I’m staggering around at work on auto pilot now. I’ve always looked at The Fall as an adventure, and my current adventure is staying awake long enough to pick the kids from school, and then leg it to London on the train yet again.

My wife’s irritation could explode into all out warfare later today, but I’ll just beg for mercy as usual.

Last night was proper Fall. Make it up as you go along chaotic Fall.

MES forgets the words pretty regularly, and just adds stuff he knows from other songs. Reading from the Perverted By Language book just before ripping it up was a nice touch, especially for one of the authors who was actually there.

I’ll leave all the clever observations to other people, because to be honest, I don’t even know what day it is.

A pleasure to meet everyone in the Nags, and if you spot me later, please wake me up before you go go.

Possibly a lone voice but I wasn't the only one who did this.

I was very disappointed.

I walked out.

never done that from any gig before.

Yet i loved the one in Oxford.

We need the yanks back!!

The Eagle is a great bass player but too 'musicianly' for the Fall. Too fluid.

The guitarist just didn't play right as far as I'm concerned.

The band did not gel

I got bored.

When Hungry Freak started I was briefly relieved but that didn't do anything for me so I didn't even stay for the entire song.

I'm sure things will get better...it's ironic as they were not haphazard, and MES' vocals were pretty clear for once.

I was just unmoved.

I'd been in a bad mood beforehand - a couple of my friends had been cynical about a couple of musical happenings / possibilities I care about, but a Fall gig would normally cheer me up, believe me.

Ah well.

Sorry to those 'offended' by such a view.

That's the beauty of being a Fall fan Stranger. We'll all diasgree so don't worry about it.

Well, during Blindness, MES -

" I'm going to meet........., the American groupe........., and Jack White........, who's always on the poach".

Thursday's show was legit the best concert I've ever been to.

Mark dressed up in grey waistcoat like an old Irish pisshead, a crowd of young and old moshing and boogying, Mark in really spirited mood, everyone really getting into it. Blindness was epic.

By a long chalk one of the best Fall gigs I have seen, top three out of forty odd perhaps. By the end they were pure rocket fuel, before finishing off with a swinging Strange Town.

They were magnificent.

White Lightning and Blindness highlights. Liked the new material. Liked it all.

It was great.

Oh, nothing against dancing at the front, but I do wish the dicks who want to have a handbag style ruck of pushing and shoving and barreling around with their fists thus smashing into people's beers and hitting rather more defenceless people would fuck off elsewhere. Makes it difficult to listen to the music when some dick is continually left hooking the girl next to you.

Felix

Enjoyed it a lot, to my undying shame though, I left before Strange Town, to find myself on a bus in a Strange Town full of cycle Rickshaws. I know the future is Chinese, but this?

Thought the gig very exciting and interesting, new songs, some works in progress, MES enjoying himself and a very lively crowd. A great improvement on my last Carling Academy experience.

The Fall move forward.

It's not like MES has never recycled his lyrics over new tunes is it

Hip Priest -> Big New Prinz
Chicago Now -> Blindness


I'm sure there are others..can't think now though!

That is exactly how I felt after the Manchester Ritz show. "Disappointed" and "bored" being the operative words. Agree 100% about the Americans, the new guitarist and the band not gelling. As for Hungry Freaks they simply can't do it justice.

"Disappointed" and "bored" ??????

What do you want? The Hanging Gardens of Babylon?