Liverpool Nation, Thursday, 30th October 2008

splendid - first up!!! (the cheese should not be in Sunderland!!)

Safi (nice and quiet for once) then...

1. Chino
2. Wolf Kidult
3. Wings
4. Fall sound
5. 50 yr old
6. Pacifying joint
7. I bin duped (mes stayed on stage)
8. latch key
9. sparta
10.carry bag mannn

54 mins from 21.59ish no encore.

£16 on door saved on booked fees.

The courtyard of Nation (ex Cream) - very cold, prob colder than Manc Brewery thing, so cold!

Quiet audience, MES a little off-beam, enjoyed it but didn 't really get going for me. Poss too many Lpool Music Week pseuds - lots of pony tails on old men tonight - you knoe (molesmorth) who you are.

Recorded by me and one other who on past knowledge (eg Ords Summer Pops and Blackpool) will blast mine/ Tocks out of water - RESPECT!!

Met Nurdled with Astley - afraid i can't remember the explanation.


anyway good but no more than that - at least not Carling Bloody Academy!!!

toby - get the train next time.

Went to Swan - there were other fall fans there in show later - goths
in halloween fancy dress hurrah!

Nighty night

Thank you!
And nighty night as well.

Here you go..



Note, no Blindness; the crossed out one is White Lightning, if its not clear.

I was first row back from the crowd barriers; got the impression MES didn't really want to be there some of the time. A microphone stand was thrown off the stage by him into the bouncers area, narrowly missing a photographer; later a microphone went down there and a box of wires (power cables?) was kicked down there too.

Chino sounds really good; Carry Bag Man got quite intense at one point; other songs quite perfunctory. I've Been Duped good as well, but MES at a loose end. Crowd at front somewhat subdued apart from a small group in the centre.

MES wrestled with a cymbal stand (all the drum stuff was taped down... for some reason!) and tried to rest a microphone on said cymbal. Very specific about ending songs (gave quite a few 'cut-throat' gestures to end songs).

Came on stage in black jacket and gloves with sheaf of papers, which unfortunately left with him.

Quite a few people taking pictures; possibly very much tied in with MTV/Liverpool Music Week (quite a few banners dotted about the place)








Good to meet Salty Water, the Big Bopper & Tock; sorry if I missed others.

Strange venue, yes - cold!

I've been to over 40 Fall gigs and I think that could have been the worst.

It was just sadly average throughout. There was not that one song that made you go "fucking hell!", as there normally is at even the most tepid Fall events.

The band sound numbingly comfortable. So they should be, trundling through Perfunctory Joint - played with no bounce whatsoever, delivered like everyone was thinking of something else - and Theme From Same Old FC. The sad thing is that lots of folks takes their Pavlovian cue to pretend to be really excited when Sparta is played - I don't think that 'give the punters what they want' thing suits The Fall at all. Horribly cosy.

It didn't help that the sound was quiet and rather shit - all drums and vocals. Some of this was down to MES - Greenaway may be the 'whipping boy' at the moment, as for much of the gig his amp was very low or off.

Best bits for me were 'Chino Splashback' - very long pre-MES intro - and 'Duped' (introduced as "a cover of the Kaiser Chiefs"), which was attritionally long in a pleasing way, with MES leant against monitors at the back of the stage like a foreman watching his gang, occasionally making hilarious "go for it lad" clenched-fist gestures to Kieron.

It's the comfort zone at present, it seems: time for a shake-up soon, I hope - get some real non-musicians in and put Eleni on guitar or something.

Oh, and if that bloke I met on the train who once got on Neil Young's bus is reading this, then ... nice meeting you!

Yeah I was there too. Good but not great Can't really think of anything much to say about it.

It was alright, I suppose. Terrible sound and MES didn't seem too fazed with anything.

Loved Chino and it was good to see a full version of 50 Year Old Man.

I think the sound engineers were wise to MES' amp twiddling. Anytime there was a burst of sound it was cut off almost immediately.

Best songs of the night were I've Been Duped and Carry Bag Man. Wings was horrible.

quite perfunctory!
what the drainpipe?!
they haven't played for weeks and this is the return to form?
mercy sakes they better get energized or its Stephane Grappelli for me

YES! That would make me very happy.

who played banjo??

who played banjo??

Nobody, sadly. Just a clean sounding guitar.

Thought it was pretty safe...solid and rather unFall at times. Still enjoyed it and teh set improved towards the end. Will be at Holmfirth too.

I was disappointed with the gig, as it seems most fans were! Its like they weren't trying on purpose because it was one of those music week efforts. That sort of gig doesn't suit the fall. The set lists are looking very similar lately too, they need freshening up. I will be more selective next time I trek 100 miles over t'hill to see them.

Finally hearing chino was a plus... but I am struggling to think of another positive.

AND NO BLOODY ENCORE!

Still got p!ssed and went to some good bars!

Still the best band in the world!

Few pix, better late then never...