Venue:
Camelot Lounge, Marrickville (that’s inner western Sydney for most of you)
Date: 17/11/2017
This was bloody brilliant. The whole of the Black Sea album (pre re-issues and re-masters), rendered so well that I now have to go back and reconsider Burning With Optimisms Flames because I think I misjudged it.
Then after an intermission a quick canter through the rest of the catalog, a few hits (like Nigel) and some famous tracks (Chalk Hills and Children). Great musicianship (as promised by Mousey), really authentic sounding. They even managed to emulate a lot of double tracking, for voices, guitars, keyboards, drums…and you don’t hear Travels In Nihilon every day now do you ?
The audience:
The audience was one of *the* amazing things – it was The Massive incarnate, like every Mingle photo I’ve ever seen extrapolated. If there was an Afterword demographic in inner western Sydney they all turned up – 200-300 in a pokey fire trap warehouse; what’s not to love.
It made me think..
I’ll be back for a Nonsuch night. And I finally realised (through a bit of googling) that when I actually saw XTC in Dunstable in 1981, it was their last-but-one UK concert. They did 8 or 9 more gigs in Europe, then came back to the UK and Andy’s stage fright took over. How would things have gone if they’d kept playing live eh ?
Vulpes Vulpes says
By now, if they’d kept gigging, Andy could be playing and singing his bits via Bluetooth from a hotel room down the road. But no, no waiting for the tech to arrive, they just jacked it in, the selfish thoughtless bastards.
moseleymoles says
I looked back too, and I saw them the tour before 1980 December at Manchester Apollo. Great gig.
GCU Grey Area says
‘Nihilon’ live must be wonderful. I hope they have the shower of rain at the end.
Mr Partridge doesn’t think they ever played it live.
‘Deliver Us From The Elements’ would be great, too. I love a Mellotron, me.
craig42blue says
I was still 15 when I managed to get in (despite the over 18 restriction) on November 9, 1978 @ Tiffany’s, Blackpool, supported by The Push.
I had tickets for Manchester Apollo in 1982, and got within 300 yards of the venue before we heard and saw that the tour had been cancelled. ‘Twas a shame…
DogFacedBoy says
Andy listing his least favourite XTC songs off each album.on Twitter
WHITE MUSIC – Spinning Top
GO2 – Super Tuff
DRUMS AND WIRES – Difficulty or 10 Feet tall, can’t decide
BLACK SEA – Sgt Rock
SETTLEMENT – Cockpit or Runaways, can’t decide
duco01 says
Hmmm … yes … Super-Tuff was very much a Barry Andrews number, as I remember.
DogFacedBoy says
MUMMER – Wonderland
BIG EXPRESS – probably Donkey?
25 O’CLOCK – Bike ride
SKYLARKING – Big Day
PSONIC PSUNSPOT – Jackie or Shiny Cage,??
ORANGES – King for a Day
NONSUCH – Smartest Monkeys
APPLE VENUS – Your Dictionary
WASPS STAR – Standing in for Joe
Mousey says
Wonderland is a beautiful Colin melody. Maybe it’s not quite XTC, back in the day CM would have “kept it for his solo album”
garyt says
Surely War Dance is the worst song on Nonsuch?
Moose the Mooche says
But Bungalow is the best. So that’s that sorted out.
Harold Holt says
Incredible. You’re both bass ackwards. IMHO as the cool kids say, apparently.
Malc says
I’m sure I saw a review of Oranges that quoted Andy as saying King for a Day was the best thing Colin had written to date. Maybe he changed his mind…or perhaps a list of his least favourite AP songs would be more enlightening.
DogFacedBoy says
I can sort of understand Dictionary cos it’s a song he says he didn’t want to write and ended up writing it.
But Standing In For Joe is a cracking Colin song
And Do You Remember Jackie is a belter too
Mousey says
Sorry I had to miss this gig for “family reasons” (nothing bad). Sounds like a cracker and hope they’ll do it all again
Harold Holt says
Here’s their take on Burning With Optimism’s Flame also at The Camelot Lounge earlier this year
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xDXFJqH1NtY
The sound quality in this clip doesn’t really do it justice though.
Harold Holt says
Just for the record (no pun intended), went and saw them again in the same venue this week. I dragged along an ageing Aussie XTC freak of my acquaintance, and he was very impressed. It wasn’t an album night, just their general XTC repertoire over 2 sets, but it was still another fantastic night.
I might have to get into Zappa just to watch their Zappa tribute band.
Mousey says
I was at the gig last Friday night too, loved it. Great set list – starting with This Is Pop and Life Begins At The Hop they then meandered through a vast selection from the Andy ‘n Colin canon, as HH says – highlights for me were Vanishing Girl, Mekanik Dancing and an “all the hits” second set – Nigel, G+M, Respectable Street (complete with megaphone vocal intro) and Senses, and then almost at the end – oh joy of joys, Mayor Of Simpleton.
The band is excellent – 2 guitarists and 2 lead vocalists who do reasonable A and C, a bass player who gives great Colin, excellent drummer and the wonderful Kendal who plays trumpet and percussion and keyboards and bvs.
And yes several members of this ensemble play in the FZ tribute band Petulant Frenzy.
This is “cover band” at its best – competent, affectionate, passionate and funny.