Inspired by the “I wish I’d seen this band” thread, I thought I’d ask what is the most unlikely gig you have actually seen?
Mine would have to be when I saw TC&I back in October at a small local arts centre in Swindon. Who are TC&I, you may well ask? If you didn’t already know, or hadn’t already realised, it will all become much clearer when I say (for those unaware) that the TC stands for Terry Chambers and the “I” refers to Colin Moulding. Yes, we’re talking about half of XTC, who famously stopped playing live in 1982 due to singer and writer of the bulk of their songs Andy Partridge suffered an on-stage breakdown and subsequently decided to stop touring or indeed playing live at all. He pretty much stuck to it too. As a result I never thought I’d get to actually see any of those fabulous songs played by the people who wrote them. TC&I (an inspired name I thought) had released an EP in 2017 which had been well received if a tad under-publicised. So when back in July a week of dates all at the 200 capacity Swindon Arts Centre was announced, tickets were instantly snapped up and the whole run almost immediately sold out, apparently much to Mr. Moulding’s surprise. I was lucky enough to get a ticket for the Monday, which was the first night of the run.
Andy Partridge quickly quashed any speculation that he might make an appearance by tweeting that although he wished them well, he would be out of town that week. So the stage was set for an evening of the Colin side of XTC, which meant Ball and Chain, Making Plans for Nigel, Generals and Majors, Life Begins at The Hop, Ten Feet Tall, Wonderland, Grass and King For A Day. An encore included a rather sweet reference to their estranged colleague in the form of the Partridge penned Statue of Liberty.
What a fantastic night. I was clearly among friends, some of whom had come from Japan, America and parts of Europe. Given the age of many of the crowd there were a lot of hats and beards in evidence. The atmosphere was a genuinely touching mix of school reunion and village fair (Mrs. Moulding was in the foyer in charge of merch and post gig meet and greet, son Lee Moulding was on percussion and backing vocals) but the songs were played with real commitment, care and attention, with local guitarist and keyboard player who more than did justice to the tunes. After the week’s run, the talk was of more gigs to come and maybe more recordings.
This weekend, Colin Moulding has let it known via the TC&I Facebook group that there won’t be any more musical involvement from him as he wants to spend more time with his family. A bit of a shock after such a successful return and one can only respect his decision and hope that all is well, but back in October I got to see half of a band I have loved since I was at school and I will remember it for years to come. I’ll never have another chance and I’m so glad I went.
So given that I never thought I’d see these songs played live, what’s the most unlikely gig you have personally seen?
The most unlikely gig you have ever seen…
Not THAT unlikely, but did see Donald Fagen solo in the USA in 2006, Pete Townshend jam with The Clash at the Brighton Top Rank, Tom petty and the heartbreakers at the marquee, dire straits support the talking heads (also at the Brighton Top Rank). Sure if I think about it, more will emerge.
If I remember rightly, quite a few of us Afterworders saw Dire Straits at various venues on that early 1978 tour with Talking Heads. The gig I went to was at St. Albans Civic Hall on 3 February. A great evening, of course. The best £1.75 I ever spent!
Funnily enough, I was just talking about that tour with my brother last night. He was the ents manager at college and was asked to book these unknowns to support Talking Heads. The rest, as they say ..
I think maybe a couple of years before that but seeing Genesis support Lindisfarne and blowing them off the stagd.
I think Foxtrot may have been released or was about to be.
Oasis (supported by Evan Dando) Radiohead, PJ Harvey, amongst many other big(ish) names (separate nights I hasten to add!) at the Tivoli nightclub in Buckley, N Wales.
Oh God, The Tivoli…….
Why Dave? I know nothing of The Tivoli, although it is (or certainly was) a regular in gig listings…
I only went a few times, when I was visiting friends in Shrewsbury. It was pretty run down, in the middle of nowhere (punters arrived on buses). On the plus side, no trouble, cheap drinks and friendly clientele. I think its success was down to providing a meeting place for youngsters, regardless of appearance or musical affiliation. Someone else who posts here (can’t remember who) used to go and may have a different opinion.
That might be me, as I’ve mentioned it a few times. I moved to Chester a bit after Oasis and Radiohead played the Tiv, but I was there for P.J..Harvey.
Also saw Kitchens of Distinction, which is still one of my favourite gigs ever, and a bunch of other people (anybody remember Mint 400? Thought not…)
Belting down the country lanes in the double-deckers bus that the place owned and ran as a free service was a great experience. Like an indie-fied version of Summer Holiday or something.
I was there! I lived just down the road in Mold, so it was our regular Wednesday night Indie haunt. The owner ran the Krazy House in Liverpool, so I believe he made sure whoever played there did the Tiv as part of the deal. Some real gems passed through.
A friend of mine ended up ‘bumper to bumper’ with Evan Dando after the Oasis gig, and I believe she genuinely still has his jumper.
Actually, another friend got very friendly with Ange Doolittle from Eat after their gig, bizarrely resulting in me sharing a bag of donuts with her, Ange and his good mate Tim Smith from Cardiacs at Reading that year… but enough of my waffling.
I think this one is more surreal than unlikely, but watching James Brown putting on a show in the dance tent at the V Festival that looked like it belonged in Las Vegas is not something I’ll forget in a hurry.
Going to see REM at Earl’s Court in 99 (they were good), but realising that the (unknown to me) support band were something quite special who would end up dominating my musical life for the next 20 years. WIlco.
Wilco had been around for quite a bit by then, so I saw it as a great double header. Jeff Tweedy’s exit from the stage was very rock and roll too, if I remember correctly. One last strum of his guitar, before lifting it over his head, tossing it backwards and off he went!
They had been around for 4 years I suppose. I actually owned Mermaid Avenue, but didn’t realise they were the other act on it. I don’t remember that moment, but do remember then opening with the hardly audience friendly “Misunderstood”, but seems that was another show, 3 weeks later (if setlist.fm is correct)
Edinburgh sometime in the early nineties. After watching Scotland lose narrowly to France at Murrayfield we went off for a meal somewhere off Princes Street. Later that night, well-fed and well-lubricated we stumbled into a nearby downstairs bar. A small stage, a small crowd of maybe fifty punters and a good-time band belting away. Several pints later I realised that virtually every second song was either John Hiatt or Little Village and boy were they playing up a storm. Standing near me was a group of blokes who by their accents were not from around these parts. One of these blokes, a short geeky looking cove, pushed his way to the front and in between numbers started chatting to the lead guitarist/lead vocalist. The look on the band’s faces when they realised they were actually talking to their hero, yes the John Hiatt , was something I will never forget. And yes, John clambered on stage for one number and one number only, Lipstick Sunset. At the end of the night the lead guitarists’ stunning girlfriend left with John’s party for some more partying at The Balmoral. The rest of the band were not invited but none seemed to mind.
I remember meeting a college friend for a drink in my local in the pre-gentrification Kensal Green. This was around 1994. The pub was called Paradise by Way of Kensal Green, itself possibly the first sign that the area was picking up. Mostly staffed by attractive French women which made World Cup 1998 particularly memorable. Anyway, as we drank on a quiet midweek evening, in walked Aimee Mann with a guitar on her back and headed upstairs. I was really into her Whatever album at the time. I had never seen any live music even advertised there previously. Having asked the bar staff, they said that it was some record company showcase. This was before I’d had the opportunity to see her live. I can’t remember whether I had to pay in but I got in to see her play anyway. Good gig.
Incidentally the same small upstairs room was where Shriekback made an acoustic comeback with a series of weekly (or monthly?) gigs a few years later. I’d been a fan for years but had never seen them in their pomp. It was bizarre getting to see them in my local.
Ha! My boy worked as chef for the PbyoKR a few years ago. Great pub.
It was an odd but nice spot. I remember going to a kind of chillout night with DJ and boardgames in the big upstairs room and Bjork was on the cashdesk with her young son. This was when she was all over the charts and magazines.
Reading Festival, 1993. My graphic designer school friend / gig buddy was temping at IPC magazines and had two press passes, in return for taking a few snaps from the moshpit for the NME.
We arrived mid-morning on the first day to pitch tent in the “VIP camping” area. We were in the almost-empty backstage bar for opening time. Emtpy, that is, apart from a tall, skinny, bloke with multi-coloured dreads. I took my place alongside him at the bar.
“Hey! My girl’s just had our baby daughter. Please join me in wetting the baby’s head.”
Yep, I spent the first afternoon of the festival getting drunk with that day’s headliner, Porno For Pyros singer Perry Farrell. I was 23 and a lightweight.
I saw a very early 1991 (?) Manic Street Preachers gig in a short-lived venue (“The Stoker”) in Coventry. They played “You Love Us” and “Motown Junk” which were good, but I was never really much of a fan.
Was a tiny place, with a stage that was probably only a couple of inches higher than the rest of the floor, not very glam compared to where they ended up.
Curve played one of their first gigs there too, but nobody else I knew wanted to go and – as I was on the verge of starting final exams for my degree – I decided against it too. Have regretted missing out on the chance to get that close to Toni Halliday ever since 😉
Apparently Oasis played there before they were even called Oasis, and Steve Marriott also played one of his last gigs there too.
I always wonder how people like Colin Moulding make a living and, indeed, what they ‘do’ all day. I can think of several critically revered musical artistes who rarely undertake any public activity but whose earnings from sales/PRS must surely not be enough to sustain them year after year. Do they all work as part-time postmen or something?
Interesting that the reason he gives is to “spend more time with the family” when his wife was doing merchandise and son was in the band! Maybe he will spend less time with the family?
I think I read somewhere in one of the XTC books that Moulding has worked as a delivery driver on occasion, as had guitarist Dave Gregory, although I think that may have been during their well documented 7 year strike in the early to late nineties.
He’s also 64 and a Grandad so maybe he wants to see the Grandkids grow up and for that I sympathise. I just hope there aren’t any health issues involved as social media seems to think.
I think Nigel probably keeps the rent paid at Colin’s place
Yes. Still gets a fair bit of radio play and it’s amazing how many compilation albums that track has been put on over the years.
Late 1992 I went to local small venue 21 South Street (Reading) to see Frank & The Walters.
I arrived as the support band were playing – I listened for a bit but decided they “weren’t all that”.
Frank & The Walters played a sort of jingly indie-pop doing the rounds pre-Britpop, getting production patronage from Ian Broudie and Edwyn Collins. They never really got beyond the club circuit.
The name of the support band? Radiohead
What are you on about man, The Frank and Walters were brill! I still have a few of their CDs. On one single they did an ecelectic set of cover versions as the b-sides – Love Is In The Air, the Irishest (is that a word? It should be) version of I’m A Believer you’re ever likely to hear and Funky Cold Medina. All done straight and not for laughs, but it’s impossible to hear them without smiling. I reckon they should always be booked to come on and do a couple of numbers after Radiohead, cos after watching that miseryguts everybody could do with a bit of cheering up!
Completely agree Paul, I enjoyed them as a live band, and even their unheralded second album has a great single (Colours) from it.
I have Trains, Boats and Planes but haven’t heard it for a long, long time.
I am now retrieving it from the vinyl shelf – tonight Matthew I will be Frank and The Walter-ing
They’re still going and releasing new material. Their profile got a big boost last year when their song After All was heavily featured in the last episode of The Young Offenders TV series. They also featured in the successful Feile Classical festival last year. Great band.
I bet you can’t sleep for ‘what a hippy diddly crazy world’ going round your head!
The Frank & Walters had form: the first time I saw Suede was as their support. What a great night.
I think I might like F&Ws ‘Happy Busman’ more than Radiohead’s entire output.
Let’s face it, that’s not too hard is it?
Trains, Boats and Planes was my favourite album the year it came out and I was sooo disappointed when I walked into Brixton Academy to see The Stuffies when I realised the support band I’d almost completely missed was the F&W.
As mentioned above The Talking Heads/ Dire Straits tour at Croydon Greyhound was a belter but the most unusual I saw must have been The Cure at Carshalton Carnival.
Chumbawamba at a Birmingham Music in the Park (Cannon Hill), round about the time of that hit, a show full of then chart toppers doing a quick mime in front of adoring teenyboppers. Sadly they too mimed, but it was somewhat unreal to see them in the company of loads of kids telly faves who I can’t recall now. (I was taking my dter to see said acts, so it made my day!)
No great tales of bands especially, other than catching Interpol in the tininess of The Social in Nottingham, but I did see a comedy gig in a tent at Wollaton Park, some time in the early to mid 90s, with maybe as many as 150 others, IIRC?
First up, Hatty Hayridge (computer in Red Dwarf), then an unknown Jo Brand (potty mouth, very funny), finally an also virtually unknown Lee Evans (very Norman Wisdom, the audience took a while to get going, then loved it when they’d “tuned in”).
After a bit of umming and erring whether to go and see Carlene Carter play again (this time with the Carter Family) at the Mean Fiddler, the listing in Time Out pointed out “the man in black” was also in town so the decision was made.
What I wasn’t prepared for was that, at one point on stage was Carlene Carter, June Carter-Cash, Nick Lowe and Joe Brown (of the bruvvers)….. oh yes, I almost forgot…and Johnny Cash and Elvis Costello.
I came out of the gig with a very silly smile on my face.
Not sure if it could be considered a gig per se, but in 2006 I saw Pet Shop Boys orchestrate the Northern Sinfonia in a live performance of their soundtrack of Battleship Potemkin as the film was shown in the Swan Hunter shipyard in Wallsend. ‘Atmospheric’ doesn’t even begin to cover it.
I always thought one of the oddest and, I guess, unlikely gigs was some time in the mid 70s at a pub in Bristol. As I recall, it was in a small room upstairs and a small number of us spent the evening listening to the wonderful Long John Baldry with a great guitar player in tow (no idea who that was!). One of the best gigs I’ve ever witnessed.
A very similar experience was had quite recently when Spencer Davis appeared at Whimple Village Hall. A local musician is writing a book about him and Spencer was staying with him on the way to Germany for some appearances – a lovely evening of tales and songs from a most modest and engaging man, and I got to chat to him for ages afterwards.
One Saturday, around 1991 or 2, I took my then young kids to a Festival of Icelandic Culture at the Barbican in London. We did a couple family events, including things like sitting in a circle around a storyteller who had the little ones acting out folk tales he was telling – and there was a workshop that involved fuzzy felt. We ate our picnic lunch and played around in the foyer when an Icelandic group struck up, a bit Bluesy and derivative frankly but they seemed nice blokes and the kids were jumping around enjoying it.
As this group announced the last song in their set, they asked us to welcome a special guest. We didn’t catch the name but an extraordinary looking, oddly dressed woman got up and made some weirdly wonderful vocal contribution over the top of this unremarkable rhythm and blues. Both she and her voice were quite beguiling. We and a few others applauded before we took the kids off to play by the fountains outside. It was at earliest a year or so later that Bjork became known and I realised we’d witnessed her – pre Debut – jamming with a bar band in a foyer at lunchtime.
Almost all of my unlikely/unexpected gigs have taken place at the Stockholm amusement park Gröna Lund, known for their fairly ambitious gig schedule for their main stage since ancient times. Sometimes I go there just to see a gig, but as I’m a big fan of amusement park rides as well, I’ve sometimes gone to have a fun day on the rollercoasters and suddenly found myself enjoying a great gig that I didn’t know would take place.
The first, and most memorable time it happened was in the early 80s when me and my best friend got absolutely mesmerized by Phil Lynott who was touring his solo album(s). It was so brilliant that we kept postponing our departure and left her grandparents waiting for an extra 45 minutes on the other side of the ferry ride. Unfortunately the albums, which I quickly bought soon after, were not half as good as he made them sound live.
The second place of many surprises was the now sadly gone festival Stockholm Music & Arts, where (especially in the beginning) an eclectic collection of artists would share the bill every year. One of the most unlikely – and not really in a good way – was Diamanda Galas…that was a rough hour or so of aural assault! And it being a one stage festival, you couldn’t really hide either… 😀
I have mentioned this before, but it bears repeating…
Bucks Fizz on holiday at Butlins in Skegness sometime in the 80s
S Club 7 at their peak (basically the Don’t Stop Movin’ era)
Bert Jansch in Bellshill Community Center (venue more than act. I had already seen him in the Barrowlands, quite why he played Bellshill to an audience of about twenty eludes me)
I saw the Fizz twice in the 80s. They were aces.
I didn’t actually go to this one, but last summer Steve Earle played a small festival in Barnsley. Kudos to Kate Rusby for getting him over here to play. It must have been a similar conversation the football agent had when he convinced all those Brazilians to sign for Middlesbrough. “…yes Mr Juninho, just north of London” “…what’s that Mr Emerson? The climate? Just a shade cooler than Rio”. Although I guess she could have told him that if England had rednecks, they’d come from Barnsley.
Much easier conversation this summer, as she’s booked the Proclaimers. “…yes, Craig or Charlie*, you’ll like the locals, cos they don’t want Scotland to be part of the UK either”
*it’s impossible to tell them apart when you can’t see which one’s holding the guitar
I suppose seeing Jefferson Airplane and Fairport Convention at a very sparsely-attended free outdoor gig at Parliament Hill Fields, September 4th 1968 would count.
It poured rain during the Airplane’s set and Paul Kantner said “You folks are marvellous to come when it’s raining so hard. Back home in San Francisco nobody would have turned up. We’re used to it being eighty in California.” Then Grace said, “If it ain’t eighty, it ain’t hot. What is wrong with you people. It’s raining. Go home!
Sandy Denny arrived late and Fairport started without her. Can’t remember much detail, it being 1968 and us being stoned, as usual.
It was more like a private garden party than a free concert, with such a small crowd.
Hardly advertised at all. I can’t remember how we got to hear about it.
http://www.ukrockfestivals.com/camden-Festival.html
Afterwards we walked down to Chalk Farm, got ice creams at Marine Ices and went to a café for tea etc. before heading home.
October half-term, 2006.
Family were on a short break to That London.
Daughter and wife popped-in to clothes shops, whilst The Boy and I extricated ourselves from such fun ‘n’ frolics in order to visit the main HMV, agreeing to meet up at a pub for lunch later…
…Whilst we were in said HMV, staff began to clear spaces in front of the store’s relatively small stage. Eventually, they acknowledged that at around midday, The Raconteurs would be playing “a short acoustic set”. The Boy ran to clothes shop to pass-on our excitement.
IIRC, the band played for 45 minutes or so, certainly were not fully acoustic, and the ladies lunched alone.
The first real band I saw was called Spider Mike King, playing in a Peak District car park at the foot of the hills late afternoon on a gloomy autumn day. They were the guests on a Granada Kenny Everett vehicle called OK. There was also a pig roast, and TV hostesses fluttered about handing out badges and stickers as the light faded. As we’d just hiked up Kinder Scout we had a quick butty and legged it. Utterly surreal.
The eponymous Mike is still out there rocking and rolling – I found a clipping of the band a few months after I saw them and they look suitably 70s – long hair, Fenders, Marshalls. Happy days.
Nirvana at Reading. Yes everyone saw that – the wheelchair, the drip etc. No not that one as the headliners, best band in the world etc. The year before Nevermind they played two-thirds of the way down the bill above Silverfish but below Chapterhouse. My memory is being hungover, it being sunny, and this God Awful Racket (ie Bleach) going on on the main stage. Yes I was there a year later too.
I saw Nirvana play at Portsmouth Poly (as was) in 1989, possibly supporting, I can’t remember, a quite dreadful band called Tad. Believe me, you would never have thought Nirvana would have even be heard of again let alone become as huge as they did. Cards on the table, I wasn’t a fan of grunge particularly but I was a student there and went to pretty much everything they put on.
Mentioned previously. The Strokes supporting Aussie Rockers You Am I at a church hall in Newtown Sydney midweek.
AC DC supporting Lou Reed in 74. They sacked singer and hired Bon after that show.
When my kids were younger, probably this was late 2000’s we took them to see a guy called Dan Zanes at the Festival Hall in London. His thing was ‘it’s pop gig for the kids’. It was a lot of fun. I’d heard he often got a surprise musical guest to join them at each gig and I wondered who it would be this time, the guy sitting behind me looked a lot like one of the Bad Seeds. Sure enough it was he and soon he was regaling us with musical saw playing. However the best was to come when on toy piano we were treated to Phillip Glass. That was an unlikely gig I’d say.