Build High For Happiness

"How Much Further Do You Expect Me To Walk?"

At the Heart of It All

 

Everything Louder Than Everything Else No.6

Back in London for the second time in a week, and you may well wonder what possessed me to attend an arena concert, after many years of shying away from such flagrantly gaudy spectacles.

Well, I guess I couldn't miss the opportunity to see yet another Canadian band I've been an admirer of for over a quarter of a century.

And heck... it's Rush, man. The band that is so much the epitome of uncool, they turn the corner into cool.

And I thought it was about time I tried an arena out for size...

As with the previous concert visit earlier in the week, this one was almost shelved a time or two due to family difficulties. As a result, I'd lost a lot of enthusiasm for the whole event largely due to interminable reviews of my ability to be away from home for four nights.

So, what was initially intended as an interesting experiment and a change of approach to concertgoing, had become a somewhat ambivalent affair I wasn't looking forward to all that much anymore, to be brutally honest.

But then again, "Clockwork Angels" isn't a bad record to tour off, I was genuinely interested how the promised string section would work with the band dynamic and... heck, it's Rush, dammit! 

Of course, the venue itself is an interesting one, being the ex-Millenium Dome that everybody took the piss out of in the 1990s for having the nerve to try to be unique. (Which generally doesn't go down well in England, unless it's to do with something really fucking useless. Like sport, for instance).

Having last walked past the Dome in the mid-2000s when it stood abandoned amidst a wasteland not too dissimilar from the Silver Nemesis locations it usurped, I was now disheartened to see the initial effects of regeneration in its environs. (In other words, the whole area will soon look like Downtown Disney, the bit of the theme park that tries to look like more or less normal and fails due to still being utterly divorced from reality).

Anyway, the staff were surprisingly pleasant, and I joined the rest of the audience waiting to be let in, enduring a lengthy delay which was reported to involve chasing a fox out of the arena.

Having secured what I imagined to be a good seat in the stalls in front of the stage, I was more than a little annoyed that the instant the band came on, everybody stood up. Normally this would not have posed a problem, but the stage in the O2 Arena is very small and very low. The result? Any view of the actual band was totally obscured, and being reduced to watching events on the sole projection screen felt like watching a DVD in the company of thousands of strangers.

Interesting lightshow, though.

Still, it could have been much, much worse. Reading a handful of reviews from other attendees made me glad I was so near the mixing desk and enjoyed a pleasingly good (if slightly muffled on the drums) sound, as elsewhere in the arena, the acoustics were reported as being dreadful bordering on the unlistenable. (Oh yes, and the seats right up at the top are apparantly as scary and vertigo-inducing as I'd suspected). 

Setlist surprises: Four tracks from "Power Windows", a personal favourite Cold War-flavoured album.

Setlist disappointments: Nothing to compare with the general disappointment of paying over the odds for a ticket and not even being able to see who was performing.

And don't even get me started on the prices of tour merchandise...

Everything Louder Than Everything Else No.5

Going down to London twice in one week always seemed to be a bit of an optimistic scenario, even under the best of circumstances. Having had one low-cost solo trip commandeered and transformed into a £2,000+ four-night family event geared towards everybody except me having a good time, I was damn well determined to have my share for once.

And so, on discovering that the Melvins were doing a two-night residency in Brixton, it was decided that making the journey South twice in one week was justifiable in light of such a special occasion.

However, this was all decided long before current circumstances made the prospect of going away at all seem increasingly unlikely, and prone to cancellation at any moment. Fortunately, events ultimately arrived at a point where I could make the journey without too much impact on my conscience, so off I went...

Sunday 19 May

And it was good to be back, especially as I knew I was to be back soon and in the rather thankless roles of tour organiser and financier.

Electric Brixton is a rather pleasing small venue, being basically a nightclub but with a decently sized stage. (And as a London nightclub, it has a level of firm but polite security that I had forgotten about long ago, not having been frisked on entry to a concert since 1988). Not wanting to crucify my hearing when it would be needed for the following evening, I indulged by penchant for leaning by finding a railing near the mixing desk which provided both a good view and good sound.

One of the main motivations for attending these concerts was to see what the Melvins' current two-drummer line-up would make of old material such as performed at these concerts. Precise and perfectly synchronised drum-pounding of almost superhuman proportions, is the answer to that one... 

Setlist Surprises: The vast majority of the "Eggnog" EP making an appearance during the "Lysol" set.

Setlist Disappointments: None.

The "Lysol" album has always been a firm favourite of mine, so it was a bit disheartening to see the lukewarm reception the material received in the flesh. Personally, I was as happy as could be, especially since "Hung Bunny" and "Roman Dog Bird" seemed to be played at even slower speed than on the record. (Going some way to disproving the theory that songs generally get played faster when on stage).

The second half saw the crowd reaction you'd expect for the more popular "Houdini" album, and much amusement was had watching the bouncers trying to control the crowd-surfing that ensued.

A truly superb evening all told, and the fact that it was going to happen all over again the following night was a uniquely joyous feeling indeed.

Monday 20 May

An enjoyable day spent pottering around, getting prepared for the family visit later in the week, and generally trying to remember who the hell I am away from all the stuff happening back home.

And so back to Brixton in the evening, and an early entry to the venue secured the identical vantage point enjoyed the previous evening.

Once again, the first half of the concert wasn't as warmly appreciated by the crowd as it could have been. Shame, as "Bullhead" is a strong and influential album with some mighty tracks on it. But I loved every minute, so that's all that matters...

Setlist Surprises: None
Setlist Disappointments: None

The second half started badly, and maybe in hindsight the repetitive and minimalist "Lividity" was not the best track from the album to start out with. (In fact, things turned damn ugly, and there were a number of audience punch-ups later on in the set to keep security on their toes). Crowd response was much better than in the first half, but I have always considered "Stoner Witch" a somewhat patchy album, so my attention wandered a bit during some of the more average material.

Monday 21 May

An early start so I can be back behind my desk in Yorkshire by lunchtime, because Friday will see me heading off again to do a whole lot of other stuff which probably won't be anywhere near as good... 

Everything Louder Than Everything Else No.2

Cambridge again, for what may turn out to be my final solo outing to that fair town. (I've pretty much run out of genuine courses that I will be allowed to attend, and excuses for further imaginary courses are likewise stretching the credibility of my actual career trajectory).

While Sunday's outward journey was annoyingly problematic (involving cancelled trains and a lift into Brough from a kindly stranger), at least a change of accomodation yielded positive results when I eventually arrived in town hours later than intended. (The University Arms and its endless idiosyncratic variety of damp patches and creaking floorboards had become too tiresome to contemplate).

Anyway, as the trip was booked some time ago as a personal respite from the anticipated rubbish family holiday earlier in the month, I was determined not to let the bad start affect my mood. (The family holiday was indeed very rubbish, in case you're interested).

But apart from the break from the break, the real reason for the trip was...

Motorhead were one of those bands that I used to go and see quite often, at short notice and in a very chemically altered state. But despite the considerable number of gaps in my memory, I don't think I've actually seen them live since the early 1990's. And even though he's only getting on for 70, Lemmy won't last forever...

With my hotel only just around the corner from the Corn Exchange, there was plenty of time to mooch past the tour buses, watching the equipment being loaded in, and listening in on the soundchecks.

Like most concerts of this ilk, you never get to learn the name of the first band on stage unless you look it up online after the event, and I must admit that I haven't quite got around to it yet. Anyway, whoever they were, they were rather good and quite well received, which is always nice to see.

I must admit, I was really looking forward to seeing Anthrax again. My first ever "proper" concert experience was the Among the Living Tour when it rolled into Manchester way back in the winter of 1987, and now that that "classic" line-up is 80% back together, it was an unashamedly nostalgic ride.

And they were simply amazing.

Despite a relatively short setlist, it was packed with hits played with the buzzing adrenaline that sucks you in and keeps you there. Joey Belladonna is still a front-man to be reckoned with, having a good line in mock disappointment when he thinks the crowd aren't putting in as much effort as the band are. (And bassist Frank Bello still has entertaining leg movements worth observing, which tickle me no end). 

Setlist Surprises: None, really. A safe, Greatest Hits package.

Disappointments: No "Metal Thrashing Mad", which as quibbles go is pretty minor.

And Motorhead were... well, Motorhead.

Older, slower and unfortunately rather distorted, their continued existence is simultaneously both life-affirming and some kind of self-fulfilling prophecy.

Default vantage point of near-the-front-and-a-bit-to-the-side found me once again on the edge of the mosh pit, which is a pleasant place to be. (And there were spectacular arcs of spilt beer arcing skyward as the first chords of the set rang out and the audience lurched into life).  

Setlist surprises:  "You Better Run", "Are You Ready?" (an obscure Thin Lizzy cover) and "Rock It" (even though the "Another Perfect Day" album has recently come in from the cold, a jaw-dropping inclusion nevertheless).

Disappointments: No "Iron Fist", and I guess the Bomber lighting rig will be forvever denied me. Excessive distortion on the vocals.

Spending the rest of the trip drifting in and out of pubs and bookshops wasn't all that bad either, giving me a good opportunity to finish "Voice of the Fire" (a book which has rekindled my enthusiasm for the works of Alan Moore), smoke copiusly and scribble down notes for a forthcoming audit at work.

Are You Going to See a Show?