Thursday, July 09, 2009


Last night, I was reminded that going to a show doesn't have to be an ordeal. The Carnegie Hall in Dunfermline is a great spot. A bijou proper theatre where the sound doesn't suck. Stop rubbing your eyes, it's true. In addition there's a nice airy bar and the whole-set up was a real eye-opener.

Of course there's the territorial, getting people to travel thing but education is never easy. Scotland is an odd place when it comes to getting people to come out or venture away from their comfort zone. First of all, pulling off this D&B thing was a coup of epic proportions. The big cities are used to having their own way but this was a genuine, on-off event. Not part of any treadmill or buck-sucking exercise. This was about bringing an evening of sophisticated and just plain ethereal music (and pictures) to an audience that would appreciate it. And here's another thing, the people who attended didn't spend the entire show yabbering on the phone or watching it via the screen on some device or other. I know. I wouldn't believe it either but you couldn't make it up. Not based on recent experience anyway.

So we've established that the setting couldn't have been more perfect. What about the show? It's such a rich mix that sensory overload is always a possibility. Some drama ensued when a circuit breaker tripped the power. Dean assured me that it wasn't part of the show. I think I mentioned before that Britta's version of "I'll Keep It With Mine" was spine -tingling but the live version raised the bar to a whole 'nother level. The sonic shimmer of the tambourine against the acoustics of the room were simply off the scale. Percussive bliss.

In terms of mellifluous guitar, there simply isn't anyone that hits the intersecting vein between Tom Verlaine and the racket we must attribute to Lou Reed and Sterling Morrison like Dean Wareham. The program is curated brilliantly and it requires the same of the location it plays at. This isn't something that'll be trucking around exhibition centres anytime soon. I'll keep you up to speed to when it might be coming somewhere near you. "13 Most" needs to be seen and heard. Evan Henderson's leap of faith was entirely vindicated and in the process, nobody who was there will ever forget it. Check here to see if they're heading in your direction.

In years to come, people will claim to have witnessed this. Anybody who dares to criticise any aspect of how cool it was is either jealous that they didn't do it or just a plain old trumpet. No disrespect to the instrument intended.

Were you there? It would be great if you could maybe leave a comment here to thank everybody in the band and the venue for creating something entirely out of kilter with the nature of what the common or garden concert experience has become. I appreciate the fact that a couple of you folks have already applied those to the previous post

I don't know about "arts" but to paraphrase The Killer, that's Jerry Lee incase you figured I meant that Brandon Flowers or one of his cohorts, but I KNOW what I like.

Some photos, link courtesy of Murray.

Should be a report coming from A Head Full of Wishes very soon.

6 comments:

Anonymous said...

Amazing venue, outstanding show!The finest sensory overload experienced in a long time.No yapping just people enjoying the experience.Thank's to all involved in getting this show & if it comes by again don't miss it!

Murray Ramone said...

it takes about as long to get to Dunfermline from my house as to the far side of Princes street so it was an easy jaunt on the train for me. I could've done without the couple with the laptop blaring out a documentry about David Hockney.

Good gig, everyone seemed to genuinely enjoy the occasion, the folk working in the place were all very pleasant as well. Why isnt it always this easy !

My old chum Andy made the treck up from London with his missus (I've been to see plenty of gigs down there with him in the last 20 years) and also does the galaxie 500 etc website http://www.fullofwishes.co.uk/ so expect a full report up there soon, but for now here's some pics of him just made for reminiscing "man, remember the time we hung out with Deano at the Carnegie Hall ....."
http://www.flickr.com/photos/grange85/sets/72157621177391926/

Alan said...

That was a great show, effortless performance and all on stage seemed to enjoy it too. Even the unfortunate shouty man right behind us couldn't spoil what was pretty much a perfect day, Something to treasure and remember for years to come. Lucky enough to catch a bit of the sound check earlier and the openness of the venue was just lovely and added to the whole thing. Sorry for ducking out without saying hello at the end but we got talking to Lee outside and asked him to pass on our regards. Big thanks for bringing this to our attention and to those involved, wouldn't hesitate to attend the venue again, magic stuff.

Alan

Andy said...

That was a great show. And thanks Murray (and Lindsay) for linking to my rubbish pics - and I'm sorry Murray I really should have taken a picture of you with Dean as well - particularly if you're planning on milking it! For what it's worth here's my take on the evening (on A Head Full of Wishes). Thanks for making it happen!

luxivyig1 said...

All that makes me think I'm going to see D&B in Paris in October, maybe the VU show.
Thanx for telling us about the good stuff, L-man

Anonymous said...

Apparently the overload was due to a keyboard being plugged into the "wrong socket" according to the drummer

theres a couple of videos shot from the balcony up on youtube at the moment