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Spook of the Thirteenth Lock final 'Lockout' at the unitarian
I might have gone to this show on three occasions at this point but was glad to catch the last one. That show is a little different in each venue and different elements come out at different times. Kinda sad I can't go to it again. Some lovely moments in it and like, its kinda hard to watch 16 people or whatever and take it all in.
waiting to hear back from @Positive Marlene ...
The tl;dr version is yes it was very good.
the other version, my messy thoughts on it:
Ok, so towards the end of the show Wendy and Lisa played Sometimes it Snows in April on their own and tweaked the lyrics a little bit in tribute to Prince and it all very emotional. After that the band kicked right into Let's Go Crazy and I was struck by how you have to be able to embrace both of these sides to get into him, you can't wall off Parade and say you wish all his stuff sounded like it. And I like an artist who does that, you either embrace his vision or you don't, he didn't pander to his audience.
I wasn't around in 1984, not really, I'm not an old school fan, I hadn't been waiting to see this for 25 years or whatever. I have worked out that I was born during the shooting of Purple Rain but until a day to day diary comes out I won't know what scene was shot the day I was born.
Compared to the messy but enjoyable 90's NPG show I saw last year (look, Tony M is a fucking hero for getting back on stage to do his raps 25 years after the entire world told him was was the worst rapper in existence) this was way, way better, like tribute acto vs. actual act. They pitched it just right, leaving the massive Prince-shaped gap in the show there for everyone in the crowd to fill, no imitators in Purple Rain gear up there. Singing duties were shared between Wendy and BrownMark for about half of the show, for the rest they brought along a lad from Minneapolis band Mint Condition to sing, he did it well; he didn't do a Prince impression but has the voice to carry the falsetto stuff. He's also African American which, to be honest, without Prince being there is kind of needed so BrownMark isn't the only person of colour on stage.
Something about the band:
Wendy is an incredible guitar player, she used to get criticism for not being as rock'n'roll as the lad she replaced, Dez Dickerson, and i've heard stories of her "freezing up" playing on the Purple Rain tour. Well in 2019 she not only plays her parts but also covers Prince's parts, pitch perfect, incredible.
BrownMark sang half the songs while playing those basslines. Cool as fuck.
Lisa played comic foil most of the night constantly raising her eyebrows and laughing at the more ridiculous lyrics/song bits. She also has her ethereal piano style that sounds wonderful when contrasted to Dr Fink who is a) still wearing those scrubs, and b) still king of those technical solos.
Bobby Z played Let's Go Crazy while spinning one of his drumsticks on his hand in a clichéd rock drummer way because despite the years of people saying he is a rubbish drummer he is actually a great player who can do the showy-off thing when called for.
They stuck roughly to the hits from their time period, 1980-1986. Wendy said later in the show that it was important for them to do this and present the music as Prince wanted it released rather than doing obscure outtakes. They gave a few nods here and there to other stuff; Dr. Fink threw in the keyboard solo to Head, once a live staple at Prince shows, when he was given his minute or two to go off on one, the band played about 20 seconds of the Family song Mutiny during Controversy - songs they used to merge back in 1986; they play a few extra seconds of Computer Blue as a nod to the full length version.
(Side note: listen to the 12 minute full-length version of this track and think how mad it was that someone at the peak of their pop stardom was writing this proggy-stuff and what a pity it had to be edited down at the time for Purple Rain and live on in bootlegs-ville for decades. I know if Beyonce or Kanye released a 15 minute suite track any time in the past few years no one would bat an eyelid because music is made for the fanbase these days but this was back in 1984 when you lived and died by getting radio and video play. )
When Doves Cry sounds brilliant live, no small thing. To my knowledge Prince rarely pulled that one off successfully and barely attempted it live after 1985, I suspect technology has finally caught up with it.
The only song that didn't fully work imho was Erotic City because frankly no-one but Prince could pull off the vocals to that one.
Some fun stories were told, lots of great songs were played, some old dance moves were danced slightly ironically. To see the band who co-wrote most of these songs also playing them and doing them justice injected a vitality that a Bruno Mars or whoever tribute never could, I suppose because it's a tribute to the music rather than the persona but also because Prince was such a showbiz guy naturally that you don't need to force that aspect of it all, something most tributes do, it's there in the notes to 1999 whether you like it or not.
Setlist here
I was at that too, it was great and way better than i expected (I didn't really know what to expect). It's nice to go and see a tight polished band effortlessly playing actual tunes and singing harmonies and stuff. Most of the gigs i go to the performers are chancers making it up as they go along or pricking around with laptops.Microdisney in Vicar Street; last Dublin gig ever!
What a stonking great gig; superb band, fantastic songs, a great night.
It was proper good alright. A real band, the playing and and singing was top notch!I was at that too, it was great and way better than i expected (I didn't really know what to expect). It's nice to go and see a tight polished band effortlessly playing actual tunes and singing harmonies and stuff. Most of the gigs i go to the performers are chancers making it up as they go along or pricking around with laptops.
I was one of the old guysAlso I was like a young lad among all those old guys and the 6 or so women
NoI was one of the old guys
You weren't a lad with floppy hair and glasses were you?
There were two such yunflits in front of me giving it socks.
Microdisney are a little bit different to both @hermie; though they are melodically probably closer to what O' Hagan did with early High Llamas; as in lush, melodic and slick, combined then with Coughlan's crooning and acerbic lyrics.Always a band I meant to check out. Are they more likes the High Llamas or more like Cathal Coughlan's stuff?
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