Oh,
"Endgame", "Endgame"... I guess I've partly got you to
blame for how I felt about this gig...
OK, before anyone gets confused that they've inadvertently stumbled on a comics or movie blog rather than a Suede gig report, I promise all will become clearer later. First, my usual scene-setting blurb; Bowie/Pistols acolytes, Britpop dabblers and sleazy underworld narraters Suede have been regulars on my Dance Card since those heady days of "The Drowners" and a notable Windsor old Trout gig waaay back in 1992 (no. 211!), despite a 5-year absence after a couple of fine performances in support of an excellent reunion CD in "Bloodsports". Following that one, I'd honestly paid less attention to their subsequent releases; in fact, a week or so before this gig I'd unearthed my copy of their 2018 release "The Blue Hour" to re-familiarise myself with it, only to find it still with the cellophane wrapper on! Oops! Still, they've always been good value treading the boards, with svelte frontman Brett Anderson an increasingly riveting performer, so Rach and I were still happy to shell out the steep (£44+ each!) ticket price for a night out on the South Coast with this veteran and enduring quintessentially British band.
So Rach and I rocked down the M4/A34, breaking one of my cardinal gig rules on the way by listening to "The Blue Hour"! D'oh! After a grub stop at Sutton Scotney, we parked up in my now-usual Guildhall spot, having a spot of bother with the parking meter until Rach told me how to work it properly. D'oh! Again! In on the O2 priority lane, unfortunately in time to be subjected to some ham-fisted and juddering noise from support BC Camplight. The floor literally shook, sending rather unpleasant tremors up my legs, and although their next couple of numbers were less oppressive, we repaired to the bar to ignore them. Had our ears talked off by a ridiculously drunk bloke from Bournemouth in the bar, which at least passed the interval quickly, before we took a spot about 2/3rds back in this large and packed ornate old room.
No "Bodies" this time; the lights faded to black as a suitable operatic piece swelled in the background, then turned to silence as the band took the stage, Brett Anderson barely visible through the dry ice, his haunting voice weaving an eerie atmosphere to newie "As One". Then an opening salvo of "Together" and "Outsiders" kicked the gig into a higher gear, with Anderson hopping onto his monitors at the front of the stage, the better to conduct and encourage the communal singalong.
Anderson was totally on point tonight, again giving a fine frontman performance, constantly urging and challenging the crowd to respond in greater volume (Rach at times finding this a bit jarring and arrogant, but I have to say I was fine with it) and the band backed him up with a tight, competent and professional, if slightly anonymous performance. Highlights were scattered liberally throughout at least the opening hour; "We Are The Pigs" was sleazy and soaring, "Metal Mickey" glam-tastic guitar grunge, harking back to those Old Trout/ Bierkeller gigs of 27 years ago (yowsers!), "It Starts And Ends With You" was gigantic and rampant, likely my overall set highlight, and manifesto number "Trash" an emotive and inclusive singalong. And yet...
And here's my "Endgame" issue; inasmuch as I'm a huge music fan and passionate blogger, I'm equally - and occasionally more so! - a lifelong massive comics geek, and aficionado of the Marvel Cinematic Universe. I'd seen "Endgame" this afternoon and found it a brilliantly executed and utterly perfect conclusion to the Avengers movie saga; I laughed, I whooped, I punched the air, I cried like a baby at least twice. In short, I left all my emotions in Swindon's IMAX, so had very little left to give to this Suede performance. And then there was The World's Biggest Suede Fan...
Halfway through "Pigs", TWBSF, an old Lou Reed lookalike geezer, rocked up near us, proceeding to bellow all the words to all the songs at annoying volume and in a key nowhere near the actual intended one. Fair enough mate, I've no problem with that in principle, but as we were 2/3rds back, I'd suggest you were 150 feet too far back to the doing that... We could only endure a couple of numbers of his bellowing blare before we moved, unfortunately pitching up next to The World's Leading Authority On Suede, some young brunette who, upon hearing Brett introducing an acoustic "Obsessions" as being from their "lost" 2002 album, proceeded to give her mate (and, by virtue of her loud voice and the low volume of Brett's rendition, everybody within a stone's throw of her...) the benefit of all her wisdom about said album. Thankfully, a number or two later (and, oddly enough, immediately after she'd pronounced, "I'm obsessed by this band!") she fucked off to the bar, but by now my mind wasn't really in this gig, and all Brett's efforts weren't enough to bring me back.
A further shame was that, after a splendid "Trash" and swayalong "Animal Nitrate", the last third of the set properly dropped off a cliff, a couple of new numbers typical of the new album, slow burn and moody yet unobtrusive and unremarkable. After a fine "Beautiful ones" encore, Brett indeed introduced closer "Life Is Golden" with the comment, "it's important for us to make new music... you're only as good as your last album," which made me think Suede are now likely entering their "past their best" phase, sadly...
So, quite an odd one for me; Rach too, as we mulled over our views on a swift homeward blast up the A34. Some highlights as ever from Brett and Suede, but we both felt it was uneven at best. And as for TWBSF and TWLAOS, well... if I've ever been that annoying at a gig, I'm profusely sorry (!), and maybe in future I also need to keep my gigging and MCU cinema-going days separate!
So Rach and I rocked down the M4/A34, breaking one of my cardinal gig rules on the way by listening to "The Blue Hour"! D'oh! After a grub stop at Sutton Scotney, we parked up in my now-usual Guildhall spot, having a spot of bother with the parking meter until Rach told me how to work it properly. D'oh! Again! In on the O2 priority lane, unfortunately in time to be subjected to some ham-fisted and juddering noise from support BC Camplight. The floor literally shook, sending rather unpleasant tremors up my legs, and although their next couple of numbers were less oppressive, we repaired to the bar to ignore them. Had our ears talked off by a ridiculously drunk bloke from Bournemouth in the bar, which at least passed the interval quickly, before we took a spot about 2/3rds back in this large and packed ornate old room.
No "Bodies" this time; the lights faded to black as a suitable operatic piece swelled in the background, then turned to silence as the band took the stage, Brett Anderson barely visible through the dry ice, his haunting voice weaving an eerie atmosphere to newie "As One". Then an opening salvo of "Together" and "Outsiders" kicked the gig into a higher gear, with Anderson hopping onto his monitors at the front of the stage, the better to conduct and encourage the communal singalong.
Anderson was totally on point tonight, again giving a fine frontman performance, constantly urging and challenging the crowd to respond in greater volume (Rach at times finding this a bit jarring and arrogant, but I have to say I was fine with it) and the band backed him up with a tight, competent and professional, if slightly anonymous performance. Highlights were scattered liberally throughout at least the opening hour; "We Are The Pigs" was sleazy and soaring, "Metal Mickey" glam-tastic guitar grunge, harking back to those Old Trout/ Bierkeller gigs of 27 years ago (yowsers!), "It Starts And Ends With You" was gigantic and rampant, likely my overall set highlight, and manifesto number "Trash" an emotive and inclusive singalong. And yet...
And here's my "Endgame" issue; inasmuch as I'm a huge music fan and passionate blogger, I'm equally - and occasionally more so! - a lifelong massive comics geek, and aficionado of the Marvel Cinematic Universe. I'd seen "Endgame" this afternoon and found it a brilliantly executed and utterly perfect conclusion to the Avengers movie saga; I laughed, I whooped, I punched the air, I cried like a baby at least twice. In short, I left all my emotions in Swindon's IMAX, so had very little left to give to this Suede performance. And then there was The World's Biggest Suede Fan...
Halfway through "Pigs", TWBSF, an old Lou Reed lookalike geezer, rocked up near us, proceeding to bellow all the words to all the songs at annoying volume and in a key nowhere near the actual intended one. Fair enough mate, I've no problem with that in principle, but as we were 2/3rds back, I'd suggest you were 150 feet too far back to the doing that... We could only endure a couple of numbers of his bellowing blare before we moved, unfortunately pitching up next to The World's Leading Authority On Suede, some young brunette who, upon hearing Brett introducing an acoustic "Obsessions" as being from their "lost" 2002 album, proceeded to give her mate (and, by virtue of her loud voice and the low volume of Brett's rendition, everybody within a stone's throw of her...) the benefit of all her wisdom about said album. Thankfully, a number or two later (and, oddly enough, immediately after she'd pronounced, "I'm obsessed by this band!") she fucked off to the bar, but by now my mind wasn't really in this gig, and all Brett's efforts weren't enough to bring me back.
A further shame was that, after a splendid "Trash" and swayalong "Animal Nitrate", the last third of the set properly dropped off a cliff, a couple of new numbers typical of the new album, slow burn and moody yet unobtrusive and unremarkable. After a fine "Beautiful ones" encore, Brett indeed introduced closer "Life Is Golden" with the comment, "it's important for us to make new music... you're only as good as your last album," which made me think Suede are now likely entering their "past their best" phase, sadly...
So, quite an odd one for me; Rach too, as we mulled over our views on a swift homeward blast up the A34. Some highlights as ever from Brett and Suede, but we both felt it was uneven at best. And as for TWBSF and TWLAOS, well... if I've ever been that annoying at a gig, I'm profusely sorry (!), and maybe in future I also need to keep my gigging and MCU cinema-going days separate!
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