26 comments

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  Tony Woolstencroft

  3 years ago

  I'm almost ashamed to admit it, but I paid real money to be there too, and believe you me the review is far, far more entertaining than the actual gig. When watching the audience is infinitely more diverting than what's happening on stage, you know something isn't right. (Not that you could see what was happening on stage anyway, and I'd much rather not have heard what was happening either).
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  Tony Woolstencroft

  3 years ago

  I also pretty sure Eldritch hasn't been horribly disfigured. The smoke is actually to make him harder to hit when disgruntled audiences start throwing things.
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  Steve Local

  3 years ago

  "I can appreciate the urge to play new material, but when the lead singer isn't introducing anything to the crowd, and when you've not released an album for nearly ten years, it gets quite tedious."
  
  Not sure I agree - I saw Gary Numan do something similar the other week. The difference is that Numan pulls it off because he's still a thoroughly decent performer.
  
  Personally I've got no problem with groups playing completely new material - after all The Fall used to regularly play sets almost entirely composed of new songs, though that's now a thing of the past - if it's good enough they'll hold your attention. I'm sure the problem was really that the Sisters were basically just rubbish :)
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  Ian

  3 years ago

  Spot on review of a dire gig. I’d have had more fun listening to ‘Floodland’ at home with the lights out while waving a torch around and burning some toast in the kitchen, at least I’d have been able to hear the lyrics.
  
  One thing you failed to mention was Eldritch’s bizarre attire, a black hockey shirt; I think he was going for some kind of goth rapper look. That’s if it was Eldritch, as I couldn’t hear or see him, in silhouette with the bald head and protruding ears it looked more like the ‘Yellow Bastard’ from Sin City wearing sunglasses.
  
  I’m glad I didn’t waste money on a T-shirt as I don’t want anything to remind me of this event, I just hope the next time I listen to ‘Floodland’ or ‘Vision Thing’ I don’t have flashbacks.
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  Tony Woolstencroft

  3 years ago

  If you could only see him in sihouette how do you know the hockey shirt was black?
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  Ian

  3 years ago

  Thank you Captain Pedantic for keeping the world safe from little mistakes. What I should have said was that 90% of the time he was in silhouette and the rest he was bathed in green, purple, red, etc coloured lights that gave the IMPRESSION the shirt was black. Hope I’ve cleared that up for you.
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  Dan

  3 years ago

  I thought it was yellow, personally...
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  Ian

  3 years ago

  Well the stripes may have been yellow....
  
  This debate is far more interesting than the gig, which says it all really.
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  NIGEL DRUMM

  3 years ago

  If you had done your homework, being a sisters fan and all, you would have found that there is a massive availability of sisters bootlegs .
  the new songs are so new some of them have only been around for 5 or 6 years.
  smoke and lights are all part of the sisters experience.(read the official web page).
  the sisters dont really do "goth " any more.
  you have to many preconceptions and a bad case of "oops i should really try and follow a band im supposed to be a fan of"
  but thats only my opinion , for what its worth.
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  Steve Local

  3 years ago

  Nigel Drumm. What a lovely name. I might change my name to Steve Autoharp.
  
  My question to you is this, though, Nigel: if there's so much smoke that the group is hardly visible, and the vocals are mixed so low as to be inaudible, is there any point going?
  
  Personally I'd rather stay at home and consume a large quantity of beans on toast, and then spend the rest of the evening farting in the bath.
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  Dan

  3 years ago

  Thank you for the comments Nigel.
  
  Can I first ask: Did you go to the gig in Nottingham? What did you make of it?
  
  Second: My only preconception was that I'd be entertained. I'm not "trying to follow a band I'm supposed to be a fan of", I paid my money and attended the gig in the hope that I'd see an enjoyable, quality performance by a band whose albums I've enjoyed for years. The availability of bootlegs and presence of smoke and lights don't change the fact that this was, by any stretch of the imagination, a crap gig.
  
  Third: Thanks for pointing out that they don't do "Goth" any more. As you can see, Mr. Eldritch's outfit has come under particular scrutiny here, so we're always happy to discuss his dress sense. Although the assembled legions of fans evidently didn't know this, so hopefully you've set the record straight for them.
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  Kevin Spencer

  3 years ago

  The last time I saw the Sisters play live was, blimey, back in 1993 when they opened for Depeche Mode at Crystal Palace. They were bloody good as I recall. Plenty of dry ice or course but not overkill. Andrew's vocals were spot on and you could actually hear what he was singing.
  
  The acustics in a venue can certainly make or break a concert and having gone to a few gigs where I've paid good money only to witness a big pile-o-shite you have my sympathy. I'm looking at you Frontline Assembly at the Camden Underworld and you Nitzer Ebb in some other London venue that I can't remember now.
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  Dan

  3 years ago

  Thanks Kevin; so at one point they were a decent live band...hmm...maybe they'll return to form once a new album's published.
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  Niki

  3 years ago

  I thought they were fantastic.
  Before i went i read up on Andrew Eldritch and his opinions towards live shows, personally i got everything i expected, and it was great.
  Money well spent.
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  Ian

  3 years ago

  So Eldritch's opinion is that he should be both invisible and inaudible? Hardly worth him turning up really. I wish I hadn't.
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  Steve Local

  3 years ago

  "Before i went i read up on Andrew Eldritch and his opinions towards live shows, personally i got everything i expected, and it was great."
  
  I'm going to be on shaky ground here, as I'm a Fall fan, and I'm forever warning people that go to gigs with me that "tonight night be crap..." However, despite the obvious fanboys, Fall fans tend to be a reasonably pragmatic bunch. If Mark E Smith and his merry hired hands are having a bad night, most of us will usually say as much.
  
  I wonder if the positive reactions to such an evidently poor Sisters gig is symptomatic of the whole goth dressing-up rigmarole? Not that I have anything against dressing up per se, but it strikes me that being a full-time Rocky Horror type these days isn't so much a statement of being "dark and dangerous" as it is an exercise in terrible, terrible nostalgia.
  
  "Ooh, wasn't it lovely in the mid-80s when frilly shirts were so much cheaper?" "Ooh, I like that group, they remind me of Nephilim in their heyday".
  
  There's a strong element of pretence in it, isn't there? Again, I've not necessarily anything against that. After all, we all pretend to be civilised to people we can't stand on a daily basis. But consider this: if the "let's pretend" element becomes so all-pervasive that it becomes possible to view a filthy lump of coal as a shining jewel, simply because it fits in with the lifestyle code are we not straying into the territory of dangerous, delusional cults?
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  Drew

  3 years ago

  that sucks for you. everything i've seen and heard from the us leg of the tour was spot on. i downloaded some songs from the las vegas show and they were as good as ever. combined with the crowd noise (cheers, etc.) many of the songs were more exciting than the original versions. i wanted to go see them in texas but that would have meant a 6 hour drive and an overnight stay meaning i'd miss two days of school which my parents weren't very keen on. i hope they come back in a year or two when i'm out of highschool. also on their website it says they're doing a free concert for ticket holders in barcellona because eldrich had a "bad voice day" when they played there in april... perhaps one for nottingham should be in order???
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  John

  3 years ago

  The sisters have always been "crap" live and things never change. I havent seen them live since 1985, so I went along to Rock City to see if things had changed; for old times sake. I wish i hadn't, they were terrible and I left before the end. The whole thing surrounding the sisters is hearsay and rumour - I wish they had stayed away after 85 and left us with some good years to remember instead of this shambles- Eldritch please hang up the hockey shirt and find good shrink.
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  Nicola

  3 years ago

  John is correct they were awful and have always been "iffy" live - they have toured for the past 25 years on the back of one half decent album and some good early promising demos. Stop living in the past and let it go --"Goth is Dead!!!"
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  Stephen Minister

  3 years ago

  I went to see the Sisters of Mercy at Rock City too. I had not been there for over ten years. Pity the toilets downstairs were still a major health hazard, a bad omen. The support act; the lead singer was an incredibly poor cross between Souxsie Sue and Martha & The Muffins. Sorry but she is holding the Ivories back. The main concert; I have been a die hard fan of the Sisters Of Mercy ever since I bough 'The Damage Done' so many years ago I lose count. All I can sum the concert up into is a complete waste of time and money. Andrew Eldrich used to look so good. Now he looks like a smack peddler from an inner city council estate. I am not being rude or insulting, it's the truth. The lead guitarist. A joke, a buffoon and an embarassment. The songs; I strongly suspect much of vocals were laid down pre recorded and mimed. Not acceptable for £22.50. The songs; Never try to modernise a 20 odd year old song. Everyone came to hear the songs as they were originally sung and played. The smoke; I suspect laid on heavily to disguise the very poor and mostly pre recorded stage show. Plus if I was Mr Eldrich then I would want to hide dressed like that. Result; a waste of time, energy, effort and money. Never again. In conclusion; Even Peter Murphy and Daniel Ash reconciled their differences to reform Bauhaus and put on some spectacular gigs. Advice for Mr Eldrich; go and see Wayne Hussey, reconcile your differences and tour as the original band playing the original songs the way they were supposed to be. That concert was not a Sisters Of Mercy gig it was an Andrew Eldrich gig.
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  Drew

  3 years ago

  well i found a clear picture of the hockey jersey... the team is... star trek?!?
  also i've seen some recent pictures of eldritch and he's completely bald. no wonder he went for the smoke machines.
  heres a picture of him in the jersey:
  
  http://www.fourth-floor.co.uk/revint/reviews/im...
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  Drew

  3 years ago

  and if you thought that picture was goofy take a look at this one. i think it may be from a year or two ago. he looks the same now except for the beard and the chicago police jacket.
  
  http://www.guiadasemana.com.br/photos/event/s-r...
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  Dan

  3 years ago

  Thanks for the pictures Drew.
  
  And Stephen - interesting point about bits being pre-recorded...you might not be far from the truth there...
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  Simon

  3 years ago

  I disagree with you doubters. The Sisters live have always been smoke and mirrors.If you want the old songs see a chicken in a basket tribute band. Every tour twists the old songs into something new and each time different. I would rather go not knowing how he will will interpret the songs than predictabilty. Some people are so underdemanding and som people want more..
  Shame the vocals were so crap though
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  orangeacid

  2 years ago

  Ahh, I went to this gig and at the risk of being flamed by a bunch of people I don't even know, I thought that it was alright. Granted that it's the first sisters gig that I've been to, but I thought that the atmosphere was generally good, the fog worked well (although admittedly was far too dense for the first perhaps half an hour) and the vocals were a little quiet. I quite like Eldritch bald and wearing a wasp-inspired shirt, actually. And I don't know what the old guitarists were like, but the 'nu-metal' (I presume you mean 'young') guitarist, from a guitarist's point of view, was good and certainly a lot more entertaining than the other one.
  
  For reference, I was at the top of the stairs to the balcony that would be on the right if you were looking at the balcony from the stage.
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  jamstarz

  2 years ago

  Yup.The Sisters ' where never amazin live.Eldrich my love you are getting on.Ditch the skinhead you look like a gay man from Soho.
  
  Half of the Sisters attraction was their solid goth rock image.Be nice to see you sporting your leathers again (praps the hair has gone in to hiding now?)
  
  Reform with Wayne Hussey, Craig Adams and Gary Marx.Perhaps cut down on the ciggies and do a 60 date UK reunion tour with the old and new stuff..Get Flood to produce your new stuff.I gotta feeling a Goth revival is pencil for 2007............But then Eldrich was always a stubborn bugger!!!
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