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A Purr With Your Play
Theatre Review: A Lament For Medea
What could be better than going to a lovely park on a hot summer's day to listen to some nice relaxing music? Well, nothing, apart from the 'relaxing' part – this Londonista likes it LOUD. The louder, the better. So Saturday's gig in Hyde Park was right up our street – two of our favourite bands, and at least three musical legends for good measure. Add some beer and it's the recipe for a perfect day – or would have been, had the organisers not taken away entirely the wrong idea from Live8, on which more later.
Anyway, having had previous experience of the fascistic drink-confiscating policies of any outdoor musical event associated with a certain type of beer beginning with 'C' for 'cat's piss', and not being at all fussed by the first two names on the line-up (Juliette And The Licks and Angels And Airwaves - sorry, guys), Londonist and friends decided that by far the better plan was to sit outside the gig, drink beer from the Sainsbury's next to Marble Arch, and wait for the acts we actually wanted to see to come on, before we ambled into the concert area proper to gawp at the nuns and to wonder how water can be gendered.
When Queens Of The Stone Age opened up their set with First It Giveth, it was worth the wait – one of our all-time favourite QOTSA tracks, it got the crowd singing along full-throatedly and in good cheer. We hardly even missed Nick Olivieri, booted from the band for those good old "personal reasons" (or was it for beating up his girlfriend? Nice), and last seen by us wearing a beard, a bass and a big grin at Leeds 2002. However, after a good start, something just didn't quite click for us – QOTSA were not as compelling as we know they can be. It was competent but not inspired. The sound wasn't great, either – it wasn't nearly loud enough. Intermittent chants of "TURN IT UP!" from other sections of the crowd confirmed that we weren't the only ones deprived of the bowel-trembling bass and volume wall-of-sound experience that is, for this Londonista at least, the whole point of going to an outdoor rock concert. Even worse, the existence of the dreaded Golden Circle was a real atmosphere-killer. As a bog-standard ticket holder – we weren't aware there was any other kind, it's an outdoor gig, for fuck's sake – we were unimpressed to say the least to discover that if we wanted to get within squinting distance of the stage, we needed some kind of magic super ticket. Whatever happened to the egalitarian, all-mucking-in-together spirit that is the best part of live music? What happened to suffering through support acts to secure a prime spot just in front of the stage? Whatever happened to rock'n'roll?!?
The QOTSA set left us feeling bloated yet somehow dissatisfied – the feeling you get after eating an entire bag of Haribo Tangfastics. However, Motörhead delivered the roast-beef-and-Yorkshire Sunday roast sound we'd been craving – and sounded distinctly louder than QOTSA too. Not being a Motörhead aficionado, Londonist can't really comment on the set with any kind of authority whatsoever, but the Hell's Angel types in faded tour t-shirts around us were ecstatic, and the sound was fantastic – consider us converted, to the live sound at least. Lemmy prowled around the stage, utterly in his element, and it was impossible to imagine how anyone could have looked more at home up there.
Dave Grohl and company had a hard act to follow – but manage it the Foo Fighters did, with a set that made this Londonista, a devotee ever since their eponymous debut was released in 1995, cry like a little girl with the sheer beauty of it all. Not having been a fan of the last two albums, we had been bracing ourselves for a disappointment, but by the end of the set we were born-again Foo-fans. Monkey Wrench and Stacked Actors were intense and compelling, with the crowd note-perfect and Taylor banging the drums as though his life depended on it. Even the newer stuff sounded pretty amazing, with a lot more attitude and power than the radio-friendly unit shifter versions.
We bet Dave is rather sick of the "nicest man in rock" tag, but if he will banter with the crowd in between songs ("We started off in London ten years ago in King's College, then the Astoria, now here we are in Hyde Park, and I think this is our best show ever"), then what can he expect? Surprise of the night was when the Foos were joined onstage by Brian May and Roger Taylor – two members of Queen, for fuck's sake! – for a barnstorming We Will Rock You/Tie Your Mother Down, and this after Lemmy had come back up for a guest-vocals slot on the Probot song Shake Your Blood. A legendary night – and the understated power of a partially acoustic, partially heavy-as-fuck Everlong (the best Foos song by a country mile) left the crowd euphoric, and singing their hearts out arm-in-arm with complete strangers (or was that just us?). The high lasted all the way home, and even managed to make us forget a little the sour taste left by the whole Golden Circle controversy and the dodgy sound. That's more of a compliment to the Foos than to the promoters, and we'll definitely think hard before going to a similar event, which is a real shame – but Dave won't be there every year to work his magic.
All photos from jonanamary's Hyde Park 17-06-06 set.
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As a fellow music reviewer, I couldn't agree more with 90% of what you said. But here's a few extra points.
1) Juliette & The Licks were "not bad". Not anything particularly special, but given the sound problems that followed, you wonder whether they might actually be quite decent when the amps are set to 11.
2) Angels & Airwaves, on the other hand, were predictably s**t. Anyone who liked Blink 182 will love them, but anyone who liked Blink 182 has probably grown out of nappies now and is already well on their way to "big school".
3) How can you organise an outdoor gig, featuring two of the loudest bands in history (QOTSA, Motorhead) and forget to tell the sound guys to test the levels beforehand? Seriously, I think it was utterly disgraceful and the promoters should be ashamed of themselves, just as soon as they've finished rolling around in the money. I saw QOTSA at Kokos in August (the gig that was rearranged from July 7th) and I suffered near-permanent hearing damage. Yet it was one of the best gigs I've ever witnessed. And as for Motorhead, there's something inherently wrong with the world when 'Ace of Spades' doesn't sound loud enough to tear your head off your body.
4) Credit to the Foo Fighters for sticking with it though, and playing what appeared to be a pretty decent greatest hits set. At least I think that's what it was, although I couldn't tell over the continued chanting of "TURN IT UP"
5) That's the last time I ever pay 40 quid for a gig in Hyde Park. Actually, truth be told, I wouldn't go to Hyde Park again even if it was a freebie.
6) On a positive note, credit to the stewards, who for once seemed to be doing the right thing when a crush developed over near the bogs just after QOTSA and before Motorhead came on. At least they were aware of the problem and seemed to be bothered enough to try and sort it out, which is more than can usually be said for festival stewards.
Other than all that, I thoroughly enjoyed travelling back from Paris and spending 40 quid on having a picnic in the park with my mates, with some pleasant background music.
I also agree with 90% of what you say but I would also like to add I was very disappointed with the length of the Foo gig - which, lets face it, I had paid the £40 for. They were fantastic (if a little quiet - not their fault) for the hour and ten that they were on but that to me was a festival gig... and this was not a festival as far as I was concerned.... would have happily dispensed with Angel and Pantswaves to make way for a longer Foo gig.
Yep, I totally agree with all of the above and can't really decide if it was worth it or not although the Foos still rock!
We did the same - got food from Sainsbury's and sat outside until QOTSA came on. When they did, the music just didn't seem to have same impact as normal, probably because of the sound issues. We were fairly central (although still miles from the stage due to the ubiquitous Golden Circle) and the volume wasn't good but not awful - my boyfriend's sister and her friends ended up quite far over to the left and said they could hardly hear a thing.
At one point a fairly tall boy stood directly in front of me (a fairly short girl!) and when I asked him if he could move a little bit, he was practically crying telling me how disappointed he was and how he'd been looking forward to it for months and was thinking of going home! Not sure what prompted him to share that outburst with me, but there you go!
I did enjoy the Foos when they came on but the lack of a second encore when everyone was clearly expecting it, meant the gig was a bit anti-climactic for me at least and not really worth £40+ in my opinion.
I should have known better having been to a similar RHCP gig there in 2004 and not being able to really see or hear much then. Don't think I'll be 'doing' Hyde Park again either. Or maybe I'll just stay outside and listen (sort of) and watch the screens for free...
Wow, thanks for your comments everyone - Other Jo, I agree about the 'festival gig' set length. We didn't really get value for money, did we? I think unless the Foos are playing a 'proper' gig somewhere that isn't either the size of 17 football pitches (Hyde Park) or an aircraft hangar (Earl's Court) I don't think I'll bother to go and see them again. :( It'll be the end of a long and (until now) happy relationship - but that's the way the live music scene seems to be going, and it sucks big hairy balls.
Ah well, at least some of the bands I like are still niche enough to play good venues where there's a real buzz, where a pint won't bankrupt you, and where you can get within a postcode of the stage.
I agree with most of the comments here...sure the sound wasn't great or loud enough and the whole Golden Circle thing was crap, but I had an amazing day! It was the biggest concert I've been to so far so nothing could ruin the experiance! And to be honest even if the Foos did only play for an hour and ten minutes who cares, I was too busy enjoying the music to count the minutes go by. I have to say my highlight was when Lemmy joined the Foos on stage and sang 'Shake Your Blood', a song I love and that should be released as a B-side on a Foo Fighter single!!!
Hi, don't want to sound smug, but I managed to get an inner circle ticket, and found the whole show amazing. If it helps, everyone around me did express sympathy for all you guys stuck at the back, but then you were treated to everlong, and I thought Daves acknowledgement of how far away you were was very touching.
Dave has put a 'thank-you' letter on the Foos website; it turns out that the band had the best week of their careers. Take a look, its a nice gesture.
I agree that Angels and Airwave were naff, Delonge had totally the wrong approach. People who go to see Foos are geared up for a party, not a lecture on the war in Iraq.
This drinking from sainsburys all sounds very sensible, personally I went for the getting totally lost, getting in late and paying 4 quid per pint for rank lager. Majestic.
details of this marvellous day can be found here somewhere.
@Lisa: The pleb circle was morally wrong (if you ask me, but I'm biased) but hell, I don't blame the people inside it, I blame the organisers! It's all a sign of growing social inequality and blah blah blah.
@Jim: I'm sure the Cat's Piss was £3 a pint. :| Still horrific but around 25% better than £4. Or do I mean 33%?
i dont think i've ever loved a line up more than this! Josh rocked my pants even though i was stood soooo far away. he's a guitar weilding fiend ho needs more kudos than there are in circulation in the universe. and as for the Queen/Foo combo was absolutely mesmerizing. definately an issue with the sound quality, but still such an ace event. Throw in some veet-abusing aussies and some of Her Majesty's Armed Forces' finest, and you've got one hell of a time to remember!
Veet 'em!
Nina