Just got home. Absolutely f*cking incredible. Good night.
Surely you’re not going to leave it at that. I have to wait 11 days…I’m living vicariously through Terry De Castro’s web diaries and the youtube postings of the Barmy Army.
On the plus side, people are posting audience recordings on dimeadozen, so I’m managing.
Man, what a night. You’re in for a treat, charmers. My head is foggy, my voice is hoarse, my calves are sore, I’m a pound lighter from excessive perspiration (which soaked through my vintage Silver Shorts Weddoes t-shirt, quite the conversation piece among the fans we encountered) and I’m still basking in the glow.
They kicked things off with Queen of Outer Space from HIT PARADE 2 then segued into Everyone Thinks He Looks Daft. Awesome. Then they played a couple of excellent new songs including the first ever live performance of a track called Deer Caught in the Headlights which was an absolute monster of a tune. Loved it. Both of these new songs bode well for the next album. Then they played I Lost the Monkey from EL REY.
Next came Corduroy and of course everyone went nuts. There was quite the middle-aged mosh pit happening up front which you can sort of see in that picture up top. The hot girl who was dancing next to me (who bore a striking resemblance to the sister from Dexter) went nuts and I had to resist the strong temptation to hump her leg.
After that came a couple more new songs, including one that ended with a recording of John Peel saying “The Wedding Present” over and over again. I wonder if it was a montage of every time he ever said the band name on the air. As the song faded out, Peel’s voice got louder and louder until he finally said “The Wedding Present with BIZARRO” and they launched into Brassneck. Epic win.
The album sounded great, just one awesome song after another, sequenced in the exact order we’ve grown to love over the decades. The closing two songs were amazing, with the loud, long, epic Take Me followed by the short little gem Be Honest. They don’t do encores so when the album was over, that was it. It was the perfect end to the show. I’m still buzzing from the sheer intensity of the sound. Easy top 5 best concerts ever.
After it was over, we chatted briefly with Gedge at the merch table where I bought myself a dark green w/orange paintsplat BIZARRO shirt and a light pink shirt for my daughter which has “The Wedding Present” written in silver-sparkly letters across the front. I hope it fits.
We didn’t want the night to end so we ended up drinking at the bar until 2 and Gedge and the band hung out the whole time. There was a large group of maybe 15 gray-haired Brits wearing matching custom-made TWP BIZARRO 21 sports jerseys, clearly on the road following the band. We talked with them for a while and had a few more vodka tonics and pretty soon we were ready to pack up and join them for the road trip. They said back in 2008 they followed the band down Interstate 5 for a leg of their tour. Nice. My buddy Matt snapped a pic of them after the show ended…
Now I can’t wait even more! Even Gedge (a very self-effacing guy) is apparently saying to people that they’re playing some of the best shows they’ve ever done. Really can’t wait. I think me and my WP fan friends are making a weekend out of this show.
One question: did they play the full 10-minute version of Take Me?
Oh, yes. He had three broken guitar strings flying around by the end of the song. And someone posted this 30 second clip of Take Me from last night’s show. That’s the back of my head you can’t see bouncing up and down in the blackness at the bottom of the frame.
Goddamn that sounds amazing, rrmorton. I seethe with jealousy.
Of all the fucking nights to have my plane home to DC delayed by 6 hours…
Gedge doing “Thanks” on some radio station. I just learned that he says “you can burn the lot”, not “you can burn them up”.
Also, 19th Nervous Breakdown…weird choice of a cover:
And lastly, the full version of Take Me in NYC:
Take Me was the highlight of the Cambridge show imo.
Tonight’s the SF show. I’m off for pre-show festivities. Very very excited as you can imagine. I’ll try to get some video, if possible.
Have fun! I’ve been wearing my Bizarro t-shirt all day in coincidental celebration. (If you happen to get one, check out the awesome t-shirt packaging.)
Must have been epic.
Must have been LEGENDARY.
Wedding Present free @ South Street Seaport in nyc, Friday August 13th
WOOOOO!
Awesome! I will be there. Thanks for the heads up.
From their website:
"The Wedding Present have announced the dates of their 2012 concert tour of North America.
Although the tour has been primarily arranged to celebrate the release of the band’s forthcoming album [which will be out in March 2012] they are also taking the opportunity to celebrate the twenty-first anniversary of the release of their classic ‘Seamonsters’ album. As such, Seamonsters will be played in its entirety as part of the set each and every night from 20 March onwards. The band’s specific appearances at the South By Southwest Festival in Austin, Texas, are yet to be confirmed, but the other dates are as follows…"
20/03 : Washington, DC, USA – Rock And Roll Hotel with The Jet Age
21/03 : Brooklyn, NY, USA – Bell House with The Jet Age
22/03 : New York, NY, USA – Le Poisson Rouge with The Jet Age
23/03 : Allston, MA, USA – Brighton Music Hall with The Jet Age
25/03 : Toronto, ON, Canada – Horseshoe Tavern with The Jet Age
26/03 : Pontiac, MI, USA – Pike Room with The Jet Age
27/03 : Chicago, IL, USA – Double Door with The Jet Age
28/03 : Minneapolis, MN, USA – 400 Bar with The Jet Age
30/03 : San Diego, CA, USA – Casbah
31/03 : Los Angeles, CA, USA – Troubadour
01/04 : San Francisco, CA, USA – Independent
05/04 : Vancouver, BC, Canada – Biltmore Cabaret
06/04 : Seattle, WA, USA – Crocodile
07/04 : Portland, OR, USA – Mississippi Studios
screams, passes out
Anyone else up for the DC show?
I doubt I can make it to DC, but I’m thinking that since there’s 6 days between them, I might try to make the SF and Portland shows. Hearing the whole Seamonsters album will be worth the drive.
I am so goddamn excited for this. Easily my #1 most wanted concert. I read about it on the Onion AV Club this morning and meant to check in on this thread but I got sidetracked prancing around the house and giggling like a schoolgirl.
I’ll be there for the Brooklyn and NYC shows, March 21st and 22nd. Anyone know when tickets go on sale?
They go on sale here this Fri, so NYC may already be on sale! Hurry hurry, morton!