Philadelphia 8th March

Gig reviews, set lists, thoughts, comments and observations on the mammoth 2006 25th Anniversary tour.
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EvilBastard
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Chairman BOX wrote:We have uploaded some individual MP3s from the second half of the show. From where we were standing, the bass drum was freakishly loud, and the guitars not nearly loud enough. This difficulty is reflected in the MP3s, which are of dubious quality (the bits from the night prior in DC were decidedly cleaner sounding).
Nevertheless, still better than a poke in the eye with a sharp stick. Or something.
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Mr. Wah
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Chairman BOX wrote: We have uploaded some individual MP3s from the second half of the show.
Thank you, Chairman Box.

I think these, plus the vids provided from the DC show prove that the Sisters are seriously rocking.

Ben Christo-Chris Catalyst is a very metal guitar section, is it not? I'm all for it. I read somewhere else that someone thought these two constitute the best ever pairing the Sisters have had. Can't be far off, from what I'm hearing.

Brussels can't come fast enough.

Thanks again for the great work.
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itnAklipse
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Thank you, Chairman BOX!
we've got beer and we've got fuel
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Multifaceted
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so is chairman box the guy who was manning the merch booth & video cam at the show?
Probably not; there were a lot of people recording stuff in Philly, it seemed.

The venue allowed "small cameras", so I stood front row center and got about 90 pictures of The Warlocks and The Sisters. I felt kind of bad, though; I wondered if anyone (on-stage or off) got annoyed.

First of all, The Warlocks--I think they've lost almost half their band this year so far. :eek: Even so, I thought they sounded miles better than the Vegas show. Some of the songs they played at the end were really good, and if people hadn't been so nonchalant they could have easily jumped around and danced to them. They stepped up the stage show a bit, as well; lots of smoke, and lots of lights! Maybe they are getting tips from The Sisters, as someone said. The biggest disappointment about The Warlocks was, well, the audience. I got the feeling they were playing songs without any pause in between because the audience was barely clapping for them at all when they DID pause. They made a swift exit, too, and didn't even say "thank you" or something similar.

The Sisters of Mercy were amazing; SO much better than the "birthday" show in Vegas. It was cool to hear more songs (including Burn), the sound didn't seem bad at all, and the lights and smoke didn't seem to be lacking, either. I think I should have thanked/praised the technician when I saw him at the end, because the lights and smoke are half of what makes a Sisters concert! Not to mention I'm easily distracted by bright, colorful, moving lights. :oops: Overall, I don't think I could complain about anything; it was pretty much everything I could expect.

The crowd was really diverse, in more ways than one--next to me at the front was an 11 year old girl in an "Utterly Bastard Groovy" shirt, and probably more makeup than I had on. On the other side was the mother of some other girl, who looked like she could have been a fan of The Sisters in the 80's, but didn't know them at all, actually.

Afterwards, about 10-15 people were waiting around the tour bus, and most just wanted to meet Andrew Eldritch. I was out there with them for a looong time--I had literally no where else to go! Ben Christo and Chris Catalyst came out to talk, and even after all that, most of the people still separated the two by saying "the one with the mohawk". One girl made the comment "Andrew's cute, but tell him there's too much smoke--I can barely see him", to which my automatic reaction was "...but that's the point!" Another girl, who asked Ben if he would give Andrew a nice "clean" note for her if she wrote one, decided to lay down on her stomach on the cold, dirty pavement with one foot twirling in the air to write. :lol:

I *think* someone asked Chris if there would ever be a new album, and I *think* his reply was that, from the little while he's known Andrew, he didn't think so. Although Ben was really optimistic about it--he said he'd be happier than us fans if he ever got to help release a new Sisters album. He also said the "new stuff" they're writing is basically bits and pieces, not actual songs yet, but I think that's already been mentioned on here? Chris also mentioned he might be coming back to the US soon, as part of some "project" he couldn't tell us anything about.

At one point people were trying to figure out what songs were played, and in what order, the last time The Sisters of Mercy where in Philadelphia. The light technician said he always has to visit som.tours.org to find out what he's done. He got the wrong URL, but I think you can figure out what site he means. :)

Now that you've probably skipped all that, some pictures (click to enlarge--they might not be all that great):

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TheBoyNextDoor
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Thanks a lot guys and girls for your effort doing reviews, putting up photos, setlists and MP3s! :notworthy:
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Erudite
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Sterling job indeed! :notworthy: :notworthy: :notworthy:
You are what you drink - I'm a bitter man!
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Francis
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Corpy wrote:The important thing here is that I got to meet Ben
He looked very impressed by your gentlemanly handshake. :wink:
And you know that she's half crazy but that's why you want to be there.
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Chairman BOX
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bismarck wrote:there was a guy at the philly show standing 2nd row, almost dead center, talking to an 11-year-old girls long-haired dad. i overheard you say you've got every vinyl release except Damage Done 7". Are you on this list? 30 yrs old, glasses, dark hair and a blazer i think, knew all the new songs... Anyway, you here?
Check your PMs.

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Corpy
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Francis wrote:
Corpy wrote:The important thing here is that I got to meet Ben
He looked very impressed by your gentlemanly handshake. :wink:
I know now I should have skipped the formalities and just slipped him the tongue, but hindsight is always 20/20, innit?
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Planet Dave
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Big cheers to Multifaceted & Chairman Box, great work people. Many thanks for your pics / reviews / files (irrespective of whether I can actually download the damn things).

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'What a heavy load Einstein must have had. Morons everywhere.'
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Francis
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Corpy wrote:
Francis wrote:
Corpy wrote:The important thing here is that I got to meet Ben
He looked very impressed by your gentlemanly handshake. :wink:
I know now I should have skipped the formalities and just slipped him the tongue, but hindsight is always 20/20, innit?
I've just figured it out: he has that John Travolta smile, don't he? Shall I write your number on some granny pants and throw them on stage tonight?
And you know that she's half crazy but that's why you want to be there.
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Francis
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Moved from general Chat at mod's request:

Philadelphia: A most welcome contrast to the edginess of the capital, I felt comfortable here right from the start. Good representation clearly makes a big difference to people's self-image. I'd booked a late train from DC cos I had planned to take in the sights there first, but I'd seen enough of the streets the night before, so I wallowed in my pit as long as I could get away with before hauling my sorry ass to the station. What is it about train stations that attracts the beggars and hobos? Dragged my luggage in and around there for two hours while my train arrived. So, only enough time to grab a burger (yes, McDonalds, please forgive me :LOL:), check-in and shave-shower-taxi. Quality hotel though. You can tell it was chosen by a woman. Thankyou. :notworthy: I'd figured the Sisters wouldn't be on til 10pm like in New York and DC, so I took my time with my makeup. Jen texted me just after eight to say the Warlocks were already on and Eva had sent me one to say that she and AndrewS would be up for drinks after the show. I had already decided that a less alcohol-fuelled evening followed by a taxi home would be a wise move and now I knew I'd have some good company and thus better things to do than just sling alcohol down my neck like tomorrow may never happen. The venue was very empty downstairs with no sign of a bar so I headed upstairs and was flattered to have my ID checked. Got a Silver Bullet and messaged Jen that I was in the house. :lol: A nice leisurely chat while the warlocks did their thing and the dub took over. As the lights dimmed we made for the stairs. It was still pretty empty down there, maybe due to the lack of a bar. We were about halfway back and there was plenty of room. Good sound, not as much smoke as the previous nights but a pretty lively crowd. Jen and Nick went to get a closer look but I hung back for some elbow room. Less alcohol, more fatigue and a clearer sky meant I appreciated the stage presence of Chris and Ben more. Chris is a big guy but he seems to slouch down when Mr Eldritch is next to him to play down the height difference. Ben, on the other hand is a short guy anyway. But his muscular torso, Samsonesque locks and Travolta smile provide welcome eye candy for the ladies. He even gets a spotlight during solos, clearly approved by Mr Eldritch. They both have a good bounce around to Top Nite Out which really is a storming track. When you hear those sirens go off, you know it's time to rock. At the end, Mr Eldritch venomously yelled the same thing as the night before, which I still hear as "Vote yourselves thicker." Not wishing to seem too much like a librarian, but I really need to have this clarified. I could see some serious moshing going on to Vision Thing. 'Bout time. Good on ya lads. You'd've been right in there Mr Whelan. Apparently Jen got caught up in the fringes. She's only a littl'un. How are the bruises? Met back up with her, Nick, Martin, Trevor, AndrewS and Eva at the end. Martin and Trevor were driving home and Nick decided to keep Trevor company. The rest of us got an interesting lesson in smoke machine technology and a bum steer to a karaoke bar, so we ended up in Shampoo after all. I don't have a problem gawping at scantily clad goth goddesses, it was one of the main attractions of the Phono and, hence, the Sisters anyway. But goth boys don't hold the same attraction for Jen who was still swooning over Ben (:wink:), so we shared an early taxi back to the hotel. I was grateful in the morning when I actually felt like going down for breakfast for the first time in five days.
And you know that she's half crazy but that's why you want to be there.
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eastmidswhizzkid
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only just got these downloads -respect. :notworthy: :notworthy: :notworthy:
Well I was handsome and I was strong
And I knew the words to every song.
"Did my singing please you?"
"No! The words you sang were wrong!"

:bat:
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