How do you rate the Silver bullet tour ?

Ocean Moves · 23 May 2006, 14:13

Suzanne is a subtle arrangement. (Well, was a subtle arrangement until now).

its
(1) Ben's guitar has no organic quality at all to me; sounds very very ordinary. What guitar is it?
anyone know?
(2) the unneccessary metal-esque twiddles added to
every melody of almost every song.

I'm all for giving the sound a kick up the arse;
I always though Adam's guitar sounded too thin,
but this sounds clumsy to me. Sorry, but it does.

TheBoyNextDoor · 23 May 2006, 14:22

Ben plays bass in Neverland, so it's Chris who is "clumsy" in that song.
Not that I totaly agree with you - but there is a point, especially in Neverland and Suzanne..

slicepack · 23 May 2006, 14:24

Ben is a competent guitar player - nothing more. There are Heartlanders (me included) who could do a better job.

slicepack · 23 May 2006, 14:27

Ocean Moves wrote: (2) the unneccessary metal-esque twiddles added to
every melody of almost every song.

Hitting a harmonic then shaking the vibrato bar is the realm of the teenage bedroom guitarist - it was crap when hair metal guitarists did it in the 80's and it's embarrassing now.

23 May 2006, 14:39

slicepack wrote:
Ocean Moves wrote: (2) the unneccessary metal-esque twiddles added to
every melody of almost every song.
Hitting a harmonic then shaking the vibrato bar is the realm of the teenage bedroom guitarist - it was crap when hair metal guitarists did it in the 80's and it's embarrassing now.

There has been a little too much of that on (what I've heard of) this tour, I must say.

23 May 2006, 15:07

markfiend wrote:
slicepack wrote:
Ocean Moves wrote: (2) the unneccessary metal-esque twiddles added to
every melody of almost every song.
Hitting a harmonic then shaking the vibrato bar is the realm of the teenage bedroom guitarist - it was crap when hair metal guitarists did it in the 80's and it's embarrassing now.
There has been a little too much of that on (what I've heard of) this tour, I must say.

i know what you mean (and i think von agrees

), but on the brussels 2006 (v2) boot for example, its the "twiddles" on FALAA and lucretia make the songs

basically, ben seems to come from a "metal guitar" background. you can take the boy out of the metal but you cant take the metal out of the boy.

he's only doing what andreas did way back when...

and go listen to wayne's guitar - he added a little flourish to the end of every 4th bar anyway

incidentally, was listening to some early dead or alive demos and sessions yesterday and there's one song from about 82 that sounds like a practise run for tower of strength, and one from 83ish that sounds like wasteland

however, i digress.

how do we know that the metal twiddling isnt what eldritch wants? lets face it, it takes them one step further away from goth guitars

aims · 23 May 2006, 15:17

slicepack wrote:Hitting a harmonic then shaking the vibrato bar is the realm of the teenage bedroom guitarist

Then why can't I do it?

Not that I've ever bothered trying

Ocean Moves · 23 May 2006, 15:18

Quiff,

guess so. I'm probably being abit harsh.

Incidently I've just listened to FALAA Brussells....
a truely awesome rendition it is too!

Scardwel · 23 May 2006, 15:25

Ocean Moves wrote:(1) Ben's guitar has no organic quality at all to me; sounds very very ordinary. What guitar is it?
anyone know?

He's using a "super-strat" type of guitar made by Maverick, with whom he has an endorsement deal.
He's definitely a good guitarist and showman IMHO, and has added some flair to the songs not heard since Andreas left. I can do without the "dive-bombing" during Burn though.

Badlander · 23 May 2006, 15:44

slicepack wrote:Ben is a competent guitar player - nothing more. There are Heartlanders (me included) who could do a better job.

The Girls never had any virtuoso guitarist. That's not what the band is about.
Ben and Chris are good guitarists, and they have guts, energy, charisma, and the right attitude. Maybe that is what Von is looking for...

23 May 2006, 15:45

i guess its a case of "everything in moderation"...

now that they have toured the stuff together, as a unit, "in anger", there's probably an excersise for andrew, ben and chris to go back and decide which songs suit the rawk'd up sound and which don't, and toning the guitar parts and fx up or down accordingly...

for me, if you swathe everything in the exact same sound then it gets dull.

thats my huge problem with adam - that lack of variation, and that he always seemed so utterly workman-like about it all. no passion. and no bloody mistakes

also, i'm not a huge fan of the hussey gigs after marx left for samilar reasons- newcastle 85 and "wake" being the best examples - where wayne is trying to fill in the space of two guitars by drenching his own in stoopid amounts of reverb and chorus (and what sounds like phaser?!?) - the entire thing looses some depth because the guitar sounds exactly the same on every song

czuczu · 23 May 2006, 16:14

Suzanne is never going to be a subtle arrangement with that plodding 1 2 3 4 1 2 3 4 midi nonsense bassline.. Just doesn't sound finished to me.

& Ben should leave some of the jazz-noodling bass out but otherwise I think he's going in the right general direction. Chris should be allowed to jolly some of his parts up too but I guess he's been given the responsibility of holding the rhythm down.
I'm sure there were less midi tracks than previous tours - a good sign, as is the number of songs featuring live bass again.

(Hussey - most overrated guitarist ever

)

robertzombie · 23 May 2006, 16:21

What happened at Norwich?

czuczu · 23 May 2006, 16:29

robertzombie wrote:What happened at Norwich?

Ben forgot a verse & went straight to the chorus... Earnt himself a brief onstage

visit

23 May 2006, 16:34

On the whole (and again, from what I've heard) Chris and Ben seem to be breathing fresh life into the Sisters' sound. Which can only be a good thing.

Quiff Boy wrote:thats my huge problem with adam - that lack of variation, and that he always seemed so utterly workman-like about it all. no passion. and no bloody mistakes

Quite.

Badlander · 23 May 2006, 16:55

czuczu wrote: (Hussey - most overrated guitarist ever )

Erm... Not quite.

This man really is number one.

23 May 2006, 17:05

how can you call a man that can play 18 guitar strings at once "over rated"?

brunobossier · 23 May 2006, 17:09

Only went to Brussel second gig and surprisingly very much liked it. To me mainly because of Ben. Was never impressed with Adam. Also like the new version of FALAA where the intro riff is played buy the doctor where before Adam used to play it. Gives it a more atmospheric touch.

I also think that the 80-83 songs (pre-Wayne era) do fit much better in the 2006 sound than the 84-85 songs (Wayne era). Burn is a good example. Just too bad we don't get to hear the full song. Same for Kiss the carpet, which was the opener at the Brixton Academy back in 97.

Still is a promising new song. Suzanne and Summer are by far the best new generation songs.

I can only hope that Ben and Chris get enough creative space from Andrew to develop a new set of songs.

I'm definitely more optimistic for the future than I was after Lokeren 2005, which was a low-point for me.

23 May 2006, 17:22

"I also think that the 80-83 songs (pre-Wayne era) do fit much better in the 2006 sound than the 84-85 songs (Wayne era)."

i've never thought about it that way, but yeah! i think you're right!

Mickpit · 23 May 2006, 17:40

Quiff Boy wrote:it feels like this tour in particular was a turning point for a lot of the older and less devoted fans.

Older and less devoted I maybe, but TSOM have been my favourite since I first saw them several times in 1984 (any many times since). Even back then the gigs were unique for the crowd / atmosphere as for the great new sounds and lead-singer back chat.
I really enjoyed chatting to people at the one show I went to this tour (Astoria) but it's been said many times already, the quality of sound was nothing less than appalling. I go to quite a few gig's, many new / less established bands included and I've not heard such poor vocal volume/quality since err, ummmm.....................ever!!
I was listening to 83 at The Electric Ballroom last night, which must have been taped on some shoddy bit of 'technology', by some devotee getting jostled by a great crowd whilst trying to avoid getting chucked out...........and the quality was loads better!
This was not an isolated incident as we have all read and I hope those of you who were fortunate enough to go to a gig where you were able to hear Von singing know just how outrageuosly disappointing not hearing him was, even though everything else about the show was top-notch.
If the new stuff is released I will buy it AND I will go and see him again (I hope).

This old fan doesnt hanker for Hussey or everything pre 1986, just a bloody good show old boy.

I can't believe you've got me ranting again............bugger

Sredna · 23 May 2006, 17:45

I saw them in Copenhagen and had a great night. Heard a lot of complains though, I don't think it's limited to a few trolls on this forum..

23 May 2006, 17:45

rant on my son. rant on

23 May 2006, 17:55

it seems to me that unless you're in the first few rows, you have to *work* at enjoying the gigs, more often than not, these days

take manchester for example - we were stood about 10 "rows" back, with a lot of old friends, and we heard nothing but grumbling from all sides. i asked jo if we should go nearer the front, so we could immerse ourselves in "the gig". we went down to near the front (abour 3 rows back) and had a superb time

thats not the first time thats happened though. and to be fair, its not just at sisters gigs.

for example, we went to see NIN at the manchester apollo a year or so back and were stood right near the back. it looked like it might have been a good gig, but to be honest i felt like i was watching a dvd... it completely failed to engage me

i guess some bands' stage show, or presence, or whatever, doesn't project as far as it should sometimes...

i've sometimes thought that the lack of a real drum "sound" coming from center stage means that the drums can quite easily end up sounding hollow if the venue's PA isn't set up to get the best out of the dok.

davedecay · 23 May 2006, 20:50

2006: least favorite tour i've seen, especially after waiting 8 years.
1998: arrived late, sound was horriffic (Roseland NYC)
1997: pretty darn good after waiting 6 years
1991: favorite tour i've seen. 4th row Radio City Music Hall, plus 3 other shows (NY, DC, Philly)

didn't see 'em prior to that, so it's the bootlegs only for those.

eotunun · 24 May 2006, 01:22

I only saw one gig, the one at cologne.
I actually liked Nihil as opener.
Then came the reggae tape, .... the .... reggae tape.....
...and

the... reggae tape...

The Doctor began to play the Kiss the Carpet-like sequence, there was blue lit smoke... *wait and wait*
And out of nowhere the three stepped to the front, banging into
Crash And Burn. I couldn`t think of a better way to start it! Wonderfull! Amazing!
(Hm. Maybe the wait took so long cause they had to find their ways along the guide rope through the fog and then find out which way the audience was, to make sure none of them runs offstage on start..?

)