[RESCHEDULED!] 22nd Feb 2012 - Auckland, New Zealand

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The goatee also returned in the last concerts of 2009 (South America).

[Debaser]

Von has a beard now (as in 2005)

2003 you mean

2005 is correct

That pic takes me back to the terrible journey along the M18/180 - I think it actually took me nearly 6 hours to get to Leeds that day - I turned back once only to get a phone call from the Quiffster who said I'd get in - which I did. Then had to act as an impromptu leaning post for JohnnyM who insisted upon collapsing several times due to the heat (or beer) who knows

[splintered thing]

Back home now after what I thought was a stonking gig. My Mr (not a TSOM die-hard) was also impressed and rated it better than the Brussels 2009 gig, possibly not as tops as the Paris 2009 gig, for context

I was front row, just between Von and Chris - poor Chris was not a well puppy and seemed to roll an ankle on top of being ill towards the end of the set.
There were def a few sound issues with much knob twiddling and PA kicking early on. Von made a few disgruntled noises as he tried to fix it, sound was great though after the first couple of songs.

The crowd was great - more loud singing than bouncing around - which is prob to be expected given the average age of the audience, loved it!!!!
My Mr had a Chris guitar pick bounce off his head, failed to catch it... we are still talking though so it is all ok.

I have to say The Sisters of Mercy are still the closest thing to a religious experience I have ever had. The shows have heart, guts and a relentless pounding beat that goes right through you. Von looked incredibly dishy and really seemed to be a) enjoying himself despite the heat and b) giving it his all. The man is a gem.
Thank you all, see you in Melbourne on Tuesday & Thursday night.


PS It WAS good to see all the old goffs out and about - I'll have a bigger posse with me in Melbourne, ressurrected from the 90s.

[iesus]

had the same goatee in Suomelina Finland in the morning of the Helsinki concert this summer (2011)
at the concert it was gone

[bearskin]

My Mr had a Chris guitar pick bounce off his head, failed to catch it... we are still talking though so it is all ok.

I have it if you want it!! And another one i picked up as the hall emptied as well..! Was it you got the setlist from Si?

[splintered thing]

Hee hee, I missed out on the setlist, but did say thanks to Si.
I'll see what I can rustle up on Tues/Thurs next week - I may take you up on the offer of the pick though, Thank you! You were prob right next to me all night, sorry I am a bit shy and never seem to end up saying hi...

[Ozpat]

had the same goatee in Suomelina Finland in the morning of the Helsinki concert this summer (2011)
at the concert it was gone

Thanks again for reviews and setlist.

[Nikolas Vitus Lagartija]

A very positive fan review here : http://jasonnahrung.com/2012/02/24/sist ... land-2012/

[Bartek]

first video: TOL, rugged low tones and mentioned greets and thanks.

[Being645]

first video: TOL, rugged low tones and mentioned greets and thanks.

Looks like a great ending of a wonderful gig ... lovely crowd included ... ... ... Here's also Alice ...

Btw, best wishes and loads of good energies to Chris for his foot ...

[Venus]

And some pix

http://cheeseontoast.co.nz/2012/02/25/s ... -22nd-feb/

[Camy]

had the same goatee in Suomenlinna Finland in the morning of the Helsinki concert this summer (2011)
at the concert it was gone

fixed

[Randall Flagg]

My 10p worth:

Standing mid-room straight-on to the vocal microphone I thought the sound started OK and got a lot better as the gig went on. Von was virtually inaudible - not much more than a mumble - for 'Ribbons' and 'Dr Jeep', but by a few songs in it seemed to improve. Certainly by the second half he was very clear and seemed really into it - pouring meaning into every sentence. I had honestly thought that he might just be going through the motions a bit, but that wasn't the case at all. Like the goatee, very cool. He looks a VERY young 52-yr old.

I strolled down to the front right, in front of Chris for 'Summer' to 'Flood 2', a couple of people back. Sound still excellent in front of the stage. Atmosphere quite subdued down there - a few punters just limply stood there, but a small moshpit started rocking for 'Alice/Anaconda/More'. Von commented how hot it was - like a bloody oven in there, and Chris was looking quite a bit worse for wear. I know he's not been in the finest of health recently and looked like he might've been struggling a bit in the furnace.

Seemed like a good percentage of the crowd didn't know the "new" songs, and maybe only a handful of us recognised 'Gift That Shines' or 'Top Nite Out'? Absolutely stoked to hear 'Teachers/On the Wire' - a standout of the night. Great versions of 'Arms' and 'Crash 'n Burn', but I have to say, I do like the unreleased stuff probably a bit more than most of the released material. And WTF is with 'Temple of Love'? It's a muddy mess. Without the vocals you'd hardly know it. It needs to be much sparser and clearer. Compare to 'Something Fast' that was crystal clear, and then to finish with something that is just a sonic puddle isn't working in my book. Fine, if you want to go out on a big finish - do the encore with 'Lucretia' (superb BTW) 'Top Nite Out', then do the singalong-a version of 'This Corrosion'?

The absolute highlights of the night?' Top Nite Out' was the best bit of pure guitar magic of the evening. 'No Time to Cry' - surprisingly, given that it's a long way down my list of fave TSOM singles, but Von actually sang it like he really meant it injecting real personality to the words - almost like a lullaby, like you could whisper it to a child? I didn't mind the flattening out of the gig in the middle with 'Gift that Shines' and 'Teachers/On the Wire', as it meant you could take a breath and lose yourself in those two songs. Dunno if the rest of the crowd thought the same though - it was like 8 minutes of shoe gazing, waiting for something else they could yell along to...

Overall it was everything I'd expected. I guess in my wildest dreams I'd hoped for something truely amazing. Like, fab reworked versions of songs, some old classics and maybe even some 'actual' "new" songs. In truth, I've been browsing Youtube a bit recently and there doesn't seem to be a whole heap of difference from what is aw last night to concerts from 2006? Even setlists seem eerily similar. However, I am absolutely not grumbling - this was my chance to see TSOM live and they did not disappoint. I guess this is what you get nowadays, and there are plenty of us happy with it. I'd say that the girls are easily on a par with anything else that's out there on the festival-rock circuit at the moment. Not sure if I'd pay to see the same show again - if I thought it would just be more of the same - though.

BTW, i did offer my spare tickets to a couple of people in Galbriaths, but no takers - which is a shame as Chris had put me on the guestlist and we got invited to the "after show party", so someone missed out. I guess everyone who wanted to go and got dressed up already had their tickets though. On a side note - when I lived in Bristol in the early 90s there was a pub called the "Bunch of Grapes" that was colloquially known as "The Bunch of Goths" due the clientelle. Good to see Galbriaths transformed in to the Bunch of Goths for the night!

A few thoughts from Auckland gig.

Firstly, and semi off topic, Galbraith's Ale House! - what a great place for few beers, best pre gig drink ever I think.

Good to meet H.Blackrose who was v excited - as were most people.

Thought the gig had a lacklustre start, sound was very muddied, however it did clear up and what struck me was how strong the mid section of the set list was, particularly around GTS.

Sound was not as good as I recall at the Roundhouse in Nov, but was much better by the end.

I have an issue with the strength of the backing vocals, overwhelming the lead vocals at times, and I think the guitar solo for Something Fast needs a reworking, or a return to the original, but overall a very good gig, which ought to bode well for the Melbourne club gigs.

I've been following the Girls since Leeds & Manchester in 85 - at that time they had a post punk/rock following, lots of black leather jackets etc.

The Auckland gig attracted a good mix of gig goers I'd say, but alos as has been mentioned the usual "dodgy darkling'. No matter what city, what continent, woodwork squeaks........

Flagg

[Surekill 1311]

Well made it to the gig...

Was a little nervous of what we were going to get. But was very happy with the final outcome. Its a live thing so there's going to be a few mistakes... there always are. Its a different kind of animal.

Personally I find Its the raw that makes it that more exciting...

The Sisters came, they saw, they kicked its arse!!!!!
I loved it... Thank you gentlemen I had a blast. Hopefully we'll be seeing you again soon this side of the equator.

I was also lucky enough to get my hands on the setlist. Have got it scanned but having some trouble linking it on here...

Thanks to all who made it happen.

Regards,

Surekill

[Being645]

Top Nite Out ... ...

*thanks for the link to snoopyJ on PD and the original uploader on YouTube

[AdrenochromeNZ]

My Mr had a Chris guitar pick bounce off his head, failed to catch it... we are still talking though so it is all ok.

I have it if you want it!! And another one i picked up as the hall emptied as well..! Was it you got the setlist from Si?

That was me and my missus who Si gave the setlist to. Had a blast. Was her first Sisters gig so was a nice souvineer for her.
Poor old Chris re aggravated his broken foot towards the end of the gig. Spoke to him later and it was really giving him hell. He was on one foot at the end. Good news was he was moving freely on it last night in Sydney so it bodes weol for the rest of the tour.
Oh and with regard to the yellow shirt, it made a brief appearance last night in Sydney and the was removed with a wry smile after a few songs. Well played Mr E, nice to know you're reading. Come back soon please but hopefully I'll see you in Koln.

[bearskin]

Spoke to him later and it was really giving him hell. He was on one foot at the end.

Damn, I just went upstairs and sat around in the bar thinking he'd pop in and I could get him a beer to say thanks - was he down mooching around the stage area? Hopefully he doesn't think I just legged it home straight off.

[AdrenochromeNZ]

No I spoke to him online later on. They were having a laugh out back after they packed up which led to them all taking off in the van. Had a good chat over a beer at Galbraiths beforehand so didnt want to hog them when others might like to say hello.

[bearskin]

Had a good chat over a beer at Galbraiths beforehand so didnt want to hog them when others might like to say hello.

Wasn't Galbraiths just the Bunch of Goths for the evening! lol. Mind you they must get used to it. When I went to see Weller it was all casuals, so I suppose you get what you need...

[iesus]

had the same goatee in Suomenlinna Finland in the morning of the Helsinki concert this summer (2011)
at the concert it was gone

fixed

Yes, that's the correct

[Nikolas Vitus Lagartija]

Very nice review in the NZ Herald here http://www.nzherald.co.nz/volume/news/a ... d=10788598 Favourite line ? "It's called charisma". Good work, Mr Bastard !

[Being645]

Fully seconded!

He doesn't have to - he wrote his own rules decades ago. He has that quality of presence that cannot be learned or faked; it's called charisma.

Wow ... and Yes, Mr Bastard ... this is the right contrast, ... a recognising Bravo and Thank You from here ... ...

And Congrats to The Sisters that they played a concert as such... like a missing link ... ... something called dignity springs to my mind ...

I understand that this had not been possible to evolve over here, or in the States ... we could always only try our dirty best ...

but ... please, don't mesmerise us too deeply when you're back ... ...

[paint it black]

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[Being645]

oh wow, this time with picture ... ...

[13th earl]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eY_tG61oOzk

A Lucretia for you ... I have a few others to go up, but sadly my upload limit is very poor so not the best quality and may take longer than I'd like ..