Heartland

Update from Dylan:

HeuristicsInc wrote: ↑11 May 2023, 15:00 Yeah to the comment by sultan2075, Andrew left for the instrumental and then didn't come back until the end of "On the Beach." The whole thing was pretty weird because in general it looked like he was singing out but we couldn't hear a bit of it most of the time. Hopefully that's not a trend for the rest of the tour. It was nice to see them though.... the last time I tried, the show was cancelled.

I wasn't sure if I was imagining that or not! Honestly, I thought it was pretty damn funny.

That disappearance during Instrumental and On the beach sounds like a smoke break, especially if the venue was strict even about the lead singer's habits so he had to go outside

euphoria wrote: ↑11 May 2023, 15:46 That disappearance during Instrumental and On the beach sounds like a smoke break, especially if the venue was strict even about the lead singer's habits so he had to go outside

It's Montgomery County, MD, so quite likely, yeah.

sultan2075 wrote: ↑11 May 2023, 16:11

euphoria wrote: ↑11 May 2023, 15:46 That disappearance during Instrumental and On the beach sounds like a smoke break, especially if the venue was strict even about the lead singer's habits so he had to go outside

It's Montgomery County, MD, so quite likely, yeah.

Quite interesting with your states and counties often having much bigger differences in smoking laws between them than individual countries here in Europe! Not that any venues allow smoking indoors anymore but for example Virginia on the other side of the river I think is more smoke-liberal.

Sorry for OT..

On-T I have a feeling both Mother Russia and VT are gone for good.

Again: in a studio environment, they could make his current voice work wonderfully with the new songs (which are clearly written with his limited range in mind). Studio vocals would surely sound a lot better than live vocals these days.
Just, you know, putting that out there. Again.

Pista wrote: ↑11 May 2023, 15:14 Hello @HeuristicsInc & welcome to

Thanks! I was a subscriber to an email Sisters list a long time ago (~1993?) but I've been a little out of touch.

OK, having looked at that complete setlist, I think that Here was a definite highlight. I was thinking about how the song that came after I Was Wrong was their best new song, with Ribbons being their other highlight. But really, the new songs all ranged from very good to excellent! And it's a shame that there will likely never be proper recordings of them (as well as Crash and Burn, Summer, etc.), and yes, I know that I am preaching to the choir.

Regarding the comments related to the mix and Andrew's vocals being too low, if I had to bet, I don't think that the mix had much to do with this at all. There were at least three people for whom the microphones worked just fine last night - the opener Blacklist (I thought that they were pretty good) and of course, Ben and Dylan (is that his name?). Also, I might be tempted to think that the mix had something to do with this if I had not witnessed Andrew's vocals get more incoherent with time, between 2003 when I first saw them in Amsterdam and now. I find it hard to believe that his microphone was unintentionally turned down and that the sound engineer didn't notice when the entire venue did. I thought that the mix itself was very good last night, it usually is at this venue. Even the opener had a very good mix, with the bass coming through clearly and yet not boomy, and it captured some nuanced guitars just fine. And Ben's and Dylan's guitars sounded just fantastic to my ears.

I think that what it comes down to is that basically, if you simply whisper into the microphone or not say anything at all (because you caught a cold or for other who-knows-which reasons), then no one is going to hear you. And if you sing, like Ben, or even "talk-sing" like Andrew did on Don't Drive on Ice, then people will hear you just fine. I think that Don't Drive on Ice was an outlier in that he could be heard better on that song. I think that the video of Marian that someone posted in this thread is more indicative of what we were able to hear (or not), especially the second part of the song. I also think that there are parts of songs in which Ben does his best to try to impersonate Andrew's vocal style, so it may sound like Andrew is singing (although most of the time, they sound distinctly different).

Anyway, I am not trying to spoil everyone's fun, I just want to provide my honest assessment of my experience (and I still had a lot of fun, as I noted earlier). Also, let's face it, no one who is reading this will see this and decide to re-sell their tickets, but if I build up some low expectations for you and your baseline of what to expect is lower, you will enjoy it even more! Have fun!

I don't know about anyone else but I don't now go to Sisters shows to hear Andrew singing, although it is obviously a bonus if he sounds "ok".
I go to watch Andrew prowl the stage, to listen to Ben singing, to sing along (badly) to my favourite songs and to have a great time with friends, most of which I have met through Heartland

This may well be the last year I get to see them and I intend to enjoy every second of the shows I'm going to

Being645 wrote: ↑11 May 2023, 11:29Basic SistersWiki page is done here

love the vid of This Corrosion from the rafters, especially loving Von's support for Vic & Bob's Rock n' Rollers around the 2.30 mark

As for the gig, fair play to the DC crowd, obvious issues (for whatever reason) with the sound but clearly still had a good time and showed their appreciation. Imagine if last night had been a Barcelona gig

Notable too that that's a pretty big setlist for a tour gig, no idea what the cause was for the low vocals but if it was throat issues they might wanna lose a few songs. Last year's euro tour had much shorter gigs. Just a thought.

Astoria 2006 something something

Well well, having read all that, I'm still not sure what to think of the sound here. I mean I can hear Von through Ben's vocals and he doesn't sound that different from last year. We know he tends to sing very quietly, and maybe Ben just was too far up in the mix. Guess we'll have to wait for the next one to arrive and see what will happen.

Bonus points for the fixed/f**ked up rant in the beginning (that's what they deserved) and Von randomly speaking German before TC.

doctor_jeep wrote: ↑11 May 2023, 19:35 Well well, having read all that, I'm still not sure what to think of the sound here. I mean I can hear Von through Ben's vocals and he doesn't sound that different from last year. We know he tends to sing very quietly, and maybe Ben just was too far up in the mix. Guess we'll have to wait for the next one to arrive and see what will happen.

Bonus points for the fixed/f**ked up rant in the beginning (that's what they deserved) and Von randomly speaking German before TC.

It wasn’t that random - part of the crowd was chanting in German at him.

Aah, that's interesting. Does MD have a German community to speak of? I was thinking he had forgotten what leg of the tour it was Anyway, nice touch to react to that.

do recent shows all not have the bassline to Lucretia present?

doctor_jeep wrote: ↑11 May 2023, 19:51 Aah, that's interesting. Does MD have a German community to speak of? I was thinking he had forgotten what leg of the tour it was Anyway, nice touch to react to that.

Although there is a place called Germantown in Maryland, there is not a German community to speak of. It has all been watered down by now. The closest that I can come up with are some Amish communities who speak "Pennsylvania German" (or "Pennsylvania Dutch"), but I doubt that they were standing in the front row at the show and conversing with Andrew.

doctor_jeep wrote: ↑11 May 2023, 19:51 Aah, that's interesting. Does MD have a German community to speak of? I was thinking he had forgotten what leg of the tour it was Anyway, nice touch to react to that.

It's a suburb of DC, so lots of well-traveled/multi-lingual folks around. One of the friends I ran into before the show is from Germany, for example.

Alice


Crash and burn:


Ribbons:


I will call you:


More videos are available at that Andy K's youtubechannel. FALAA, Genevieve, Lucretia, On the beach.

I get a little "Spinal tap can't find the stage"-feeling watching On the beach. Von having his cigarette-break and trying to find his way back on stage

Planet Dave wrote: ↑11 May 2023, 18:50
Notable too that that's a pretty big setlist for a tour gig, no idea what the cause was for the low vocals but if it was throat issues they might wanna lose a few songs. Last year's euro tour had much shorter gigs. Just a thought.

I said something similar to Ben on Insta recently. "Yeah, but they're short songs" or something very similar was his answer.

Thanks to all for sharing reports, setlist, pics, vids! Sounding pretty groovy to me, but yes Ben doing some of the heavy lifting for sure. First night of tour, airplane throat & all that… Von maybe holding the voice back a bit for the Vegas festie headliner. Hope they go from strength to strength as per recent outings. (Maybe should have opted for Roundhouse night #2 though, ha!)

Bet the reviews will be an interesting read !

FMAMMY wrote: ↑12 May 2023, 05:42 More videos are available at that Andy K's youtubechannel. FALAA, Genevieve, Lucretia, On the beach.

I get a little "Spinal tap can't find the stage"-feeling watching On the beach. Von having his cigarette-break and trying to find his way back on stage

Oh wow, these are great footage and good sound apart from Von being not exactly loud in the mix at times... ... anyway, I will definitely integrate some of them into the SistersWiki ...

Many thanks for the hint and even more to the uploader Andy K ... ...

sultan2075 wrote: ↑12 May 2023, 01:56

doctor_jeep wrote: ↑11 May 2023, 19:51 Aah, that's interesting. Does MD have a German community to speak of? I was thinking he had forgotten what leg of the tour it was Anyway, nice touch to react to that.

It's a suburb of DC, so lots of well-traveled/multi-lingual folks around. One of the friends I ran into before the show is from Germany, for example.

Having just gone back and watched the video, he is looking directly at the people chanting in German when he speaks before TC.

ruffers wrote: ↑12 May 2023, 08:30

Planet Dave wrote: ↑11 May 2023, 18:50
Notable too that that's a pretty big setlist for a tour gig, no idea what the cause was for the low vocals but if it was throat issues they might wanna lose a few songs. Last year's euro tour had much shorter gigs. Just a thought.

I said something similar to Ben on Insta recently. "Yeah, but they're short songs" or something very similar was his answer.

Ah well yes, fair enough by which logic they can crack on and write another 10 short songs and play for 2 hours, the cnuts

edit : @FMAMMY, cheers for the links, you're in the zone with YT delights Sir, nice one and indeed as Sabine says, many many thanks to the uploader Andy K, who appears to have put most of the show up

On the Beach, Ben sings the whole song (messes up some of the lyrics) Andrew appears at the end looking bemused, frustrated.