Heartland

From A to F, from 0 to 10, whatever you like.
Now that the tour's over, how does it measure up to previous tours ?
What was your best - and worst - personal moment ?
Blah, blah, blah...

Best Moment: The introduction of Still
Worst Moment: The introduction of Still two gigs after I saw them

Can't win, can you Andrew?

I find it difficult to rate this (or any) tour on a scale. All I know is that I had a great time, met lots of nice people and I loved most of the gigs - even those with sound problems etc. I haven't toured as extensively as this before, so it's difficult to compare with others. I preferred this tour to 2003, but I think 2005 had a better overall sound than this tour, however Ben has brought a lot into songs such as Flood I and Doctor Jeep sounds a lot better than before.

Best moments for me were the shows where there was a real buzz between the band and the crowd, such as Albuquerque, Austin, Mexico City, Anaheim (surprisingly stunning show), Madrid (I made the mistake of missing that one but I've been told it was a cracker), Paris, Hamburg, both Brussels dates, Barcelona's 2nd date... and others I can't recall offhand. As Eva has pointed out, a lively crowd makes all the difference to a gig - it gives the band a kick and usually makes for a great gig. Worst moments - a couple of missed flights, a handful of unsavoury individuals who try their utmost to spoil the gig for others standing next to or in front of them. Well sorry but it didn't work.

It's my first post in a while, so apologies for my lack of reviews or recent input. This has been partly due to developing a nasty eye infection that has prevented me fron reading or using my computer for several days. But it's clearing up now so I've run out of excuses. And my weed backlog shall be cleared soon!

Badlander wrote:From A to F, from 0 to 10, whatever you like.
Now that the tour's over, how does it measure up to previous tours ?
What was your best - and worst - personal moment ?
Blah, blah, blah...

Saw them twice on this tour, Leeds & Glasgow and loved both nights , it made up for one of the worst nights of my life, the Sisters gig in the Glasgow Barrowlands 2003:evil: , I wish I went to more gigs on this tour, hats off to Andrew & Eva for doing as many nights , I'll give it an 8/10, mostly for the company .

Keith

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

everywhere you looked, read, turned there were people who have been fans of the sisters for years saying that they were fed up with what the sisters were doing these days

most people go to gigs for two reasons - to see and hear a band. on this tour more than any others there were so many complaints that you could neither see nor hear them...

for us its a bit different isnt it? lets face it, a lot of what we get out of a gig is the social "meet up" factor. it certainly is for me anyway! we create our own atmosphere

but for the rest of the audience...?



i fear for the next couple of years (& tours)

unless von pulls something special (ie: recorded output) out of his hat, half the people that were pissed off this timne won't go see them again.

the giddyness and "oooh, a new song!" thing that happens might work for us lot on HL, but for the other people that went to see them yet again this time around, with no new output for them to latch on to, the vibe i got everywhere was that was wearing thin...



personally, i loved it (apart from the astoria) and chris & ben make a finer, more "personal" racket than "the sisters" have done for years... the silver bullet dates were the best i've been to so far.

Nice topic Eric...

I give it an 8 out of 10 as well.
Sound, voice, audience, show.....no complaints here. Though I do regret not to have heard Still.

My best personal moments were meeting and getting to know some
HL-ers better. Spending time with them (you know who you are). Having a chat with Chris and Ben in Cologne with Ben giving me an autographed setlist (including Andrew's signature ).
Both gigs I went to were different but great. I loved the athmosphere in Paris. Being it the first time they performed there. While Cologne was more intimate. Both were great, almost perfect days out.
Also great is that my girlfriend joined me to Cologne and had a great time as a non-Sisters fan.
I prefer Ben and Chris to other guitarist combinations like mr. Starling and Mr. Whammy. These boys do rock!

Like Keith I regret that I was not able to attend more gigs. I would have loved to attend Amsterdam, Brussels, Luxemburg, Leeds, Glasgow and Barcelona (the second gig ofcourse ).

I f*cking love this band and are looking forward to other gigs to attend.

Next one!

Ummm, I didn't get to see them at all, but what came across as an outsider looking in indicated that things are looking a lot more positive and healthy for them than they have done for years. There was a definite slump for a while back there, everything seemed reminiscent of the atmosphere in '85 where things were falling apart, everyone knew it, and there was no way of stopping.

The best thing was the Sao Paulo photos - they actually look like a band again. Adam Pearson's departure can only be a good thing. I always found the amount of control he exercised to be pretty damn odd, particularly as Von has never been known for democracy.

Not wanting to speak too soon, but there is the kinda good vibe about the Sisters in 2006 that there hasn't been in a long long time.

All in all it was a very exciting time.
I just loved the Paris gig, meeting the HL crew and the feeling of being part of history in the making - even if on a small scale. Meeting HLers is always great fun.
Ben and Chris are killers, I love the energy they bring to the band, I love the new sound, Ben's solos, Chris' showmanship... And they're just top people. Best guitar combo they've had for... ever ?
What I quite didn't like about this tour was the lack of variation in the set lists once they hit Europe. They dropped 6 or 7 songs, and it would've been nice to hear FALAA, Burn, Come together, On the wire, War on drugs, Vision thing... just a bit more often.
And no cover.
One last thing : Von actually looked like he was having a good time.
Now let's see what the future holds...

I made it to 20 gigs on this tour (including 4 of the US dates). I enjoyed it alot more than Smoke & Mirrors, which seemed like one long and tiresome German train journey...
I came away from the Las Vegas gig pretty disappointed though, but from then on the tour generally got better, although the London show was a definite stinker.
Highlights? Pheonix (the best of the US dates I went to) Thessaloniki, Madrid, Paris, Hambug.
Regrets? None at all, although I wish I'd gone to Glasgow to witness (or take part in?) the James Ray incident!

Scardwel wrote:Regrets? None at all, although I wish I'd gone to Glasgow to witness (or take part in?) the James Ray incident!

Incident? Oh do tell.....

I went to 5 dates (Athens,Lisbon,Madrid,Barcelona first night and Bilbao)

and except Barcelona every show was superb, the best one: Madrid in my opinion, different set list,good sound and very live audience(and it´s my city of course) and I can say that the expectation was really little(the people didn´t like the other show in Madrid in the year 2000) but this time a lot of people shut the f**k up

hightlights???
met ben in athens and a lot of heartlanders, the great venue in Lisbon and the Birthday gig in Bilbao although threre weren´t so much people, it was in a great venue and whit great sound..(and they played Still in Bilbao.YES!)

worst Barcelonna(first night)

my rate: 8.5

Managed just three on this round (New York, Thessaloniki, Nottingham). I agree with Quiffy really, I really enjoy myself at any Sissies gig, but mainly because I get to see people, get drunk in strange countries, and have a bounce. I still think they're a great band, and I like all the post VT material, but the sound for the last few years has been f**king atrocious. Frankly I don't care if it's something to do with the DAT/Dok, it's unprofessional sounding and shoddy (take some of the cash from this tour, and spend it on kit, please!)... Performance wise, I think they’re still up there when the audience gets them and joins in, that's less and less regular these days, but hey, it's not the Sissies fault that most people are tossers

I'm not sure they should keep on touring without a major technical re-think, and the occasional MP3 (or 12", I'm dreaming there) to keep the casual fan abreast of the "new" songs. But, if they do, I'll still turn up when I can afford it, heckle, bounce, demand Motorhead tunes and buy a t-shirt.

Originally only planned London & Paris and ended up seeing 6 (A'dam, Leeds, Norwich & Notts) so I guess that says something about the new line-up cos in '03 I was ditching gigs and didn't even bother in '05...
Regardless of the sound, & London was the only gig where it was particularly noticeable, the performances were way better than they have been for a long while so it's a big thumbs up from me. Everything also sounds a lot fresher than we're used to - mostly down to Ben & Chris.
And June is yet to come
Add the bonus of catching up with loads of people that I hadn't seen for far too long and meeting loads of friendly new faces, I have no complaints about the tour.

(best gig would be a toss up between Paris & A'dam)

Hamburg: 9
Malmö: 4
Gothenburg: 7
Copenhagen: 7

= 6.75

The best part was meeting all friends along the way, and the partys with them. And of course meeting Ben and Chris made it all worth it.

RobF wrote:I still think they're a great band, and I like all the post VT material, but the sound for the last few years has been f**king atrocious.

The sound in Paris wasn't fantastic (there could have been more guitar), but it wasn't problematic either. And in Luxembourg it was excellent.

Overall? Don't know.

Probably best I refrain from commment actually as I was only at the Astoria

Having said that I had the Brussels weed on this morning and it sounded lik a top gig. Even if they were all like that though there needs to be some kind of progress as Quiffboy alluded to. I know Von doesn't want to be a nostalgia act, but even though half the songs haven't be released he could still turn into one.

I have only seen two shows on this tour:
Madrid, & Barcelona show 1.

Im my opinion the biggest problems on this tour were
(1) getting a very very new guitarist so close to
a major tour. it takes time to bring your own sound
to an established band, and I think Ben barely
managed to do that.
(2) playing very very short sets. people expect more
from a 25th anniversary tour in my opinion.
(3) no exciting covers; nothing particularly new for
established recent gig goers. disappointing.

overall: 6 /10. Good enough. but only just.

Tour? Only did Leeds and would give it an 8/10.

Best moment? Ania

Worst moment? £20-odd for the ticket

Ocean Moves wrote: (2) playing very very short sets. people expect more
from a 25th anniversary tour in my opinion.

It was ever thus.

Accordin to this site :
- 1984 gigs : Average songs per concert: 10,44
- Black October : Average songs per concert: 15,47
- Tune In Turn On Burn Out : Average songs per concert: 15,65
- Armageddon : Average songs per concert: 14,22

True none of these were anniversary tours. But they made history.
The Girsl have never played 3h concerts à la Bruce Springsteen, not even close.

I concur with Quiff Boy & Ruffers on their comments.

I was only able to be at the Astoria this time round too ~ i think my best moment was my longsleeved tour tee! And the worst moment was when the crowd was shouting to have the volume turned up ~ that was cringeworthily embarrassing, i can't explain just how much i hated feeling embarrassed for one of the finest bands on Planet Earth, that just shouldn't happen.

Next time round, i just hope for a longer, louder show, with more chit chat from Von. Just another 10mins of FALAA material, maybe in an encore, would sweeten it considerably.

I DO like this line-up though. The guitar boys have lots of energy. But if there were a studio recording, ever, i personally feel a couple of atmospheric "epics" are required with strings/keyboards and that Floodland-era sonic boom ~ us fans could do with a nice big booming new anthem to sing along to, something as massive as Dominion! (i can dream)

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

everywhere you looked, read, turned there were people who have been fans of the sisters for years saying that they were fed up with what the sisters were doing these days

most people go to gigs for two reasons - to see and hear a band. on this tour more than any others there were so many complaints that you could neither see nor hear them..."

Couldn't agree with you more sir, sadly I fear after many years of devotion and tours that was my last, same with an awful lot of Sisters fans I know.

Notts was better than London; and Bristol was better than both of them.
But being two rows down the front in Bristol and Von not bothering to sing is taking the p***. A colleague heckled Von for mumbling, at which Von replied "I can't hear myself either". Silver Bullet will sadly be remembered as having the worst sound quality at any gig I've been to.

Quiff:
"i fear for the next couple of years (& tours) unless von pulls something special (ie: recorded output) out of his hat, half the people that were pissed off this timne won't go see them again."

I know Von will never release anything, its naive to believe so. He wants his million dollar advance and the industry isn't willing to do that in this climate. He won't write his lyrics in the same way again as he feels that younger audiences don't pick up on the subtle sub texts he's so famous for writing, it was all mentioned in UTR eons ago.

I saw New Model Army in Cardiff last Friday, they were absolutely fan-f**king-tastic. There was no dry ice, the mix was absolutely superb and they played for 1 hour and forty plus minutes. We were treated to material from all periods. Needless to say I'll see them again on this tour.

Saturday I saw Led Zep tribute 'Whole Lotta Led' and they played for two and a half hours, total full on rock, again with awsome sound mix.
Mrs Glosgoth and I concluded that with two fantastic gigs last weekend and both being wildy different it's a shame the Sisters have plumetted so low.

Things have gotten that bad I going to sell of my collection of Sisters t-shirts and posters. Any takers?

GlosGoth wrote:I saw New Model Army in Cardiff last Friday, they were absolutely fan-f**king-tastic. There was no dry ice, the mix was absolutely superb and they played for 1 hour and forty plus minutes. We were treated to material from all periods. Needless to say I'll see them again on this tour.

yep, i must admit that i went to see killing joke the day after the manchester sisters gig and was left with the same "ahh, so that's how you do it" feeling...

jaz engaged with the crowd, you could see them, boy could you hear them , and they play songs from all eras (apart from "love like blood" thank f**k)

Quiff Boy wrote:

GlosGoth wrote:I saw New Model Army in Cardiff last Friday, they were absolutely fan-f**king-tastic. There was no dry ice, the mix was absolutely superb and they played for 1 hour and forty plus minutes. We were treated to material from all periods. Needless to say I'll see them again on this tour.

yep, i must admit that i went to see killing joke the day after the manchester sisters gig and was left with the same "ahh, so that's how you do it" feeling...

jaz engaged with the crowd, you could see them, boy could you hear them , and they play songs from all eras (apart from "love like blood" thank f**k)

yup, i saw KJ at London Koko (Camden Palace) on 4th May 2 days after the Sissies & by gad, what a tonic it was!

GlosGoth ~ have PMed you aboot tees

hellboy69 wrote:

Quiff Boy wrote:

GlosGoth wrote:I saw New Model Army in Cardiff last Friday, they were absolutely fan-f**king-tastic. There was no dry ice, the mix was absolutely superb and they played for 1 hour and forty plus minutes. We were treated to material from all periods. Needless to say I'll see them again on this tour.

yep, i must admit that i went to see killing joke the day after the manchester sisters gig and was left with the same "ahh, so that's how you do it" feeling...

jaz engaged with the crowd, you could see them, boy could you hear them , and they play songs from all eras (apart from "love like blood" thank f**k)

yup, i saw KJ at London Koko (Camden Palace) on 4th May 2 days after the Sissies & by gad, what a tonic it was!

GlosGoth ~ have PMed you aboot tees

my ears finally stopped ringing about 4 days ago

The best tour. Ever.