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Post-gig, Washington DC

Posted: 06 Nov 2008, 13:49
by shiver
I'm sure someone will post the set list, but here's some *random* thoughts.

Hypernova: way better than their myspace page suggested, kinda sounded like Editors. The last tune was sweet. If you can, get there early enough to see them.

The Girls: my first thought was " thank f**k, the sound is better than Detroit two years ago" - it still wasn't great, but a HUGE improvement. Marian was sounding better (tighter) than on DrG's excellent recording... I guess practice helps!

Ben's widdly-widdly guitar was a bit lower in the mix than in Detroit '06 which made a massive difference - it seemed to work on lot of tunes. Chris is just fan-f**king-tastic.

As for Von. His voice seemed to get stronger as the night went on - the meds must be working.

The only -ves for me were ones that have been there for a while - I can't stand the "new" anaconda and TOL still seems half-arsed.

Von smiled which was strange. The "new" songs are feeling pretty strong and TC was a fun sing-a-long!

I had a great night, especially after the disappointment of two years ago.
Who would've thought that after thinking I'd never get to see them live (I got into them shortly before the RAH gig) that I've now seen them twice - woo hoo!

OK, need to write an exam for the kiddies, enjoy the rest of the tour!

Posted: 06 Nov 2008, 14:40
by shiver
oh, and merchandise...

"kissing and the colours..." t-shirt
"sisters" hoodie
"sisters' beanie
and some badges

Posted: 06 Nov 2008, 16:17
by crash_and_burn
Here are my thoughts:

I have generally been a happy man for the past couple of days, so it's hard for me to give a subjective opinion. My wife and I had an absolute blast, walking like zombies, as all we've been doing is celebrating. :)

The guitar sound was really good, I thought. The highlights were Crash and Burn, Summer, Mother Russia and Vision Thing (in my very subjective opinion). Neverland was awesome as well and deserves its own sentence.

They played Star Spangled Banner in the intro of Lucretia. Andrew also said:"It's a brand new day - you've got your country back." And:"It's time for me to retire this one" referring to Vision Thing. And "what are you going to bitch about for the next four years".

Now, the problems - objectively speaking:

From where we were (second level), we thought that Andrew's voice was way too low in the mix. And, he appeared to have stopped singing at times - Flood 2, chorus of Something Fast. The backing vocals were often much higher in the mix, but who knows, sometimes that's intentional (as in the studio version of Under the Gun).

Andrew has to bring it entirely every day, or otherwise, it's no longer the Sisters. Think about it - the bass is pre-recorded and so are the keyboards. The guitar players didn't write any of the songs (Still maybe?), although I do like their style and chemistry. If Andrew is barely audible at times, then why wouldn't the other two guys just go out on their own? I just hope that it's because of where we were in the venue, and that others could hear him better. This wasn't a problem for the duration of the show, but even my wife, who's not as die-hard of a fan, noticed.

Also, there was some altercation between Andrew and a fan towards the end, during Lucretia, with Andrew telling him to F*&k off instead of singing. He kept getting distracted by him/her.

Overall, as I said earlier, we had a blast, singing and dancing, and I would certainly go and see them again. This was much better than before.

Cheers.

Posted: 06 Nov 2008, 16:40
by shiver
I'd agree with c_and_b, Von vocals were low in the mix... we were dead center about 7 rows from the front. I thought the backing vocals were mixed fine...

I think the guy who was told to f**k off had too much falling down juice and acted accordingly!

Neverland was fantastic... nuff said.

Posted: 06 Nov 2008, 16:44
by shiver
I forgot to add....
the turn out was pretty disappointing, the venue holds about 1200 I think and, when sold out, it's shoulder to shoulder stuff. For the girls this was nowhere near the case.

Posted: 06 Nov 2008, 16:53
by Rat_Bastard
shiver wrote:I forgot to add....
the turn out was pretty disappointing, the venue holds about 1200 I think and, when sold out, it's shoulder to shoulder stuff. For the girls this was nowhere near the case.
Hopefully, this just means that the majority of DCers are waiting for the weekend, so that they can come to the Richmond show. ;D

Posted: 06 Nov 2008, 18:50
by bismarck
Setlist?

Posted: 06 Nov 2008, 19:14
by crash_and_burn
I believe that it was the same as in New Haven:

http://www.myheartland.co.uk/viewtopic. ... 0&start=50

(I couldn't copy and paste it easily ;))

Someone correct me if I am wrong.

Posted: 06 Nov 2008, 20:33
by The Drowning Season
Nope, you're 100% right on, same set list (I wrote it down as they went along).

All in all a fantastic night and WAY better than 2 years ago, both soncially and just the general feel of things.

Posted: 06 Nov 2008, 21:43
by Petseri
Brief comments about the Washington gig, in no particular order. They are just thoughts which come to mind as I go.

1. As an opening act, Hypernova kicks. Plenty of guitars and drums and a deep voice. Fairly fast. Certainly a good atmosphere builder. The Warlocks from the last tour were fine, but I think that this bunch are tighter. I am glad that opening acts are getting better. Tube for example was a let down. Think about Mutation also did not enhance the evening. Bravo for better selections lately.

2. The 9:30 Club appears to keep its old tradition of getting midweek shows started at, you guessed it, 9:30. By 11, the place was emptying, much earlier than I expected, but getting some more sleep was nice.

3. Weather, you ask? Overcast, about 10 C (low 50s), and light rain by the end of the gig. None of that matters, as we were all indoors.

4. Heartlanders who were recognized were Eva :notworthy: , Eggi :notworthy: , and I. From the reviews thus far, obviously others showed.

5. If anyone lost a drivers license, please see the staff. That make two consecutive gigs where someone lost that. Fortunately I found this one, so someone's evening was not ruined.

6. A highlight was when Andrew and Chris embraced one another.

7. On a related note, as it happened about the time of the hug,, if Andrew is going to offer the stage to Ben and Chris during Snub Nose, stay out of the way of Chris prancing about the stage. :lol:

8. The stage itself is only about a meter high. On top of that, the security barrier between the stage and the audience is less than half that. Close enough to keep drinks or jackets next to the monitors.

9. The mood was generally good, although there was less banter than expected for a post-election gig. It did pick up during the second half, with the aforementioned comments about reclaiming the country. A nice touch was that Andrew actually introduced Ben and Chris this time. The interaction between Ben and Chris appears regularly, but it was nice to see Andrew getting in on the act as well. It makes it seem like a band.

10. If you thought that they were having fun in New York, you would have thought that even more so here. They generally look like that enjoyed being on stage together.

11. Yes, Andrew smiled when he bowed prior to leaving the stage before the first interlude.

12. Andrew's voice seemed too low in the mix, but it was similar to the mix in New York. He did disappear into the fog to blow his nose at least once (after Marian, I think -- how is that for minutia?). Surely someone in the audience would have loved it had he thrown the used tissue in the opposite direction instead of toward the equipment in the back. I think that he cleared his nose at another time or two, but I really was not that interested in his nasal congestion. At any rate, his voice may be feeling the affects of touring for a week, or he may have caught a slight cold. I really did not think that I would write so much about his nose.

13. He did get out a few howls (again, later in the show) which seemed more common a few years back, during Adam's tenure. They helped elevate the crowd, as they shined through the mix much better than his usual tone.

14. At other times, there were rumblings of "turn it up" or the like.

15. Sadly, there were periods of audience conversations at times during the gig. Had the vocal mix been louder, my gut feeling is that these rumblings would have been reduced.

16. Does Andrew appear to me mouthing things or having lip quivers more than in the past? I just do not recall that from previous tours. I do not mean lip-synching, in case anyone wants to chase that bus, but rather lip movements while not singing. It was not the entire time, either, perhaps mainly during slower tracks.

17. A quote (perhaps paraphrased), "I have not been able to see the keyboard player yet."

18. To be fair, Nurse was nowhere to be seen from where I was.

19. Even worse was "Where is the drummer?" Fortunately someone with this person (I think that it was the same guy with both comments) filled him in on the details.

20. The size of the crowd was fairly sparse during Hypernova, but it did fill up when the Sisters started. As others have noted, it did not look sold out, but it was much better than expected after getting the intimate performance from the opening act.

21. Much black (mainly from leather and t-shirts) in the audience, but not too many darklings. A few scattered about, but more bald heads than huge inflammable mops. I am referring to the audience here.

22. Eldritch tended to head to the right side of the stage more. Perhaps he needed to see some familiar faces, eh Eva?

23. I ran into Chris outside the venue prior to the gig. I just said "hi, Chris", which took him off guard. He took it in stride, though. Really, he is fairly recognizable. If I see him in Richmond I will say "Wow! Robochrist unmasked here in Richmond!" and see what reaction that gets. ;D

24. The setlist appears to be the same as in New York, although I do not have them in front of me. A mix from all albums (heavily from Floodland) and a handful of unreleased one included.

25. Marian does not have the feel of the album track, which is no surprise, but Ben and Chris have put a good stamp on it. It seems higher pitched. It almost sounds as though it could fit in a suspense/horror film. That sounds worse than I meant it. The song does work with the revision.

26. It was the short version of Temple of Love.

27. Chris spilled his beer a bit. Better than the guitarist from Hypernova who spat water on the audience.

28. No Logic, which is a shame. Previously that song played fifth or so in the setlist always worked to get Eldritch up. Any initial fine tuning or jitters evaporated in the song as it build up.

29. No unexpected covers, which is a good thing in my book.

30. The lightshow seemed better than in New York (sorry for so many comparisons to New York, but that is my current reference point). The strobes of Ribbons, as well as the color scheme of "cobalt red...", and the changes in Summer were up to speed. I remember more lights previously, but the current setup works well.

31. At the end, Chris flung his pick for a souvenir -- straight at Ben, who was completely unaware of it.

32. The biggest karaoke moments came during tracks from Floodland. This Corrosion, Lucretia, and Dominion got the most.

33. One other notable shout-along came in Something Fast. Anyone needing a geography lesson, please ask James how lose Baltimore is to Washington. ;D

34. The final half hour did get a bit of a pit going. It was behind me, so I have no idea how big, but the occasional squash at the front lapped in.

35. Similarly I am not sure how active people were behind me, but there did seem to be some bouncing about from my peripheral vision. The bunch in front of Andrew was active. Each song got a fair among of appreciation through applause and cheers.

36. Was the "f**k off" banter directed at someone in the pit? I could not tell what prompted it or to whom it was directed. It did not detract from the evening, though.

37. Ben ventured to the center during Snub Nose. Other than that he was mainly on his side, either all the way to the edge of the stage, or lingering back in the fog. Chris basically stayed on his side of the stage, although rarely staying still. He did interact with the croud at times. Andrew did go to the side during Snub Nose, but remained on stage watching the audience. He even took the mic near the end (when Chris banged into him), but no lyrics have been added.

38. The national anthem played was just the opening portion, not the entire hymn. There was no replay of Hendrix. This came at the start of the second (of two) encore.

39. I also am not convinced that starting with an unreleased track like Crash and Burn is wise. Keep the excitement high as something more recognizable gets things under way. First and Last and Always worked well in the past. Why have a bunch of people wonder what an opening song?

40. I am astounded that Eva can attend so many gigs and not use ear plugs. :eek:

41. I am not sure how roller derby ties in to a Sisters concert, but that was what was on a flyer handed outside the venue.

42. Some Sistersposters for the concert were hung inside the hall, but hot very firmly. :wink:

Overall, a very enjoyable show without many glitches. They were in good form and the audience was appreciative. Maybe not one of the all-time classic gigs, but clearly an evening well spent. I would go see them again. Maybe even within two days. ;D

Posted: 06 Nov 2008, 22:04
by Eva
There's not much I can add... I enjoyed the show a lot, hated the chattering, and I love Washington. Such a friendly city!!!

Posted: 06 Nov 2008, 22:10
by 6FeetOver
Petseri wrote:Better than the guitarist from Hypernova who spat water on the audience.
He must've liked the New Haven crowd better, then - he only splashed it on us... ;)

(I was going to fling some of my good ol' Newkie Brown back at him, but - wisely - drank it, instead. :lol:)

Posted: 06 Nov 2008, 22:21
by EvilBastard
Petseri wrote:19. Even worse was "Where is the drummer?" Fortunately someone with this person (I think that it was the same guy with both comments) filled him in on the details.
I recall a close relative of yours asking a similar question on Monday night - you didn't brief her very well, it seems :lol:

Posted: 06 Nov 2008, 22:24
by Petseri
EvilBastard wrote:
Petseri wrote:19. Even worse was "Where is the drummer?" Fortunately someone with this person (I think that it was the same guy with both comments) filled him in on the details.
I recall a close relative of yours asking a similar question on Monday night - you didn't brief her very well, it seems :lol:
She is family. We are there to make one another look stupid. :lol:

Posted: 06 Nov 2008, 22:28
by EvilBastard
Petseri wrote:
EvilBastard wrote:
Petseri wrote:19. Even worse was "Where is the drummer?" Fortunately someone with this person (I think that it was the same guy with both comments) filled him in on the details.
I recall a close relative of yours asking a similar question on Monday night - you didn't brief her very well, it seems :lol:
She is family.
We are there to make one another look stupid. :lol:
I'm going to have to remember that one - BigSister and I have the same effect on each other. :lol:

Posted: 06 Nov 2008, 23:21
by James Blast
Petseri wrote:a whole bunch of stuff
Overall, a very enjoyable post without too many glitches. He was in good form and I am appreciative. Maybe not one of his all-time classic posts, but clearly a post spellchecked. I would read one of his again. Maybe even within two days. :lol: :notworthy:

Posted: 06 Nov 2008, 23:24
by 6FeetOver
Heeheehee. Nice one, Mistah Blast. ;)

Posted: 06 Nov 2008, 23:58
by Bartek
James Blast wrote:
Petseri wrote:a whole bunch of stuff
Overall, a very enjoyable post without too many glitches. He was in good form and I am appreciative. Maybe not one of his all-time classic posts, but clearly a post spellchecked. I would read one of his again. Maybe even within two days. :lol: :notworthy:
not true you're cheating Petseri wrote only:
Petseri wrote:the gig in Washington:been there, The Sisters of Mercy played concert.

Posted: 07 Nov 2008, 00:14
by Silver_Owl
Bartek wrote:
James Blast wrote:
Petseri wrote:a whole bunch of stuff
Overall, a very enjoyable post without too many glitches. He was in good form and I am appreciative. Maybe not one of his all-time classic posts, but clearly a post spellchecked. I would read one of his again. Maybe even within two days. :lol: :notworthy:
not true you're cheating Petseri wrote only:
Petseri wrote:the gig in Washington:been there, The Sisters of Mercy played concert.
..and they haven't got a drummer apparently. :|

Posted: 07 Nov 2008, 00:31
by Petseri
James Blast wrote:
Petseri wrote:a whole bunch of stuff
Overall, a very enjoyable post without too many glitches. He was in good form and I am appreciative. Maybe not one of his all-time classic posts, but clearly a post spellchecked. I would read one of his again. Maybe even within two days. :lol: :notworthy:
:notworthy: :notworthy:

Despite writing one of my longest posts, I indeed spellchecked it. How nice of you to notice. ;D Too bad I just notices disagreement between a subject and verb. :oops: They at least were spelled correctly.

Posted: 07 Nov 2008, 00:44
by euphoria
Thank you for this very good review :notworthy:

The bit about the nose was wonderful :lol:

Washington...

Posted: 07 Nov 2008, 00:52
by DrG
Thanks for the rather thorough review Petseri...
and clearly spellchecked as MrBlast remarked. :lol:

So did half of Europe's Sisters fans come to the U.S. or what!?! :!:

Forgive me , but I am still unsure where some of you hail from:
Petseri, Eggi?

If I had won the lotto and quit my job... I would be with you all now! 8)

I am glad that the dust has been blown out and the gears are now
well-oiled. They crank it out better than ever IMO!
Chris and Ben are great! The band is gonzoid insane! :wink:

Some of us here in the U.S. are indeed very happy to get our country
back! Go Obama! :notworthy: :notworthy: :notworthy: :notworthy: :notworthy:

I hope some of this gig and the New Haven show got recorded...
I want to hear the star-spangled banter of :von:! ;D

Posted: 07 Nov 2008, 01:13
by Eva
@DrG: Petseri is more-or-less local. Eggi is originally from Berlin (Germany) but was forced to move to Zurich (Switzerland), which is my fault. We two were the only ones I know who came over from Europe for the tour start. *Ahem* having a halfway decent job in Switzerland allows you such things... :oops: ;D

Re: Washington...

Posted: 07 Nov 2008, 05:08
by Petseri
DrG wrote:Forgive me , but I am still unsure where some of you hail from:
Petseri, Eggi?
Petseri is the capital of Setumaa, traditionally in southeastern Estonia. Surely you knew that already. ;D

Home tends to be where I am or at least where I am heading. Currently I live within spitting distance of Washington.

Petseri...

Posted: 07 Nov 2008, 05:21
by DrG
Word. ;D