Heartland

When was first concert with loads of smoke?
Or was that smoke present in 1st gig.
And what kind of smoke machine in present gigs of TSOM
and who is operating that machine?
and is it "choreographed" during gig?

If I remember it correctly they didn't use the fog in the very early days. It was after a few shows in the States (september 83 I believe) that they got into the smoke thing... From then on it was hard to spot and the boys on stage. Gotta love the smoke

Yeah, there's quite a bit of video evidence around from up to about mid-83 to establish that the first few years were smoke-free zones. Example: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j2N4n5R7k2U

Really weird watching them nowadays.

By the end of 1984, the smoke was already totally stabilished,

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

mh wrote:Yeah, there's quite a bit of video evidence around from up to about mid-83 to establish that the first few years were smoke-free zones. Example: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j2N4n5R7k2U

Really weird watching them nowadays.

I never realised how much an inspiration on Michael Jackson's image Von was until I watched that.

Going off what I have heard someplace, the smoke is the same as in most bands, its worked from the sound/light bit, and at the Spa gig they had two smoke machines, plus an hazer, or the other way around.. Anyhoo, its not set to a sequence or anything, just pressed when its needed. I'm sure someone once said its now in the contract about the smoke, and if not enough, they can pull the gig, not sure if its true, but leaving out the word "the" in the name is bad, so its anyones guess..

circle wrote:By the end of 1984, the smoke was already totally stabilished,

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

... nice dark green lights, though, and good sound ... ...

yeah but, they had a bass player then

true ... and the bass is really good in that vid ...

Well, some decent bass lines were perhaps an improvement - for future new and currently unknown songs ... ... ...

IMHO, still depends on where they wanna go ... ...

to sleep and on tour?

fine for the moment, yeah ... ...

INT: What's the presentation like live with the Sisters of Mercy when they're playing at the concert.

AE: We got into smoke recently. They gave us smoke last time we played in New York and we really got off on it. So we use a lot of smoke these days.

And we had a lighting engineer on the last tour who really knew how to light the stage with smoke and we had a great time wandering around in this fog. It was very effective, it was very very stupid, and very silly, but at the same time it really affected you like smoke is supposed to affect you in that sort of bozo gut-wrenching heavy metal way.

- July 1984

Cross-referencing to the Sisters gigography dates the NYC show at 13 April, 1984, at the Danceteria.

So that could be the first show with the smoke.

Wow.
You really did your homework.
Good job, Copper.

I thought the smioke machine was to hide the drum/bass/guitar/vocal machines now relies on!