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Valve 1736 posts |
Apr 08, 2008, 15:10
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I’ve always thought of Wire as a Watford band, didn’t they form at Watford Art School - Is that what you meant? I saw them play Harrow Tech and Brunel Uni. They could do a big show at Destiny - Maybe not.
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bubblehead2 2167 posts |
Edited Apr 08, 2008, 15:47
Apr 08, 2008, 15:42
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Yes, i was referring to their Art School days where i think Colin was taught by Brian Eno's old lecturer ( could be wrong though ! ) and Bruce an AV technician. IIRC they were called Overload back then. The name changed around the time Graham Lewis ( who went to Hornsey College Of Art ) joined. I'm sure Keith or Gnomon will correct any errors! I don't recall any gigs by Wire in Watford at that time though.
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Glam Descendant 1539 posts |
Apr 10, 2008, 06:37
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I didn't know Gilbert quit -- what's the story there?
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keith a 9574 posts |
Apr 10, 2008, 08:20
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This is from Mojo, April 2006, Page 57: ---- Wire, meanwhile, is "on an extended lunchbreak", says Colin Newman. "Inactive," says Graham Lewis. In 2005, Bruce Gilbert, 60 this year, let it be known that he'd left the band. Wire's manager Paul Smith insists that there remain four members on the company payroll. But, as Newman observes, "Another of Bruce's great announcements - that he's made at various times in the past - is you're not allowed to leave." ---- The rumour is that BG didn't want to play the guitar anymore. It appears that the rest of the band thought that he'd come back after a break, in some role or other. When it became apparent that he wasn't going to, the rest of the band decided to carry on without him.
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keith a 9574 posts |
May 06, 2008, 13:56
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Taking my constant nipping over the Welsh border into England out of the equation, I’ve never travelled ‘abroad’ to a gig before, but if any band is worth doing this for it’s Wire. And as it meant I was going to finally get to meet my long-time email buddy Glenn and his lovely family, it seemed too good a trip to turn down. This was obviously also a gig of some significance in the history of Wire – not only was it their first date for four years (not for the first time in the bands history it had long since started to look like it was all over!), it was also the first with a different line-up with Bruce Gilbert having left and being replaced by Margaret Fiedler McGinnis, formerly of Laika and PJ Harvey’s live line-up. It was perhaps inevitable therefore that this date (in a small and intimate venue in a picturesque Belgian city), should take a while to get going – literally at first with Robert having forgotten something or another and nipping off-stage before they’d even started. Still, as Graham Lewis pointed out in response to a ‘Come on’ from a member of the audience, ‘You’ve waited thirty years, you can wait thirty more seconds’. They opened with a new number from the forthcoming Object 47 LP, which showed the band going off in a more melodic direction than the Send-era material. Our Time followed, although surprisingly this was (if I remember correctly!) the only number they played from the excellent recent Read & Burn 3 ep. As you would probably expect from Wire, much of the set was made up of new material, most of which sounded promising as opposed to mind-blowing on first listen although I certainly know better than to write this material off. One new number featured Graham on lead vocals and featured a chorus that was (bizarrely!) reminiscent of Julian Cope, whilst another saw Colin and Graham on duel vocals for the chorus. There was also the odd oldie like Mr Marx’s Table (which was played early on and didn’t quite ignite for me) and Comet, whilst Being Sucked In Again also made a somewhat unexpected appearance. The gig really kicked in though with a couple of back to back Read & Burn 1 and 2 tracks, with Graham excelling on a ‘he means it maaan’ version of Agfers Of Kodack followed by a great version of I Don’t Understand, which with its classic Wire guitar inter-changes and Bolan-like swagger, has always been a favourite of mine. It was all over too soon although we did get treated to not one, not two, but THREE encores starting with a rare live showing of a Mk II Mute era track Boiling Boy (undoubtedly one of their finest moments from that under-rated period IMO). It was a nice, almost subdued version which kicked on nicely about halfway through when Graham suddenly injected a bit more oomph to proceedings. This was followed by the poptastic The 15th and a lightning fast 12XU. The other encores featured Pink Flag, 106 Beats That and a great version of the classic Lowdown. They then left the stage with Graham leaving his amp on and creating some horrible mindf**k of a noise on constant loop. So was it a vintage show? No, being perfectly honest it wasn’t. Was it good to have them back? Yes, it certainly was - I certainly enjoyed seeing the metronomic Robert Gotobed drumming away, eyes closed, again! - and Margaret was most impressive chugging away on guitar. I think that with a few more dates behind them to iron a few glitches, they could soon be back to their best.
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keith a 9574 posts |
May 06, 2008, 14:06
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Got there early, and heard a quick snatch of the soundcheck as I went to collect my tickets. I then made my way to the nearby Contact Theatre for 'Wire In Converation', an interview with John Robb which veered from the interesting to the cringe-worthy. Robb was clearly determined to talk about Pink Flag and very little else, and Graham didn't exactly agree with all his views. Graham and Colin talked quite a lot. Robert answered one, but was clearly uneasy. I really don't think Robb made a very good job of the interview TBH. As for the gig...Pretty much the same set as Leuven the other night. The sound on the opening new number (Circumspect?) was pretty dire, for those of us down the front at least, and had me fearing the worst. The situation was quickly remedied though and the second number Our Time was much better. And by Mr Marx's Table - which hadn't really done it for me the other night - they were away. Great version tonight! Unlike the other night when they had ended with a new number IIRC, they ended tonight with an absolute barnstorming version of I Don't Understand. Same encores as Leuven - Boiling Boy / The 15th / 12XU followed by Lowdown / 106. and ending with a pretty awesome rendition of Pink Flag, with Graham continuing yelling after it finished. The new material is already starting to register, and Margaret has settled in well. Indeed I thought the band seemed tighter tonight all-round, which is obviously understandable after a few nights gigging. It may be my imagination but Graham seemed to be enjoying it more tonight, too. My mates enjoyed it, too. One's not into Wire, so I wasn't sure if he would, whilst my other mate (who was a big fan of the old stuff but didn't get Send), really enjoyed the new one which features Colin & Graham on joint vocs on the chorus (very catchy it is too - it's lodged in my mind already). He also thought Agfers sounded 'Krautrock', and I guess it did. And that's about it other than to inform the more fashion conscious amongst you that Graham wore a very nice black woolly hat with a white star on it! ; )
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bubblehead2 2167 posts |
May 06, 2008, 14:40
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Thanks for the reviews, despite my envy they're much appreciated !!! Great to hear that they're concentrating on newish material ( Agfers of Kodack, woohoo ) with the odd crowd pleaser towards the end. Er, not that i'd have expected a greatest hits set anyway. Sounds like things are warming up nicely for the upcoming dates so c'mon guys add London to the list pronto ! Had to laugh though when you mentioned Graham disagreed with some of the things John Robb said, that's just so out of character ;-)
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keith a 9574 posts |
May 06, 2008, 16:20
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bubblehead2 wrote: Had to laugh though when you mentioned Graham disagreed with some of the things John Robb said, that's just so out of character ;-) Yes, there was some rolling of the eyes!
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Gnomon 1121 posts |
May 07, 2008, 12:25
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Cheers for the reviews Keith. I thought they were pretty damn awesome on Saturday night. Loved every second of it. Colin's sardonic repost of "Don't do requests; never have." sounded almost Rottenesque! They are an absolutely phenomenal band. Brilliant. Even without the back catalogue of the first three albums, their new(er) [some of it is a few years old now and can be looked on as 'old favourites' ie. Agfers, Comet, etc.] material stands out from just about everything else nowadays. :o)
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keith a 9574 posts |
May 08, 2008, 08:55
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Here’s some pics of the recent Leuven and Manchester gigs. Apologies for the Leuven ones being dark, but hey…it really wasn’t that bright in there! (Wouldn’t normally include the last one of Graham with it being so dark it’s more of a silhouette, but I kinda like it!) Leuven http://www.flickr.com/photos/26339578@N03/sets/72157604934391705/ Manchester http://www.flickr.com/photos/26339578@N03/sets/72157604930558482/ If you only look at one from Mcr, look at the interview one. Sums it up quite nicely!!
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