The Gig - Mercury Rev - Olympia Theatre

It was the encore that made this gig memorable for me. Quite possibly the best encore I have ever witnessed personally. I didn't recognise the first song initially, the droning Theremin hypnotic in it's looping melody, I was already enjoying it before I realised I was listening to my favourite Rolling Stones song - '2000 light years from home' from their much derided Their Satanic Majesties Request album. The Stones weak riposte to The Beatles St Peppers Lonely Hearts Club Band. Despite it's deserved poor reception it did yield this classic track upon which Brian Jones had cast a spell with his theremin and dulcimer contributions. Listening to it live affirmed my belief in it's brilliance. This would have been enough for me but they then launched into a song by one the architects of St Pepper, John Lennon.' I don't want to be a soldier', an angry anti-war diatribe from Lennon's pivotal 'Imagine' album. Delivered in a style not quite as abrasive or caustic as the original, it became more a plea in Jonathon's distinctive vocal style. None the less powerful though, it was a great song to choose to finish a great performance.

The Gig - A House - Olympia Theatre

One of the greatest tragedies of Irish music towards the end of the 20th century, A House were the nearly men of their time. Deserving of so much more than the almost universal critical acclaim they regularly garnered for their recorded output, A House were also a fantastic live act. Formed in 1987 and part of an alumni graduated from the now defunct Underground venue on Dame Street in Dublin that included Something Happens! and Stars Of Heaven, A House quickly built up a following of loyal and obsessive fans. Six albums, four Eps, twelve singles and three record companies later they decided to call it a day by playing a final farewell gig in the Olympia Theatre also on Dame Street just yards from their starting point in The Underground. Unlike many previous farewell shows and tours from other acts, most notably Status Quo, A House's integrity meant that this was the real deal. After this we would never see them or their like again, tickets sold out rapidly and the scene was set.
Suitably charged with emotion the band started with their debut single 'Kick Me Again Jesus' and began to chart a course through their career and large back catalogue. Made all the more tragic by the realization with each gem of a song/memory that we were witnessing the demise of one of the greats. Family members videotaped the performance for posterity from the beautifully ornate private boxes of the theatre, a visual memento and record to show future generations the adoration that their dad once commanded. Tears were shed openly by grown men and women as they finished with the achingly poignant 'When I Last Saw You' and that was that. Gone as a live act forever though nostalgia saw the release of a best of collection entitled 'The Good Old Days' five years later in 2005, you would do your music collection a service to add this album to it, especially the double disc version including the rarer tracks of their career. If you want to know more about this marvelous band check out this exhaustive and informative fansite. Here's one of my favourites, from their debut album, "I'll always be grateful", and I will.

TV Moments - L7 on The Word

This was fun television. L7 meets The Word, two forms of entertainment that both thrived on shock value. One, a late night British television show that regularly courted controversy through it's content and the behaviour of it's guests, the other, an all girl grunge rock band from Los Angeles. It was the first time I had either seen or heard L7, they played what turned out to be the biggest hit they would ever have, 'Pretend That We're Dead', a reasonable pop song which followed the pattern previously laid down by their male counterparts in the currently popular grunge rock movement spearheaded by Nirvana. So far, so what, nothing new here. But towards the end of the song as it, rather predictably, began to break down, lead singer and guitarist Donita Sparks seemed to be struggling with her guitar. In fact she was wrestling down her own trousers and underwear. Then, much to the delight of thousands of males tuned in that evening, myself included, her guitar swung aside to give us that now infamous and hairy view. If you thought that was bad, that same year in response to heckling due to to sound problems at the Reading festival, Miss Sparks threw her used tampon into the crowd. Surprisingly this has never shown up in any rock memorabilia auction to date.

Live - Suede at the Brits

Prior to 1993 the Brit Awards was seen as a yearly tribute to long established multi million selling stars such as Annie Lennox and Phil Collins. In 1993 Suede were the British band of the moment, seen as an answer to the domination of American grunge rock acts like Nirvana. They had appeared on the cover of Melody Maker under the headline 'The Best New Band In Britain' before they had even released anything and their first two singles had been critically lauded, the second, 'Metal Mickey' made the top twenty. Many commentators at the time believed Suede should have been a foregone conclusion for best new act at the Brits but they were not even nominated. 

The NME began a campaign which eventually led to a last minute invitation for Suede to open the show at the Alexandra Palace, London on 16th of February 1993. Hosted by Richard O'Brien of Rocky Horror Show and Crystal Maze fame he introduced the band almost reverently as the 'already legendary Suede'. Cue polite clapping and quite possibly the best performance by a British band ever on the Brit Awards.

It was the first time I had seen Suede or anything like this for that matter. I was hooked instantly. Quite apart from the fact that the song performed, Animal Nitrate, was and still is one of the best songs of all time, it was the performance that blew everyone away. Lead singer Brett Anderson personified androgynous sexuality with his girlish bobbed haircut and practically bare, pale torso, snarling the sexually charged lyrics with ferocious energy, literally whipping himself with the microphone. Joined at the very front of the stage by Butler and Osman it looked like they were about to launch themselves into the crowd and fight them. It was jaw dropping stuff to me at the time. Suede went on to become one of the most popular and influential English bands of their time but they would never be this good again.