Back from the wilderness with bright new shiny broadband and creaky falling apart new house. I’m not going to talk about the war because I’m finding it all very strange and I can’t quite organise my thoughts. That is, the bit that goes STOP THE WAR is quite clear but after that I’m finding there’s lots of debate and thinking. Which is great, obviously. The other major thing is having a TV again and being quite awestruck by the wrongness of televised war. Maybe more sometime later.

In the meantime, I have been Getting Out Of The House, quite a new experience for me really. First stop the newly reformed Throwing Muses back playing live again. I never saw them before and I was quite excited by the idea as well as new album with Tanya and everything. The support band I was confused by, not being able to figure out who the hell they were but not particularly caring since they were a bit dull. I was thus surprised and dismayed to discover they were Sons and Daughters. Surprised because I know Scott and Adele to some small extent and didn’t recognise either of them; dismayed because I really liked Scott’s solo thing March of Dimes and Adele’s voice on various things (Arab Strap, the otherwise rubbish Zephyrs). I can only conclude that something was wrong and I shall endeavour to see them properly and have another go.

I went down the front for Throwing Muses because this was the QMU, a venue where small people cannot see anything unless they are right at the front. Even in the second row, I often couldn’t see a thing, thanks to Tall People in front of me. I hate harping on about the rubbishness of being a wee person at gigs but it so totally sucks. Throwing Muses were great as well – a bunch of songs I knew and a whole lot I didn’t and sounding all sparky and loud with Kristin’s voice as lovely as ever. Only after a few songs the sound started to become uncomfortably loud like the soundman had turned the volume knob all the way up to ‘Mogwai’. So what could have been a wonderful gig ended up with me struggling to see and struggling to make out the tunes through the blaring distortion. Eventually it got so loud I started to feel ill and had to go sit down. So I’ve had it up to here with the stupid QMU. I really resent paying twelve pounds to not see a band and not hear them either. Until they open up the balcony as a special small person’s area and turn the volume down a notch I’m avoiding the place. Gah.

Quite the opposite situation the next night at Stereo where I was treated to a cheap night of fantastic electronic music. Steven and John bis got themselves dressed up in white coats for one of their first gigs as Dirty Hospital, as which they romped through a set of electro rave. Fit to join the ‘electronic music can be fun’ ranks alongside the likes of Cex and Kid606, they were a joy. Loud, fun, stupid electronic music with shouting about hospitals. I like. EU was much more understated but still very very good. And he carted his entire computer all the way from Russia or wherever it is he’s from. No ‘get a laptop’ hecklers to be heard though. I enjoyed his set immensely apart from kicking myself for not bringing any money to buy more of his records. I was also astonished to discover I knew pretty much no-one in the place. When I next see all my Glaswegian friends and acquaintances I shall be shouting FOOL at them for missing this.

This is going on a bit now so I’ll just end with THINGS I WANT.

– a shiny new platinum Gameboy Advance with SNES Zelda!

– new shoes

– to hear the new Mogwai album

– it to be December. How can it still be NINE MONTHS until the next Lord of the Rings film…

Posted: 03|28|03 at 10:07 pm. Filed under: live reviews.
Comments and pings are currently closed.