Leeds 04/11/10 - reviews and discussion

[zee]

Let's review and discuss the gig here!


_{The thread will be unlocked after the show. x}

[bellatrix]

Best. Night. Ever. Does that count as a review?

I think this one wins the award for smallest venue! A tiny attic space at the top of the cockpit, LAR out-rocked the masses watching dub / house? Some people have no taste :-)

No stage to speak of, a slight raised level provided a makeshift one. I can't comment on the support, I missed the first as we arrived late, however I saw Inner City Pirates at the London gig - they are worth catching if you get the chance to see them.

LAR themselves were amazing. With the shape of the venue, it must have been difficult for them to play - there was no room to move. But they rocked the place. Slightly shorter setlist - we had to beg for a encore as the curfew was earlier than ususal - but they delivered with each song.

I will leave others to write a more coherant review - but it was a special night. A big hello to our new forumer Sara - you picked a great time to join! Lovely to meet you.

I think there should be footage of bring me down soon - the encore. Robyn managed to film it. <3 During which the front two rows shared a group hug. I think that says it all really.

[sarathepanda]

Haven't much time to post tonight, but the gig was AMAZING - thanks to you all for making it such a good night, was great to meet you and I hope to see you at another gig sometime soon!

I made Chris (my bf) extremely jealous, he says he's never speaking to me again after seeing the pics But he also says he's going to sign up on here too

Sara x

[pixiecullen]

i did indeedie get bring me down with the begging for intro from the masses

i got a few others too, which i shall youtube when i get on the big craptop, i have broken the speakers on the little craptop so it will be pointless trying to see which is which with no volume

but yes, attic venues with step platform stages ROCK!!!!!!

[zvezda]

Yep, it was a truly awesome night. I'll post my review of this and the other gigs tomorrow, once I've recovered properly from last night!

Sara - you have pics? Have you uploaded them? I *have* to see them! S xx

[poetress]

Leeds was my favourite gig of the tour so far. The atmosphere in there was just amazing.

And it was cool to meet Sara too *waves*

poetress x

[sarathepanda]

Yes I have piccys! A few of the others have added me - feel free to send me a friend request

[zvezda]

Oh Sara, we are already friends - I'll go stalk your page now xxx

Edit: ooh, some nice pics there Can we poach them for the photo thread on here?

[sarathepanda]

Yep no problem!

[zvezda]

My review:

Leeds, Cockpit 3 4th November 2010

Cliches often contain much truth, which is why they persist, and why I found myself chatting to a friendly Northerner on my way to Leeds via the Trans-Pennine Express. Supermarkets and train journeys seem to be my speciality for random street-teaming opportunities He knew of Placebo and was interested to hear about Steve’s journey: he’d been a long-time follower of Elbow and saw them play gigs in tiny venues before breaking through, and wished LAR similar success.

The Amys had ‘real’ tickets so were ushered in, but I had to wait in line to have my e-ticket validated. When I finally got to the front, I was told that this was the door for the other band playing that night – Magnetic Man - the entrance for LAR was round the side. Oh well - at least queuing had given me another chance to spread the word about the dark side!

Cockpit 3 is a truly intimate space, reminiscent of an air-raid shelter. The stage was so small that the microphone stand didn’t fit on it, and I feared for Laurie’s head which was almost touching the curved roof. We were so close to the band that we felt quite self-conscious, as if we were invading their space! But it was amazing to be so close and to hear the instruments being played before they went through the amplifier, if that makes sense. Steve made a joke about the size of the room, saying he’d have liked it to be even smaller. And he made some disparaging comments about the bass coming through from the band downstairs – ‘but we’re here to rock, right?’ Oh yes we were – and they totally rocked, as you can see from Robyn’s clips on YT.

They are all such fine musicians and have come together to make a really tight band. Once again they were clearly enjoying themselves on stage, smiling at each other throughout the gig. I love how Teresa works both the standard and the upright bass (‘one bass, two bass, freebase’!) – especially on ‘Running’ which is so much better live than on the album - and she and the mighty Donneye make a fine team. Keith on drums just reminds me so much of Animal – he has such manic energy, it’s brilliant and a joy to see. Hove is an amazing guitarist (‘we love you Hove!’), and Laurie didn’t let the space restriction compromise his talent on keyboards and cello (‘you alright, love?!’).

There was a scary moment when we thought we weren’t getting an encore – Donneye and Teresa smiled at my yelled demand for Bring Me Down – but they came through and played an awesome version, and the H&H team all linked arms and sang along, a very special moment.

My useless camera failed me, so I have no photos. Because I was virtually treading on Donneye’s toes during the gig, I didn’t want to use my flash, and it just didn’t work without it – the exposure was too long and everything was just blurry. But I was heartened to see that Mark from Team LAR was taking pics, so hopefully we will see them soon. And Amy and Sara managed to get a few good shots, so kudos to them

After the gig we managed to say hi to Steve and had a couple of pics taken with him and the Heaven & Hell family. A couple of the guys I’d met in the queue for Magnetic Man found me and asked if Steve was around – I pointed them in his direction and they went to say hi, and came away very happy! Steve told us he’d felt like a Bee Gee at some points, pressing a finger to his ear so he could hear himself. And ok, perhaps other gigs have been better sound-wise, but I have to say that this one will remain incredibly special to me, long after LAR have emulated Elbow’s success and moved on to grander venues. I feel privileged to have been there.

[schatze]

Thanks a lot for the review, precious to us who couldn't be there!

I hope I'll see some pics, too!

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[zvezda]

Glad you enjoyed the review

Here's some pics courtesy of Sara:






















And one of some H&H members with Steve:

[schatze]

Whaaa, the last pic is love!

And also the other ones, really!

*wants that grey shirt...*

[bellatrix]

More?

[kabloomyamy]

I'm rubbish at reviews... but leeds was the best gig of the 3 I went to. SO. MUCH. LOVE.