Cracker: Dinner and a Show (Everybody’s Bar & Bistro/New Order)
77 Responses
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And if somebody is drunk, picking fights whilst waiting to purchase, dont sell them any more grog. We had a guy at Them Crooked Vultures who had been kicked out no less. Was allowed back in, if he purchased another ticket. Was boasting about that and generally niggling every person waiting to buy a drink. He got more booze. Pain in the arse.
That along with sound has put us off Vector. One has principles y'know. We stick to the Powerstation now for a gig. -
Greg Wood, in reply to
Vector’s bar set-up is absurd
Completely ruins every event I attend there.
Which is to say, even though the sound is genuinely shit (Foo Fighters: I couldn't even tell which song they were playing at one stage (yes, yes, ha ha) -- although Massive Attack seemed to get it right) and the atmosphere can be weird and the lack of decent public transport sucks and the weird dead-of-night location is creepy, it's the popping out to a brightly lit school canteen of a shabby bar with a single ugly not-cold-enough fridge half-full of HIDEOUS AUSTRALIAN BILGEWATER that gets hand-poured (badly!) into a nasty-to-the-touch plastic cup that has stopped me going there ever again.
And yes I am serious, and stop calling me Shirley etc.
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Oooh, Vector's crapness almost made me forget to say:
Damian: Pixies play their first ever gig in New Zealand at the Powerstation, a venue so perfect and intimate and energising that it felt like they were actually playing in my heart -- and you didn't like it?
Er.
What?!
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Damian Christie, in reply to
Fark, we'll never get the Standard believing our working class credentials if you keep this up, Damian.
Seriously, if you manage to hijack this thread into an angry discussion about class... ;)
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merc,
I thought that was all it was about? ;-)
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Russell Brown, in reply to
Which is to say, even though the sound is genuinely shit (Foo Fighters: I couldn’t even tell which song they were playing at one stage (yes, yes, ha ha) – although Massive Attack seemed to get it right)
As ever at Vector, it literally depends on where you stand. We watched Massive attack from seats along the side, near the disabled-access entrance (Fiona was on crutches at the time) and it was horrible. Insanely loud and distorted, to the point it made me angry being there. Meanwhile, down on the floor people were shouting “turn it up!”.
a shabby bar with a single ugly not-cold-enough fridge half-full of HIDEOUS AUSTRALIAN BILGEWATER that gets hand-poured (badly!) into a nasty-to-the-touch plastic cup that has stopped me going there ever again.
Oddly enough, they’ve now switched to Heineken and Monteith’s Pilsener, at a mere nine dollars a bottle.
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nzlemming, in reply to
I thought that was all it was about? ;-
If only people would listen...
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merc, in reply to
I have to finally admit that I don't really get the internets.
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Damian Christie, in reply to
Damian: Pixies play their first ever gig in New Zealand at the Powerstation, a venue so perfect and intimate and energising that it felt like they were actually playing in my heart -- and you didn't like it?
...yeah, it really should've been good eh, all the elements were there. The Pixies, The Powerstation. Unfortunately the emotionless going-through-the-motions, here's-this-album-in-order-track-by-track, don't-expect-any-conversation thing kinda got to me, as much as I enjoyed seeing the Pixies play live. And I think that's part of the dichotomy here: it's perfectly possibly to have a really enjoyable time seeing your favourite band playing badly/averagely/without spirit etc. I was utterly underwhelmed by the Pixies' live gigs here, while my friends were bouncing off the walls because they'd seen the Pixies. Can't fault the sound, singing or musicianship however, just the lack of any dynamic.
The question I think is somewhere in between "was it a good gig?" and "was it a good Pixies gig?"
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Sacha, in reply to
grannies shoving you out of the way so they can get their Zimmers into the mosh pit
the way of the future..
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Sacha, in reply to
here's-this-album-in-order-track-by-track
wasn't that the whole plan for that tour?
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Sacha, in reply to
don't-expect-any-conversation
Just curious - do you expect that from other types of performance or only live music? And even then, is it only certain genres?
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James Butler, in reply to
here’s-this-album-in-order-track-by-track
wasn’t that the whole plan for that tour?
I think it was the plan for the whole series of All Tomorrow’s Parties tours – Sonic Youth did the same thing with Daydream Nation a year or two before. Actually the SY gig was way better than the Pixies IMHO – the sound quality was better (Bruce Mason Centre vs. Vector being the main reason); the band was more engaged; and they played a whole set of mostly new material after playing through their 70-minute double album. Those last two points I think are probably down to SY being (until very recently) still an active working band involved in making new music and doing new things; The Pixies, after disbanding for years, got back together a few years ago just to play their old stuff in stadiums to pay the bills. And that’s all they’ve been doing since then, and it shows.
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I went to both the Pixies Auckland gigs, and the Powerstation was more rewarding simply because it's a better space. But neither of them had the level of atmosphere or intensity that was present at their Christchurch show later in the year. Why it was so much better I can't really say, but it goes to show that no matter how good the band or it's repertoire, the 'x factor ' which makes a good concert great can't be manufactured.
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JacksonP, in reply to
Why it was so much better I can't really say, but it goes to show that no matter how good the band or it's repertoire, the 'x factor ' which makes a good concert great can't be manufactured.
Well, not being able to go to all three (!!!) I can honestly say the Vector Pixies show was the best (and only) concert of theirs I've ever been to.
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Craig Ranapia, in reply to
As ever at Vector, it literally depends on where you stand.
Which begs the question – why are so many venues that have “live music” in the brief from the get-go acoustic disaster zones? Yes, I know it’s tricky but if I was promoter whose livelihood ultimately depended on happy punters…
And if somebody is drunk, picking fights whilst waiting to purchase, dont sell them any more grog.
Sofie, I'm going to have to give you a time out if you keep talking nonsense like that. Actually observe licensing laws and make life a little more pleasant for everyone else? Pshaw...
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JacksonP, in reply to
Yes, I know it's tricky but if I was promoter whose livelihood ultimately depended on happy punters...
The Specials were announced yesterday to play Shed 10 in April. I really enjoyed their gig here in 2009, but seriously hope they've go rid of the Green Heineken bartops, and World Cup paraphernalia.
That would certainly flavour my experience.
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Russell Brown, in reply to
The Specials were announced yesterday to play Shed 10 in April. I really enjoyed their gig here in 2009, but seriously hope they’ve go rid of the Green Heineken bartops, and World Cup paraphernalia.
All the fittings have been shipped to London for use in Hyde Park during the Olympics.
But I will take some convincing that that leaves Shed 10 as quality space for loud live music.
I'm not so fussed about The Specials anyway. Jerry Dammers' Spatial A.K.A Orchestra, on the other hand ...
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Russell Brown, in reply to
Which begs the question – why are so many venues that have “live music” in the brief from the get-go acoustic disaster zones? Yes, I know it’s tricky but if I was promoter whose livelihood ultimately depended on happy punters…
I gather it's entirely fixable: install the proper acoustic panels.
But as you say, the company that built and manages the place should have known and done that in the first place.
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James Butler, in reply to
I gather it’s entirely fixable: install the proper acoustic panels.
But as you say, the company that built and manages the place should have known and done that in the first place.
Here's the thing: I'm still planning on forking out $130 tomorrow for a show there, and I'm sure it will be pretty much sold out, so why would they bother?
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It's a huge pity the Workers Beer Company doesn't have an NZ equivalent. There's probably a rule in the Sale Of Liquor Act banning good beer from being sold at a major event.
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Meanwhile in Wellington, folks who know about such things say the sound in the Town Hall for the Bon Iver shows was the best they'd ever heard. And that's with a nine-piece band and all. A gig that even impressed Simon Sweetman ...
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I always try to park myself in front of the desk ; you'd hope the sound engineer can at least control what is sounds like there?
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Sacha, in reply to
if I was promoter whose livelihood ultimately depended on happy punters
However venues that size do not form a genuine market responsive to bookings. Need other ways to make sure the significant money invested in them is best spent in the interests of citizens and other interested parties.
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Russell Brown, in reply to
It’s a huge pity the Workers Beer Company doesn’t have an NZ equivalent. There’s probably a rule in the Sale Of Liquor Act banning good beer from being sold at a major event.
A complicating factor there is that "pourage" rights are a non-trivial source of income for many events. The big guys can bid large for the right to serve drinks and then serve any old swill they like.
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