Greenwich Summer Sessions, July 30, 2011

[DaveG]

Just got back to Dirty Old Town, (Salford) from London, loved the gig, loved the venue, loved the support, loved the fact I got a boat complete with bar to a gig, loved the set. To sum up I loved it. As someone else has said these off the beaten track venues are great. My own highlights were James knocking the table of drinks over during Streams of Whiskey, the same fella's knee slide for the second encore, Mr C's mean old time gag! Hard to pick out a song - they're all fantastic and the band were on top form. Dirty Old Town I always love but Waltzing Matilda was a standout. Ah they all were. So much love for a Monday morning! Thanks Pogues

[Julieexeter]

Mr C thank you so much for a wonderful evening at Greenwich. I left walking on air. One of the stewards told me it was the best gig she had ever attended.

Heather, I was stood next to you at the front but I didn't know who you were until I saw your post about the train problems which you had told me about. It was great to meet you.

I don't know if the two guys from Manchester use this site. If so, thanks for sharing your beer. There was no way I was going to leave my spot even for a beer!

[redadeg]

What was the setlist pls?

[Timo77]

Buzzcocks were great. N:o 1.
Thank you all. It was a great evening in Greenwich. Thanx for the Squeeze, too!

[Ted Bovis]

Awesome Pogues,Buzzcocks were ace,brilliant night,more next year,please!

[BadMandolinPlayer]

What was the setlist pls?

As I recall it was: -

Streams
Fall from Grace
Broad Majestic
Greenland Whale
Brown Eyes
Tuesday Morning
Kitty
Sunnyside
Repeal
Waltzing Matilda
Body of an American
Boys from the County Hell
1000s
Dirty Old Town
Bottle of Smoke
Sickbed

Sally
Rainy Night
Irish Rover

Poor Paddy
Fiesta

[Spin27]

More off the beaten track venues please !

Seconded.

Big shout out to the Buzzcocks who re-kindled the spirit of '76 in a blistering support set.

Seconded.

Hi Phil,

I travelled over from ireland to the greenwich gig at the weekend and have been going to london every year since 04 to see ye and other counrties too. Therefore I would consider myself quite accustomed to a pogues show in many aspects, be it the band or what kind of sound the audience should hear.Although I would always favour different experiences and things off the beaten track, sometimes I think tried and tested is sometimes best.

I watch the buzzcocks and was under the impression that the sound was very poor. Members of the band kept asking for different levels on there monitors and they just seemed to be be-sieged with sound difficulties. However I was nt greatly concerned about this for the headline act.

However when the pogues came on and the music started I was amazed with how low and hollow it sounded. There was no impact or the usual thump of volume that I am used to. There was instruments stuggling to be heard at in my opinion. It improved as the show went on but the sound never reached the levels of normal in my opinion.

This is by no means a band criticism because I thought it was a great performance by all. I was just curious to know was there sound restrictions or was the equipment for the festival just not capable of producing any more volume or quality in sound.

Cheers.

[philipchevron]

More off the beaten track venues please !

Seconded.

Big shout out to the Buzzcocks who re-kindled the spirit of '76 in a blistering support set.

Seconded.

Hi Phil,

I travelled over from ireland to the greenwich gig at the weekend and have been going to london every year since 04 to see ye and other counrties too. Therefore I would consider myself quite accustomed to a pogues show in many aspects, be it the band or what kind of sound the audience should hear.Although I would always favour different experiences and things off the beaten track, sometimes I think tried and tested is sometimes best.

I watch the buzzcocks and was under the impression that the sound was very poor. Members of the band kept asking for different levels on there monitors and they just seemed to be be-sieged with sound difficulties. However I was nt greatly concerned about this for the headline act.

However when the pogues came on and the music started I was amazed with how low and hollow it sounded. There was no impact or the usual thump of volume that I am used to. There was instruments stuggling to be heard at in my opinion. It improved as the show went on but the sound never reached the levels of normal in my opinion.

This is by no means a band criticism because I thought it was a great performance by all. I was just curious to know was there sound restrictions or was the equipment for the festival just not capable of producing any more volume or quality in sound.

Cheers.

I never feel qualified to answer this question, because I think it must be such a subjective thing. Our sound staff, led by Paul out front and Jac on stage, take the greatest possible pains to make sure everything is operating to their, and our satisfaction. After 30 years Paul, in particular, has no peers when it comes to getting the best sound that can be got from a largely acoustic band which also aspires to The Grand Noise. It has been many, many years since we have ever felt there were improvements to be made in this area, apart from the ones we can influence ourselves as players. But Paul and Jac still keep abreast of technological innovations, alert to any toys that might be applied to Poguetry's advantage. Basically, it's been the longest time since we have been able to use the "lousy sound" excuse for a poor gig.

Admittedly, sound engineers find that different venues raise different challenges and almost all venues face some challenges, as only the tiniest fraction of venues used for rock music were designed with those acoustics in mind, which is why we have sound technicians in the first place - their primary function, apart from the obvious one of relaying the sound to all parts of the room, is to use their skill to compensate for the acoustical limitations of the room and, in some cases, the understage. Paul Scully has long had shorthand codes for his opinion of a venue's sound capabilities which we have come to consider part of his everyday vocabulary. ["Gank!" is possibly the most negatively superlative of these assessments: on a scale of one to ten, Gank is minus one.]

Outdoor shows are a whole nother challenge, as there are few, if any, surfaces, against which the sound can resonate, so sometimes a degree of brute force may be applied. Some local authorities do set decibel limits, which always border on the unreasonable, especially in Germany. My own experience out front tells me that the outdoor audience member needs to actively seek out a vantage point from which they can best hear the sound to their advantage, as this is likely to be different for everybody.

However, I do feel obliged to say that from both an onstage and front of house point of view, the sound seemed perfectly usual to me on Saturday.

[Spin27]

Thanks for your speedy reply Phil. I actually spoke to Paul after the gig and he was kind enough to give me his setlist. He pointed out that different locations in the given venue that night had different qualities. He seemed quite happy with what he had at his disposal that night. Seemed quite a nice guy and willing to chat with anyone wanting a word which is nice.

I've looked at some vids from the gig and they seem to have great sound levels on them. I'm a bit of a sucker for being up front, as I think if your going to the effort of crossing ponds to see a band you should be up close and personal. I also like to have a good view of all on stage and take everything in. Otherwise I feel I might as well be at home.

I reckon back towards the middle or in that general area was prob the best area to hear maximum sound.But I was just curious to get your opinion.
Thanks once again for a great nights entertainment and I hope ye had a good one too.

Hope to see ye soon and best regards.

[aljaM]

I absolutely LOVED the concert!!! It was another great one this year!! everything was perfect and everybody before me allready said everything so beautifully!! thank you for an amazing summer!!!

(and a big thanks to the guy standing in the second row just behind me for making some space for me to jump up and down!!! )

[Heather]

Heather, I was stood next to you at the front but I didn't know who you were until I saw your post about the train problems which you had told me about. It was great to meet you.

So I did meet a Medusan after all.

Good to meet you too.

[mctoon]

Me and mrs toon had an awesome weekend, i thought the site and set up was spot on, the band supurb as always and i think i saw Mr C in the tube monday afternoon sporting a fine blue boating blazer but didnt have the guts to say thank you,

Cheers Mal

[Cornish Andy]

I had the best time at the Greenwich gig on Saturday. I’ve been going since the late eighties and without a doubt this was the best I’ve seen the band perform.

The whole band were on top form, and what’s more seemed to be in a great mood, really enjoying the performance. A great set-list too. ‘Thousands’ was superb Philip.

On a side note, after 20 odd years down the front I sustained my first serious mosh-pit injury! An awkward collision during ‘Repeal’ resulted in a trip to A&E the following day to confirm a fractured bone in my finger. It didn’t prevent me enjoying the rest of the gig but I’m not sure if I was shedding tears of joy or pain towards the end. Luckily I had consumed a few beverages beforehand which I am sure helped to some extent.

[Hennybhoy]

When I read all the great comments of the gig (and the whole Europe Tour) I can't wait to see The Pogues again....

Hopefully the next Tour (and I hope Germany will be part of it) won't be too long away!

[the hibbypogue]

YES BRILLIANT GIG AND EVERYONE SEEMS UNITED IN THE FACT WE LIKE "DIFFERENT" VENUES. GREAT TO HEAR OF EVERYONES
STORIES OF THE NIGHT AND OF THEIR TRAVEL PLANS ETC, THESE THINGS JUST GET HARDER AS TIME GOES ON BUT WELL
WORTH IT OF COURSE. COULD I ASK YOU PHILIP, WHATS NEXT? YOU USUALLY HAVE SOMETHING UP YOUR SLEEVES.
OBVIOUSLY CHRISTMAS LOOKS LIKE A NO NO THIS YEAR, I ACTUALLY THINK THE BAND THEMSELVES WILL MISS THIS AS
MUCH AS US?? DID THE BAND ENJOY PLAYING GREENWICH AS MUCH AS THE GUY WHO CUDDLED SHANE ON STAGE NEAR THE END?
I SAW HIM IN THE CROWD AFTERWARDS, HE WAS DELIGHTED!!! THANKS AGAIN PHILIP,THE MAGIC IS STILL THERE MY FRIEND.