1999/2000-gigs and concerts

 

1999 was a relatively quiet year on the gig front for me. The recently released from prison former frontman of The Stone Roses, Ian Brown, had released his first solo album. It was a bit different from The Stone Roses, with a lot of funky demo sounding tunes. He was due to play the Limelight so I was pretty excited to see indie godlike genius up so close. I wasn’t an especially big fan of the Roses but did like them none the less. This gig happened to coincide with Manchester United playing in the Champions League Final, the year of the famous treble, if I’m not mistaken. I popped into Katy Daly’s (the adjacent bar) to watch some of the match and lo and behold, Brown was there too with his entourage. As gig time approached, they all trekked out of the venue. Then Brown did his famous monkey shuffle onto the stage and asked “Worrabout United den?” to loud cheers (Man U fans) and jeers (Liverpool fans-Citeh were still shit back then and had no fans). After that initial disgust, I recall the gig being very good as Brown plugged ONLY his own tunes. Support on the night was Irish singer songwriter Paddy Casey who also put in a good turn and was an infinitely better singer than Brown!

Another Limelight show was my first time seeing Mercury Rev. They’d released their classic Deserter’s Songs album so were now appealing to me, with it’s gloriously gothic charms. They’re a band that never disappoint live and Jonathan’s otherworldly persona made for a lovely enchanting evening. I went to see Garbage in the King’s Hall, with Moloko in support. Roisin Murphy wore an amazing black top with a big digital screen across her chest that lit up in the darkness. She was kooky and enigmatic and they were a great warm-up for the springy Shirley Manson and the man who produced Nevermind. Finally, Placebo had created big inroads into the public’s consciousness so the larger venue of the Ulster Hall was the place I saw them for the second time. They transferred to the bigger hall with ease, Brian and Stefan had flair and glamour in abundance.

As the millennium came and went 2000 was something of a classic year for gigs. Noticeably in the Belfast Empire Music Hall. Their booker earned their keep that year. Remarkably I went to 4 gigs that year and all of them were in the Empire! In no particular order, American punk rascals At The Drive-in were starting to make themselves known to the world. I knew what to expect when I ventured into a packed venue, but nothing prepares you for the sight of two massively afro-ed skinny dudes bouncing off walls and leaping into the air with manic abandon. This was an all-time favourite gig despite the band continually stopping the show to berate some of the more visceral members in the crowd from pogo-ing. I daresy the band sounded cack (I do have a minidisc recording of it, the show was recorded for radio) but the visual spectacle was just incredible. So much energy.

Before they became all-out dance merchants, Death In Vegas were a pretty special live entity. Promoting the brilliant Contino Sessions album, the band had live drums and guitar players and an amazing bass player which all made the album come alive.

Around this time I was becoming increasingly into post-rock and instrumental guitar bands. Canadian collective Godspeed You! Black Emperor were booked to play with some Icelandic band called Sigur Ros and another Canadian troupe called Fly Pan Am. I did not know these bands before seeing them. First up Fly Pan Am ventured onto the stage and proceeded to play with their backs to the audience for some reason. They created some shimmering beautiful sounds though which I have no doubt influenced me no end in my future recordings. I’d be privileged to support them myself at the Front Page some years later. Sigur Ros started to play, their tall skinny singer playing his guitar with a violin bow, and then Jonsi started to sing. I’ve never been so shocked at a gig in my life. The place fell silent in awe at what they were hearing. I bumped into Jonsi at the back of the venue and remember saying his music was very beautiful, to which he nodded and mumbled a thank you.

Now, the headline act on this night are a special kind of band. Special in that I can’t stand to stay until the end of their shows. There’s so many of them in the band that they manage to conjure up an insane amount of volume. The power of the drone is all encompassing and messed with my head to the point I literally ran out of the venue halfway through. Well, I don’t actually know if it was halfway through, given I left the show. Having said that, the whole performance of double drummers, no lights save for a film projector is quite something to behold.

Finally, my old buddies (arf!) Snow Patrol were able to upgrade from the pokey Duke of York to the Empire now that they were making waves in the indie circles. They still hadn’t put out THAT album and Colin Murray was still just a lad about town so the place was only half full. Their Mums and Dads were there too making up the numbers and Gary Lightbody was as humble and self-deprecating then as he is now. Fair play to the big fella.