July 29, 1997
Philadelphia, Trocodero
by Melissa Bock
Just a quick note for you – I saw Del Amitri last night in Philadelphia, the Trocadero. It was amazing!!! They did a lot of songs from Waking Hours, and took quite a few requests 🙂 They were great. The weirdest things was – Justin CUT HIS HAIR!!! I can not believe it! It’s not even just short, it’s buzzed!! I didn’t even recognize him! He bumped into me in the lobby, and I had to look twice before I knew it was him! It looks good on him, but there was just something about that shaggy look 🙂 Oh, well. I guess it’ll grow back 🙂
As for the actual show, as I said it was great. They opened with Some Other Sucker’s Parade, and thier final encore (they did 2) was Kiss This Thing Goodbye, the song that I had been screaming for! They also did a WONDERFUL ver sion of Be My Downfall. It was just Justin, Andy (on accordion) and Mark on bongos. It was really beautful. And in the middle of it, he started singing “Philadelphia” by Bruce Springsteen. It was so great, and everybody went nuts 🙂
Well, I should get going for now, have to get ready for class, but I just wanted to let you know how the show was, and warn you about the haircut, in case no on else told you yet 🙂
Talk to you later!
Melissa
*****
July 31,1997
New York City, Supper Club
by Steve Cunniff
Just saw the band at the Supper Club in NYC tonight. It was a really great show, although I felt it could have been a little longer (always want more!) The guys seemed to be in goiod spirits and good form tonight. Played a bunch of new stuff, which sounded great, and as usual did a great Downfall for the encore, and threw a little “New York, New York” in the middle of the song. That was fun. Justin, of course, had to comment that only tourists would sing along to such a bad song. The new guitarist seems to have given the guys a shot in the arm, they really seemed to be more energized and having more fun than the last few times I’d seen them. I have seen the band every time they’ve been in the NYC- NJ area for many years now.
I’ll make it down to the Jersey Shore tomorrow and catch the band at Tradewinds. I’ll be there yelling for “Nothing Ever Happens” as usual, and they won’t play it as usual!
I ran into Justin one night in NYC after a show at Irving Plaza, and asked him why they don’t play that song anymore, and he said, you know I was going to play that tonight…, so I said how about next time, and he said yeah, alright. But many shows later and not yet.
Oh well, the shows are always great, and I always leave glad that I went.
I must say though, The Supper Club was small, and there seemed to be a lot of unsold tickets when I got to the door, but I would say after “Downfall” I have never heard an audience at a Del Amitri show so loud and enthusiastic. Even Justin seemed a little surprised. Lot of fun. Well that’s it.
See you at the Tradewinds tom’w, and at every show to come in this area. I’m always there right in the front and have been since the beginning, and I’ll probably be yelling for my song, and Justin will probably be yelling shut up, but I’m out there dancing, singing, having a great time, and getting people around me loosened up and dancing as well.
By the way, I love that “What I think she sees”. Tremendous song. Cheers,
Steve
*****
July 31, 1997
New York City, Supper Club
by Vikki Lipinski
Third time lucky – a ‘crass cliche’ I know, but when applied to the third time I saw Del Amitri in concert, it is true. I had seen the guys twice before in NYC. The first time the one and only taxi driver in manhattan who didnt know how to find Irving Plaza was the guy driving our cab. So I arrived late (with two ‘sort of’ fans) and was stuck at the back. The second time traffic into NYC was a killer as it was the 4th of July weekend. So once again I ‘lingered at the bar’ this time at Tramps (with a NON fan)
July 31st 1997 however is a different story. I arrived on time with a recently converted fan (look for ‘How I created a del-a-holic’ in I&P) We met lots of my cyber buddies there and even had time to get (another) drink BEFORE the supporting act came on.
“Jackopierce” – excellent set, (free cd’s thrown to the crowd too!) had a friendly sound, and a good look. One of the better received supports I have seen in my concert going ‘career’. Talkative, confident band members and a techie who wore a kilt – What more can I say?
Dels took the stage at about 9:40 and started out with ‘Some other Suckers Parade’ – great opening, LOVED the sound and all the guys looked like they were ready to give us a good show.
I was pleased to hear lots of material from the ‘Waking Hours’ album (Hatful of Rain, Jimmy Blue, Stone Cold Sober, Kiss this thing) a great varied set, but I was shocked they didnt perform more of their lesser known but equally excellent music. They belted out ‘Cruel Light of Day’ and others from the new album like ‘What I think she sees’, ‘Medicine’, and ‘Not where its at’. -So I was very happy to hear all of these.
The lads were sharp that night and except for a technical hitch during ‘Just Like a Man’ , a high pitched screech – which Iain sorted out (much to the audiences appreciation) the night was a success form my point of view. – Was this because I got to meet the band at the shin-dig-sort-of-thing, or just that they were incredibly tight musically and surprisingly cheery?
The obvious electric sound gave The Supper Club a bright atmosphere that thursday night, DAMN can Iain and Kris play those guitars!!! Mark on the drums was loud (GOOD loud, not let-me-out-do-the-others loud) and in a way the group had a new born feel.
One of the highlights was the acoustic ‘Be my Downfall’ when Andy actually came up to the microphones, a few verses of ‘New York, New York’ were added which helped give a ‘Just for You’ feel to the show. Justins wit was as prominent as ever (unlike his hair and THOSE sidies)
Lets hope everyone who sees Del Amitri on this tour feels as proud and enthusiastic as me, and tells everyone they know WHO DEL AMITRI IS.
This was one of the best live shows I have been to in a long time, now when do they tour again??
*****
July 31, 1997
New York City, Supper Club
by Jency Jaremko
You’ve no doubt heard, a new era is upon us: the muttonchops are gone, gone I tell you. So’s the hair. Buzz cut. It just ain’t the same, no tossing of sweaty locks. We are saddened by the loss, not that Justin cares. He looks about 24 now.
The Supper Club show was excellent, although not cracking with frenetic abandon. The Club (capacity 1000?) was mostly full and the crowd was definitely into it, responsive – but not dynamically electrified. Maybe it just seemed that way because we chose to stand at the rail of the bar platform in back – I’m too cranky to seek the assault of the heaving masses. Toward the back some folks didn’t bother to clap much, not even to encourage encores. Crowd up front was much more energized, naturally. Justin was somewhat chatty but not with his most breezy charm. At one point someone threw him a pair of shoelaces, to which he made some less than encouraging remark and then threw them back. Did he not perceive a request for Spare Pair of Laces?
I wasn’t able to get a set list (another price for opting for the platform). They opened with Some Other Sucker’s Parade and segued into Just Like a Man. Immediately thereinto there arose a whopping feedback that seemed to last at least a minute, with much consternation evident onstage and off. Justin later explained it as our first opportunity to hear the sound in Andy’s brain, or something like that.
Andy, by the way but not incidentally, was barely audible throughout the show. Apparently the guy at the board didn’t know Andy was there. Even during Downfall, we pretty much had to imagine what the accordion would’ve sounded like had it been mixed in. The drummer was terrific – a keeper I hope – and the new guitar player Chris was excellent, seemed to be having a great time. I wasn’t aware of any banter among the guys, yet they seemed very cohesive, bounding around stage sharing mics and all. Justin made no introductions. Notably, I saw Iain smoke only one cigarette on stage – what’s with that? And no bottle of Bushmills or whatever. Scary.
Songs I can recall: Some Other Sucker’s Parade, Just Like a Man, Start with Me, Hatful, Not Where It’s At, Roll to Me (enough already!!), a beautiful What I Think She Sees, Here and Now, Stone Cold Sober, Last to Know, Cruel Light of Day, 1st two verses of FP’s Daughter (per an insistent request), Jimmy Blue, Medicine, Downfall w/ New York New York and disco ball inserted, Kiss to close 2nd encore. They played about 1+1/4 hours.
Security at the Supper Club was out of this world. The bouncers were all built like cargo planes, and a series of them kept anyone lacking a VIP badge from getting upstairs after the show. I bet that if you went up to one of them and said, ‘you know, I just don’t like the way you’re handling this’ you would suddenly be up against the wall with your toes two feet above the floor and your neck about an inch thick. I met Theresa and Doug Couch, and even they had a hell of a time getting upstairs. The cargo planes cared about I&P like they care about a hole in my sock. Generally, the more immovable the resistance, the more determined I become, so I and my friend Ray eventually made it up. We had a brief chat with Justin, who assured me he loves their Chrysalis album, as I do. I’d wondered. He attributed his new hairstyle simply to “time for a change.” I hate to think how much he hates mention of it. We got a couple photos and were off.
Amusing note: the manager was walking around upstairs bellowing the question, OK who’s got the gray Saab out front, you’re gonna be sorry if you don’t own up. (I guess it was in the way of the bus.) No response. Later I heard him say to a cargo plane, OK let’s just move it. I could picture a mere two of these guys picking up the Saab and throwing it into an alley.
I suppose you’ve gotten a number of critiques of the show, and I would like to hear about other people’s perceptions. Great as it was, I tend to look on things a touch critically and maybe other folks thought it was the best Del show they’d seen. You never know.
*****
August 1, 1997
Sea Bright, NJ, Tradewinds
by Paul Costanza
Friday night, August 1, 1997, I attended the Del Amitri show at the Tradewinds, in Seabright, New Jersey. In September, 1995 I had seen them play at Irving Plaza in NYC. I had enjoyed that show tremendously (they seemed to play almost their entire catalogue!) and was expecting a repeat of that experience at the Tradewinds. Unfortunately I was disappointed. While the band was tight and Justin Currie was in great voice, the brevity and impersonality of the performance left much to be desired. The blame lies partially in the venue. The Tradewinds is a popular nightspot in beach resort community of Seabright, New Jersey. Consequently, many who were in attendance had no idea who Del Amitri was, nor did they care. In speaking to a couple there they told me they were there most every weekend regardless of who was playing (they did tell me during “Roll To Me” that “This one sounds familiar.”). The band seemed to notice this (though a small, but enthusiastic crowd surrounded the stage), and reflected it in their performance. They only played about 15 songs (approximately 80 minutes) and these were heavily weighted with “hits,” “Just Like A Man,” “Roll To Me,” “Always The Last To Know,” “Here And Now,” and the new singles, “Not Where It’s At,” and “What I Think She Sees.” The impression was of a band not trying to be too obscure with a somewhat less than devoted audience (there was some guy shouting “Play “This Side Of The Morning!” throughout much of the show. At least he knew the song.). Even “Be My Downfall” seemed hurried, and was one of only three acoustic numbers they performed. I was going to attend the show the previous night at the Supper Club in NYC, but preferred driving in New Jersey to Manhattan, but now wish I had so I could have compared the two shows. When I saw them in ’95 the club was full of people there expressly to see the band and the band responded (between cigarettes and swigs of scotch) with a memorable performance. The fact that the only visible refreshments on stage in New Jersey were bottles of Poland Spring and celery stalks(!) was kind of symbolic of the difference between the two nights.
*****
August 1, 1997
Seabright, NJ, Tradewinds
and August 2, 1997
Washington, D.C., 9:30 Club
by Doreen Wood
I was able to see two Dels concerts this past weekend. The first was in Sea Bright New Jersey at the Tradewinds. I saw them there last tour. There were more people there last time. Roll To Me was a hit then. There has been no airplay here of the new cd.
There was a lot of problems with the sound. The stage monitors were to loud and Justine complained to the soundboard all night. I was surprised they only did 5 songs from the new cd.I thought there was a nice mix of all 4 cds. I had only seen them 3 times before all the last tour. I thought Justin was much more talkative this time.
I didn’t write a song list but I’m sure somebody did. At the end of the night after Be My Downfall when the acoustic guitar was blasting through the moniter Justine threw celery and carrots sticks at the sound guy.
Washington was a better show all around.
A friend and I drove the three and one half hours to our nation’s capital. When we got to the club the band was just coming out of the club from the soundcheck. Both Ian and Justin stopped and signed a few autographs and stood for pictures. The hall was really nice and the sound was excellent. The set was basically the same except 2 more songs. They did When I Want You I’ll Come Looking For You as a request and the in the middle of Be My Downfall he did another song don”t know the title. The best part was in the encores they changed one song to Driving With The Brakes On-my favorite from Twisted. I hadn”t seen that live before. The band seemed even more energetic. Justin started Opposite View as a request but said he forgot the words. Other requests were not played as he said the new guys didn’t know them. During the set he asked the crowd if they could understand a f***ing word he said. They screamed yes f***ing!
It was a great show and I must say that all the opening acts were good. Jackopierce was excellent and Burlap to Cashmere in NJ and Michelle Malone in DC were good. I am very sad that they won’t be back on the east coast!
***
August 30, 1997
Denver, Colorado, Ogden Theater
by Marc Rikmenspoel
Del Amitri played the Ogden Theater in Denver on Saturday, August 30, 1997. The show was sold out, and the crowd was very enthusiastic. In fact, Justin said they were the best audience yet on the tour. Of course, he added, this was the Dels’ first stop on said tour, but he soon admitted that last bit wasn’t true!
The new players fit in perfectly. No offense to Ashley Soan and Jon McLaughlin, but their replacements sounded great. I’m a bit embarrassed to admit I don’t know their names. Mr. Harvie (Iain’s dad) stood near me during the encores, and he couldn’t remember the new guitarist’s name either. “We call him #7,” he joked.
The show opened with Some Other Sucker’s Parade, but after this the Dels played surprisingly few songs from that album. Most importantly, they didn’t play any of my favorites, such as Won’t Make it Better, Medicine, Through All That Nothing, and Life is Full. They did hit Not Where it’s At, What I Think She Sees, and Mother Nature’s Writing.
I hadn’t expected to hear so many songs from Waking Hours. The selections included Move Away Jimmy Blue, Stone Cold Sober, Hatful of Rain, and snippets of Opposite View and Nothing Ever Happens. Kiss This Thing Goodbye was the final song of the night.
Change Everything and Twisted were poorly represented. This created a particular crisis for one young lady standing near me. She had brought a sign saying “Surface of the Moon”. She showed this to Iain, and eventually handed it to Justin. He explained apologetically that the new members didn’t know the song. The lady responded by shrieking “Surface of the Moon!” at Iain in a weak voice for the remaining 3/4 of the show. Fortunately, it didn’t become annoying until almost the second time she did it.
The Dels looked fit and trim. Justin had short hair and, for him, conservative sideburns. Iain had little facial hair, aside from a waxed mustache. Andy seemed restrained, even by his standards, and mostly stayed in the background while the new guitarist and Iain played dueling guitars. The new guy was clearly having a blast. It took me a couple of songs to get used to his kilt, but his playing was top notch from the start. We’ll miss you, Mr. Cummings, and we barely knew you, Mr. McLaughlin, but rest assured your spot is in good hands. Help, Alison, what’s this guy’s name? [Ed note: Kris Dollimore!]
The show was over before I knew it. The lead singer of The Samples, a Boulder band with some national attention, was the opening act. He played his acoustic guitar and sang Samples songs, and eventually had an old friend join him for a few numbers. Then the Dels played for an hour and a half. Naturally, this was too short. I hope they swing back here in a few months. As the wise man said, “Del Amitri: too much is never enough!”
SOSP, USA!
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