Simple Minds at The Manchester Ritz, 3/3/12

Seen this band 4 times now but this time in a more intimate venue, the great dance hall that is The Ritz. They performed 5 tracks from each of their first 5 albums. Great light show too. Filmed Hunter & The Hunted and Someone Somewhere In Summertime from my personal favourite, New Gold Dream. Prefer them in this setting but they do stadiums well too.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9Elt-8xYTIE&feature=g-upl&context=G26e4860AUAAAAAAABAA

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WhrJG3dhNvU&feature=g-upl&context=G282fe4cAUAAAAAAACAA

A huge regret of mine, never to have seen Simple Minds live...

Empress Touch wrote: A huge regret of mine, never to have seen Simple Minds live...

Don't think you missed much though. You could just as easily have regretted not seeing U-Poo......

:p

Gutted I missed this! Bought the X5 BOXSET last month...brilliant stuff!

Shame I missed that one. I saw them a few years ago at the MEN (with Deacon Blue supporting). I hate the MEN as a venue.

By 'Eck! My Neck! wrote:

Empress Touch wrote: A huge regret of mine, never to have seen Simple Minds live...

Don't think you missed much though. You could just as easily have regretted not seeing U-Poo......

:p

Don't you dare to compare my beloved Simple Minds to U-Pooh.

I was sad that they just came to Berlin with this 5x5 tour, but they added dates. And tomorrow my mailbox will contain tickets for a show in my area in August.

I always wished they would play more of their brilliant old stuff. So this 5x5 is a dream come true. And it will be my 10th or 11th Minds concert (since 1986).

Rather amusing (to me) sketch from an Australian radio show about Simple Minds, auto-cues and TOTP...

Bere wrote:

By 'Eck! My Neck! wrote:

Empress Touch wrote: A huge regret of mine, never to have seen Simple Minds live...

Don't think you missed much though. You could just as easily have regretted not seeing U-Poo......

:p

Don't you dare to compare my beloved Simple Minds to U-Pooh.

I was sad that they just came to Berlin with this 5x5 tour, but they added dates. And tomorrow my mailbox will contain tickets for a show in my area in August.

I always wished they would play more of their brilliant old stuff. So this 5x5 is a dream come true. And it will be my 10th or 11th Minds concert (since 1986).

But...........they DID go through a bloated stadium phase (JIm Kerr perched on a flag pole - gawd help us) in the mid to late 80s when they were almost indistinguishable from UPoo. New Gold Dream was the last of the 'early'/'cool'/'european' Simple Minds albums then they went a bit overblown didn't they?

Just about every band who started out thirty-odd years ago will tell a similar tale, but if Simple Minds were to release Sparkle In The Rain after New Gold Dream today, their careers may well have been over. Sparkle In The Rain has three obvious singles, a song that works much better live titled Book Of Brilliant Things and a climax called Shake Off The Ghosts (which, in hindsight, displays their dancefloor credibility as much as anything on New Gold Dream did).

Then they made arguably their most commercial album: Once Upon A Time. What isn’t disputable though was the tour 2CD/2LP monster Live: In The City Of Light record. The Book Of Brilliant Things pinnacle is the high point of the recording, but the opening (Ghostdancing) and climax (New Gold Dream) are two masterclasses in showing the world how to experiment with your material when playing live...

Yes, Street Fighting Years (1989) is when the band forgot - just for a split-second - what they were supposed to be doing. And yes, it was a shame that something had to give (no more Michael MacNeill), but Good News From The Next World, Cry and Black & White are all worth listening to...

What about their dreadful version of Prince's "SIgn o The Times" though? There is simply NO fucking excuse for THAT steaming pile of hamfisted and pompously overcooked doggy plop.

By 'Eck! My Neck! wrote: What about their dreadful version of Prince's "SIgn o The Times" though? There is simply NO fucking excuse for THAT steaming pile of hamfisted and pompously overcooked doggy plop.

I agree entirely. It proves my theory that great musicians don't tend to have great taste in music.

I saw them in 2011 on their Forest tour. They are dated now but still great stuff. Got down the front and got to shake the big man's hand.

I like U2 as well.

Same but different.

Empress Touch wrote:

By 'Eck! My Neck! wrote: What about their dreadful version of Prince's "SIgn o The Times" though? There is simply NO fucking excuse for THAT steaming pile of hamfisted and pompously overcooked doggy plop.

I agree entirely. It proves my theory that great musicians don't tend to have great taste in music.

Can you expand on that theory?

Sounds like potentially interesting bollocks.

And Sign o the Times was originally an excellent record til Wayne decided to cover it. Not sure what you mean by taste. Execution is a different thing....

Around 83? my best work workmate was so into simple minds and he had a 'CAR' . he took us to 'WOMAD' festival at bath showground..I went for bunnymen..we didnt get to showground for 2 days due to shepton mallet drinking..saw minds though ,pete gabrial,the beat..anyway we drank in a after tent with jim kerr ..bunnymen set won however,they did zimbo(all my colours) with the drummers . must admit one of best weekends ever.although much of its hazzy

Empress Touch wrote: Just about every band who started out thirty-odd years ago will tell a similar tale, but if Simple Minds were to release Sparkle In The Rain after New Gold Dream today, their careers may well have been over. Sparkle In The Rain has three obvious singles, a song that works much better live titled Book Of Brilliant Things and a climax called Shake Off The Ghosts (which, in hindsight, displays their dancefloor credibility as much as anything on New Gold Dream did).

Then they made arguably their most commercial album: Once Upon A Time. What isn’t disputable though was the tour 2CD/2LP monster Live: In The City Of Light record. The Book Of Brilliant Things pinnacle is the high point of the recording, but the opening (Ghostdancing) and climax (New Gold Dream) are two masterclasses in showing the world how to experiment with your material when playing live...

Yes, Street Fighting Years (1989) is when the band forgot - just for a split-second - what they were supposed to be doing. And yes, it was a shame that something had to give (no more Michael MacNeill), but Good News From The Next World, Cry and Black & White are all worth listening to...

Burt Burterson wrote:

Empress Touch wrote:

By 'Eck! My Neck! wrote: What about their dreadful version of Prince's "SIgn o The Times" though? There is simply NO fucking excuse for THAT steaming pile of hamfisted and pompously overcooked doggy plop.

I agree entirely. It proves my theory that great musicians don't tend to have great taste in music.

Can you expand on that theory?

Sounds potentially interesting.

And 'Sign o the Times' was originally an excellent record til Wayne decided to cover it. Not sure what you mean by taste. Execution is a different thing....

Sign O The Times has exactly the same number of chords as Justin Timberlake's Sexy Back.

If Prince were any other nationality than American, he would have been as successful as... Shakin' Stevens. Why? Because the USofA has to be the biggest... OK!

Empress Touch wrote: Sign O The Times has exactly the same number of chords as Justin Timberlake's Sexy Back.

So what? Sign O The Times (the Prince original) is still a great song...

Personally, I couldn't give a flying toss whether it's got the same number of chords as a Justin Timberlake song...