Live On Music
Live On Music, Live For Music
Subscribe to RSS FeedLive On Music, Live For Music. For all your music needs.
2+ months on…
Well, its been a very long while since i last posted on here…
The last couple of months, besides working, christmas, and trying to get a band together, i havent really had much time to post and blog the goings on of Led Zeppelin…
So lets try and get some of the main points down.
Firstly… everyone wants to know if Led Zeppelin are going to tour…
well, Jimmy kind of squished thoe rumours of thejm playing bonnaroo, or glastonbury dead when he gave a press conference and mentioned that Robert was working on his Alison Krauss tour and that there would be nothing going on aslong as robert is putting his energy into that tour.
But he did hint at future gigs, but, it was just a hint, and there is no grounds to suspect anything other than a fans over analysis of what Jimmy said in a press conference.
Further information on Jimmy is that he was apparently spotted in Bangkok where he told fans that he was currently taking time out before heading back to london to remaster the audio from the reunion gig… for what wasnt clear, but if the audio is remastered, the film was all recorded, could make for a very nice 07 Live Zeppelin DVD and CD.
Whilst Jimmy is Busy, Roberts Views are as follows, according to contactmusic.com:
Veteran rocker ROBERT PLANT has cast further doubt on a LED ZEPPELIN reunion tour, because he’s not ready to pledge his full commitment to the group. Plant joined his fellow bandmates for a one-off tribute concert in London last December (07) and fans have been waiting for what they feel is an inevitable world tour announcement ever since. And while guitarist Jimmy Page has vowed to consider a tour after Plant concludes his string of live dates with new musical partner Alison Krauss, the singer admits going on the road with the legendary band is not one of his top priorities. He says, “I really enjoyed playing with my friends, and we are a lot closer because of it. But the responsibility, the whole deal…it’s a whole different thing to what I’m doing with Alison.”
Lindsay Lohan: The Biography
You can now pre-order ‘Lindsay Lohan: The Biography’ as written by Sandy Marshall. The biography looks at Lindsay’s life - from child fashion model to Disney star to actress and Hollywood it-girl. The book looks into Lindsay’s last few turbulent years, about her troubled childhood, her health, and her life. In this “no-holds barred biography, celebrity journalist Sarah Marshall reveals all about a girl who, though still young, has an incredible life story to tell.”
I couldn’t find any more information about this book except what was provided on Amazon, so I am really not sure about how much Lindsay may have contributed to it (if anything).
Buy this book here. It comes out on April 28, 2008.
Tags: lindsay lohan, lindsay lohan the biography, lindsay lohan book, biography, sandy marshall
The Living Room Gig
What a night at The Embassy in London last night! This was what Delirious? have described as their first ‘Living Room’ gig. An exclusive, intimate and informal evening with the band. Just 100 fans invited (although nearer to 160 people once you add on the guests, industry and media) at a very up-market London club. Leaving the tube at Green Park, I walked past the Ritz and arrived at the Embassy. From the street it doesn’t look much. A door, a restaurant style shop front, and a handful of people already queueing up. Unsure where to go or how to get in, I loitered until the authoritative figure of Mr Ian Cattle appeared at the door. He let me in, directed me to the lady with the passes and pointed me down a narrow flight of stairs.
On the below-ground-level floor I stepped off the stairs into a bar area, complete with plush leather sofas, tables and at one end a dance floor. Through the darkness I could make out a few people milling around and the sound of instruments being warmed up. I walked the short distance from the bottom of the stairs, to the far end of the bar where the dance floor was located, and realised with some surprise just how small this venue really was. The dance floor didn’t look nearly big enough to house 100 fans, and the ’stage’ (if you can call it that) nestled into the corner was already crammed full of equipment, instruments and two figures in the shadows who I identified as Stu and Jon.
After a brief chat with Jon, I watched as the whole band squeezed onto stage to sound check. Somehow they’d managed to fit a few lights into the room and the occasional spot light shone down on the band to reveal their glistening instruments. Stood, side by side, the guitars of Stu, Martin and Jon almost collided as they shared the small stage.
Sound checks are often not as interesting as they sound. Usually, as was the case here to start with, there is nothing but the sound of drums being banged, guitar notes being played, all incoherently played, individually rather than as a group. This isn’t me being rude about how Delirious? play, it’s just the nature of setting up, tuning up, warming up and checking everything works and sounds right. Eventually they played a few songs in unison, and it was then that I noticed things sounded wrong. Although I could hear the drums, hear the sound of Jon’s bass through his rig and Stu’s guitars through his amps, I couldn’t hear Martin’s voice. His mouth appeared to be moving, so perhaps he was saving his voice for the concert and just singing gently to himself.
I started chatting to a few familiar faces who were also standing around waiting and watching. Half of the Furious? Records office team were there so I chatted with Paul (merch), Mark (design), Clive (office manager) and Chris (web). Plus others such as Jamie (friend), Brett (very tall), Tim and Trev (crew). Through these conversations I discovered the reason for the lack of sound. No PA. Hmm. Turns out that the band had intended to use the in-house sound system, only to discover on arrival that it wasn’t up to their high standards. Solution? Send a man in a van on a frantic last minute dash across London in rush hour traffic to Romford to collect a ‘proper’ sound system. It was now 7pm, 15 minutes after the doors were due to have been opened to the ticket holding fans, and still the new PA hadn’t arrived.
As the band continued their somewhat muted sound check, I took the opportunity to take as many photos as possible, unsure how easy it would be to get good pics during the gig itself since everyone was going to be very cramped. (All of the photos in this post are from sound check) With the time slipping away several of the band members went out onto the street to try and apologise to the waiting fans for the lengthy delay. Eventually, at 7:30pm, a flurry of activity erupted as a series of large black boxes (aka the PA) were carried down the stairs and wheeled in. They were frantically stacked either side of the stage, plugged in and the band returned to the stage for a brief final sound check.
By 7:45pm the doors were open and the fans started to drift in, collecting a rather nice free CD (in paper back with Delirious-style receipt) on their way. The dance floor quickly disappeared and shortly after 8:30pm Delirious? squeezed their way through the crowd, onto stage and started their 10-song set. It was over all too soon, but unlike your average gig, the band didn’t disappear from sight, they mingled, chatted and gave fans a superb opportunity to meet and greet the band.
The Christmas Show 2007
With my usual imperfect timing I arrived at the restaurant in Shepherds Bush just as Jon was leaving. No matter, I walked with him to The Empire, passed the already lengthy queue of people standing outside in the freezing weather and in through the stage door. Jon waved his pass and the security person’s eyes came to rest on me. “Pass?” she demanded. “It’s ok, he’s with me” tried Jon. Not good enough. “Name?” she demanded again. A lady of few words, yet authoritative enough to show you that no arguing would be accepted. With a bit of help from production staffer Tim the magical AAA laminate came into my possession, allowing me access to all of those mysterious doors that are usually shut firmly in your face. Once in the dressing room Jon and I set about some pressing tasks, namely facebook scrabulous. Having missed dinner, Jon graciously raided the dressing room supplies for me. He presented me with two fun size Mars Bars, an orange and a drink (water of course, nothing but water). Who needs London restaurants anyway?
So by now you’ve seen my choice of photos for the blog. There’s no avoiding it, the subject of fancy dress has to be addressed. As each of the band members trickled into the dressing room, the subject of fancy dress was raised. More specifically, the lack of any sign of fancy dress in the queues of people waiting outside. I detected a few hints of “maybe this wasn’t such a good idea after all” syndrome among the band. Too late to back out now they began to don their outfits. As you can see from the above dressing room photo, this was no half hearted dress-up. Rumour has it that Tim liked his Austin Powers outfit so much he actually bought it rather than hire it. Jon’s hand gesture above was created after careful consideration. Deciding he really needed to know how to wave like the Pope, Jon carried out some detailed research on the subject, courtesy of Google (see below). It’s not often you see the Pope surfing the web.
There were a few logistical problems to resolve with Batman’s outfit, namely how to fit Stu’s ear pieces inside his mask. Then there was poor Stew, destined to an evening drenched in sweat inside his Gorilla suit.
It was about this time that Jon ‘JB’ Brown (head of Fierce) arrived in the dressing room, and took me aside for a long and interesting chat about what is going on in d: world. I’m not sure why I’m telling you this since I can’t actually tell you anything he told me, but suffice to say some things are going to happen next year that you don’t expect. Anyway, before long ’show time’ had arrived. I’d meant to pop downstairs to catch part of the support set, but somehow the time had passed before I’d even realised, and now Delirious? were taking the walk down several flights of stairs to congregate in the wings of the stage.
If there’s one venue I know well it’s Shepherds Bush Empire. This was my 10th time seeing Delirious? in the venue and with the help of my trusty AAA I was able to make use of the numerous, and now very familiar, corridors and doors that provide access from backstage to front of house, to stairwells and the balcony - providing a speedy route to any part of the venue. With my camera in hand I proceeded to tour the venue taking shots from every vantage point. I keep telling myself that one day I’ll go to a Delirious? gig and actually sit in a seat for the entire show (it’s never going to happen). The above photo shows the view from Trevor’s monitors desk at the side of stage. The guy works tirelessly through out the gig, with 5 different sound mixes to maintain - one specifically tailored to each band member. It’s fascinating to watch. At any moment one of the guys on stage could signal to Trevor, often little more than a wave of hand to indicate that there’s too much guitar in the mix, or not enough vocals. Trevor takes it all in his stride.
Up in the balcony you get a great view of the stage with the crowd tightly packed in jumping together like a swarm of bobbing insects. SBE has several different balconies, getting progressively higher towards the ceiling, but even from the very top you still feel like you’re in touching distance of the band on stage. There’s just something supremely special and intimate about this venue, one of the many reasons it’s my all time favourite music venue.
Another privilege of having the right pass is that you get to ‘do battle’ in the photographers pit in front of the crowd barriers. Squeezed into the pit with several other camera wielding people and numerous security personnel is an interesting experience. It does give the opportunity for some ‘looking up the bands nostrils’ shots though, and this one of Batman G playing guitar was a particular favourite of mine.
There was a part in the set where Martin and Stu sit alone on some stools in the middle of the stage. I watched this from the wings and was taken slightly by surprise as a large hairy creature came walking towards me. Stew had a 2-song break while Martin did some acoustic numbers so had decided to leave the relative discomfort of his drum set to strip out of the heat inducing Gorilla suit he was wearing. There was something slightly odd about talking to him mid-set. As Martin and Stu’s ‘Silent Night’ ended, Stu also left the stage to stand with Jon and Stew in the wings while Martin performed a solo rendition of ‘There Is An Angel’. Stu was desperately trying to persuade Jon to join him in some pantomime antics on stage to put Martin off, but I think they decided against it in the end.
The show ended and we all returned to the dressing room where I had to make a hurried exit to catch a train home. My camera contained another 250 d: photos to sort through, of which 18 made the cut to this website. Hope everyone has a great Christmas - see you in 2008.
Tags: form, music, Photos, site, Son
Kingdom Of Comfort
I’ve just added my review of new album Kingdom Of Comfort to Delirious.org.uk and here are a few more thoughts about it.
Getting used to a new album is a mix of emotions. There’s the excitement of what’s new, the eagerness to learn the songs, and the unfamiliarity of listening to something that’s not quite what you’ve heard before whilst still being somewhat familiar. Everyone has their own taste, and you listen out for that musical formula that directly meets your requirements. For me, I need certain things to enjoy music. When the ingredients in the music add up to what my brain knows it likes, I develop a bond with the music. Some songs instantly jump out and find a place in my sonical appetite, others take a while to convince me.
With Kingdom Of Comfort there were several songs that I knew from the first listen were going to be the 5/5 star rated songs in the review. Love Will Find A Way, Break The Silence and My Soul Sings all have the perfect ingredients. The first two have choruses that stick, begging to be sung, and guitar riffs that make you smile. My Soul Sings has that intense, emotional, close-your-eyes and stare-in-wonderment feeling to it that I can only compare to Take Off My Shoes from previous album The Mission Bell. There are two measures I use to know how much I love a song. One, I keep singing it to myself when I’ve turned off the iPod. Two, when the song ends I have to hit the back button and listen to it again straight away. This morning as I drove to work I did both those things with My Soul Sings. It could become an all time favourite.
Wonder is another song that I absolutely love. It just missed out on a top rank because I’m not sure the ’sweet heart’ reference feels right, but the chorus (it’s always the choruses I love) is just so infectious - absolutely amazing. I remember enjoying Stare The Monster down at the Living Room gig, but now I’ve really taken it in properly I can fully appreciate the lyrics. I mentioned several times in the review just how good the song writing is on this album, and it really has impressed me how well the words deal with difficult subjects like poverty and cancer.
And another thing - where’s the 2/5 rated song? For me, every Delirious? album has one song that I could live without. Love Is A Miracle (The Mission Bell), Everyone Knows (World Service), America (Audio Lessonover) - OK don’t shoot me, one man’s least favourite is another man’s favourite - I realise that, but the point is, I always find one song that in my opinion is only worth 2/5 stars. I couldn’t do it this time. Eagle Rider came close. But the more I listened the more I had to up its score to 3/5.
My opinions of the songs will change. This is just a review based on first impressions and to be honest, my track record isn’t great. In a moment of utter inexplicable madness I rated Take Off My Shoes 3/5 in my initial Mission Bell review. Within a few months it became not only my favourite on the album, but my all time favourite Delirious? song. So don’t pay too much attention to me now, other than to believe me when I say that Kingdom Of Comfort is an absolutely stunning album that I can’t stop listening to.
Greenbelt
There has been a gaping hole in my experience of live Christian music up till now. Since the early 70s the Greenbelt Festival has established itself as THE event of the year when it comes to live Christian music in the UK. Deciding it was about time I witnessed this festival for myself, I headed towards Cheltenham to see Delirious? perform at the final day of Greenbelt. Whilst on route I received a call from Jon and we arranged to rendez vous at the Air Balloon Pub, about 20 minutes outside of Cheltenham where he and his friend Jamie were stopping for lunch. Once there Jon filled me in on the band’s recent tour to Asia, an eventful trip with numerous stories ranging from bomb-threats to police raids. A little while later (and several trips around Gloucestershire’s roundabouts) the three of us arrived in convoy at Cheltenham Racecourse.
Making our way through the festival site, we located ‘mainstage’ and the glamorous ‘backstage area’. Said place is a fenced off area immediately behind ‘mainstage’ where technical crews and artists ‘hang out’. Yep, this is the place to be. You’ll be needing your red ‘mainstage pass’ (see below) to get past the yellow-jacketed security personnel and into this exclusive, no doubt luxourius, part of the festival. Or so I thought. On arrival it appears that dressing rooms at Greenbelt are not quite what you may expect. In fact they’re just small portacabins with a couple of chairs and a table (see above). So disappointing.
Jon was particularly keen for me to take photographic evidence of the provisions that had been laid out for the band. Yes I think it’s fair to say that this band have some outlandish demands on their rider. A bowl of crisps - EACH, and a whole basket of fruit. Nothing but the best for these superstars. Anyway, enough about the backstage facilities.
Rumour had it that there was a ‘contributors patio’ which was reserved for holders of the ‘purple pass’ with provisions for contributors. I followed Jon and Jamie through the throng of people gathered by mainstage to watch Chas & Dave as we weaved our way towards this alleged nirvana, all the while feeling slightly guilty that I would be passing myself off as a ‘contributor’. It turns out that Jon is a pretty popular guy. We could barely walk a few steps without him passing somebody he knew and stopping for a chat. Eventually we arrived at our destination, which was also slightly less glamorous than it sounded but did have a very pleasant man offering tea and coffee. After most of Littlehampton had said hello to Jon, we departed on a walk to the far side of the site guided by Mr Andy Hutch (lights and video genius) to visit the tented village he was sharing with another group of people who all seemed to know Jon (he really is Mr Popular). Anyway, in the interest of not getting completely bogged down in irrelevant details (and before I start writing about festival toilets), I’ll just skip the next few hours of general browsing of the festival.
The remaining Delirious? band members had by now arrived, and they were due to do ‘press’ backstage, so I wondered off in search of some music. Before long I discovered a tent where Retrofect were playing. For those not in the know, there is a d: connection with this band, Jon’s brother Ben is the drummer and Martin’s nephew Tom plays guitar. I noted Mum & Dad Thatcher proudly watching their youngest, and Jon also had a quick listen. Anyway… some more time passed [skip to the interesting bit] and at last it was 9:30pm and time for Delirious? to go on stage. I stood at the back of the stage watching as the band walked on and rocked straight into new song ‘God Is Smiling’. The view from on stage was stunning. I could see endless faces stretching out into the darkness like a vast sea, all focused on the 5 guys on stage just a few meters away from me.
Armed with a camera and my red pass I walked round to where the pit between stage and crowd was located. The yellow-jackets had other ideas. Apparently it was fine for me to stand within spitting distance of Stew and his drum kit on stage, but going in front of the stage was a no-no even with a red pass. After some careful negotiation they reluctantly agreed to let me in, on the condition that I wore ear plugs “for health and safety reasons”. Their concern for my hearing was touching but it occurred to me that standing in front of a band with yellow and pink blobs of foam stuck in your ears was about as big an insult as you can pay any band. So I graciously accepted the ear plugs I was offered by the yellow-jacket, shoved them in my pocket and entered the pit to start taking photos. A tap on my shoulder and apparently yellow-jacket had noticed I wasn’t wearing my life-protecting ear devices and was non too pleased. Reluctantly I stuck them in my ears and hoped the band wouldn’t notice.
There were more photographers in the pit than I’ve ever seen at a Delirious? concert, but being a Christian festival there was no jostling or pushing. Just polite excuse-me-pleases and envious looks from me that everyone else had professional looking gear with lenses longer than your forearm. One yellow-jacket took one look at my less than impressive camera and whispered in my ear (well it was more of a shout to be heard through my ear plugs) “are you sure you’re meant to be here?”. I scowled and moved to the other side of the pit.
Before I knew it Delirious? were coming back on stage for their final song encore. I made my way round the back of the stage again and up the steps to watch from the side of stage as they received their applause and took their bow. It was an impressive sight. Back in the portacabin dressing room Tim was relieved they’d done ok without a sound check and everyone seemed happy. Now to negotiate the Gloucestershire countryside for the journey home.
Tags: Artists, form, music, Photos, site, Son, Video
NEC Arena Birmingham
The NEC Arena in Birmingham is one of the most well known music venues in the UK, frequently hosting the biggest bands in the world. So to see Delirious? play there was a real treat. On arrival I went to collect my pass from the box office where the very kind box office lady offered to personally escort me to the backstage area. How’s that for service! She led me passed several security guards, darkened corridors and closed doors before we arrived outside another door labelled “Delirious? Dressing Room”. Inside Stu, Stew, Tim and a few crew members were relaxing on the sofa with an impressive buffet lunch laid out on one side. Just then my phone rang. The display said “Jon Thatcher”. Simultaneously the dressing room door opened and Jon walked in, phone to his ear “Hi Dave, where are you?”. “I’m in your dressing room” I replied as we made eye contact.
Jon and I went off to find a quieter room to talk shop, and we discussed the new Delirious.co.uk website and a few of their plans for the new album. Without wanting to give too much a way, I can honestly say the band have some very exciting plans for the future, and a very fan-focused approach to their new website. Back in the dressing room Stu’s laptop was playing REM’s ‘Everybody Hurts’ - probably the reason that later in the evening Martin burst into the same song whilst performing Majesty on stage! The concert tonight was being broadcast live on God TV and having not played a show in 2 weeks, and with only a very limited opportunity to sound check first, the band were perhaps understandably a little wary. Lee the guitar tech delivered Stu and Jon’s guitars to the dressing room, and Stew’s drum sticks and practise pad, for a little pre-gig warm up. I sat and watched in quiet admiration as Stu and Jon sat on the sofa in front of me performing an impromptu acoustic and instrumental rendition of one of the new songs. It was just the sound of guitar strings, no amplification, and a bit of foot tapping, but it was a delight to witness. Stew asked me if I’d been told the album title yet. “No, I haven’t” I replied. Then silence. A few exchanged glances between them, a cough, then a change of subject. Hmmm, not ready to tell me yet I decided. It was time for the band to move from their dressing room to the wings of the stage. I stood on the side of the stage with Jon and Stew, next to Trevour’s monitor desk, and chatted as they waited for show time. Again Stew broached the subject, “We can tell Dave the title can’t we?” he said. “Yeah I think so” agreed Jon. “Ok,” continued Stew, “the new album is called…”
I remember a few years ago getting a phone call from Jon Brown, head of the band’s Fierce Distribution label. He was phoning me to tell me about the then forthcoming album, The Mission Bell. I was walking along a main road at the time, traffic thundering passed me, and I had to ask JB to repeat the album title three times before I could actually hear what he said over the noise of the traffic. “The Mission what??” I kept asking. It was an embarrassing moment, and the fear of the same thing happening again this time meant that I lent in close to Stew as he revealed the new album title to me as we stood on the NEC Arena stage. It’s still a secret at the moment, a point Jon reinforced to me by standing on my foot as Stew told me, but I think they’ll be announcing it on their new website in a few days. So stay tuned for that.
Finally it was time for Delirious? to start their set. I spent the first half of the show still stood by the monitors desk, getting a good view of the stage and Arena. God TV were doing an impressive job of covering the event. One cameraman spent his time moving between Jon and Stew on stage, poking his shoulder holstered camera through the cymbals or to within inches of Jon’s bass strings. Another camera operator did the same on the opposite side of the stage with Stu and Tim. In the ‘pit’ between stage and crowd, a camera whizzed from one side of the stage to the other, pushed along on a trolley at break neck speeds. Another camera soared above the heads of the crowd on a crane positioned in the pit. From where I was stood at the side of the stage I could just make out a further 2 cameras on tripods near the back of the arena by the sound desk, another at the very back on a trolley and a further one in the seating on one side of the crowd. Clearly every available angle was covered. It made for a few ‘interesting’ moments where Stu nearly sent a camera operator flying when he dared to get a little too close during a guitar solo, and another moment where a photographer nearly got flattened in the pit by the 100mph camera trolley operator.
Deciding it was time to get a different angle myself, I headed to the back of the venue to enjoy the view of the stage’s light show in full. As the final song of the main set ended, I met up with the band as they came off stage and chatted some more as we hung around behind the stage while the ‘talky bit’ happened. There was some debate involving tour manager Ian Cattle about how many songs they were coming back on stage to perform at the end. Originally they’d planned to end with God Is Smiling, but the event was running ahead of schedule, and with a live TV broadcast to fill Delirious? were given a 2 song ending slot instead. So Investigate was quickly chosen as the extra song, and before long the band were back on stage to perform the end of their set.
For the final two songs I watched from the other side of the stage, the side where Stu stands. Watching Stu play the Investigate guitar solo at close proximity was stunning. He was absolutely on fire, even Martin was stood there open mouthed watching Stu rocking away into his own little world. (Back in the dressing room later on Stu complained that his fingers were sore - can’t imagine why!) As Investigate ended the band linked arms and bowed, before leaving the stage. I joined them back in the dressing room where Jon pulled out his laptop and handed me a set of headphones and let me listen to the title track from the new album. Apparently it’s a good representation of the theme of the album. Needless to say I loved the track. It starts with a simple drum machine beat with a steady tempo, then two thirds of the way through the drums kick in and the song starts to soar. I politely declined the opportunity to join them for dinner, and instead said goodbye and left to try and find my car in the labyrinth that is the NEC car park.
Tags: Album, form, music, site, Son
The Future
So, the superb new Delirious.co.uk V3 website has gone live, and what a treat it is. Lovely new design, additional features, lots of interaction and perhaps most exciting of all, the Living Room and its Sofa - home to the band’s personal blogs. There are some additions still to be revealed which will continue to make it a superb resource for d: fans on the web.
Which brings me to the point of this post. Where does the future lie for Delirious.org.uk? Already people have started to ask that question on the forum, and I’ve avoided being too specific as there are a few things yet to be announced. However, I think it’s pretty clear that Delirious.org.uk needs to change. The goal of my site has always been to provide a source of up to date Delirious? information for fans, giving them things they couldn’t easily find elsewhere. The official site will always be the definitive source of information, but there tended to be a gap that I was able to fill with my site. That is until now. Now the excellent V3 is a lot more fluid, more up to date and more interactive. Time will tell how things work out, but early indications show that the band are more keen than ever to keep fans updated on what is going on.
That is exactly what an official band site should be about. So, where does that leave Delirious.org.uk? Is there still space for an unofficial site alongside such a splendid official site? To be honest, that is a question I’ve been asking myself recently. It would be nice to hear your opinions too. At the very least I think it is time for Delirious.org.uk to have a little facelift. Under the shadow of V3 it suddenly feels very old fashioned and out dated. So, what should change? What would you like to see added or changed with Delirious.org.uk? Simply a new paint job, a whole new design, a complete rebuild? I’m open to suggestions. Or perhaps you feel that Delirious.org.uk is no longer needed. Perhaps V3 fills the gap that Delirious.org.uk once filled, and now as a fan you can get everything you need from V3.
This isn’t about my ego (honestly!). I’m not writing this to get a flood of comments saying how much you want me to keep my site. I’m not saying I’m going to act on every piece of feedback I get here. But it would be interesting to know what visitors to the site really think. Change or no change? Future or no future? Let me know. I can take it. I hope. (Well, be gentle with me otherwise I might get grumpy, ok?). Add your comments below.
The Christmas Show 2006
The Delirious? Christmas Show is always one of the highlights of the year, and this year was no exception. I’d been told before arriving that my pass from the recent UK tour would be valid for the Christmas show, so I arrived at about 4:15pm and knocked on the stage door around the back of the Shepherds Bush Empire. When the security guy opened the door I waved my pass at him, only to hear the words “That pass isn’t valid any more”. Good start. Thankfully he was one of the few helpful security guards that exist, and I was escorted inside to the security desk where he asked my name and checked me against his list. “You’re not on the list”. Things were going well. Half expecting to find myself back outside on the street with a sore backside, I was surprised when instead he picked up his phone and called tour manager Ian. “I’ve got a Dave Wood at stage door” he said, before listening to the response for a few seconds and hanging up. Good news or bad? I wondered. Sigh of relief as he reached for a bright red pass marked ‘AAA’ and handed it to me.
With the potential crisis averted, I became aware of the unmistakable sound of a Delirious? sound check in progress. Heading through the doors, down the steps, and through a few more doors I arrived onto side of stage, behind Trevor’s mixing desk (monitor engineer). In front of me, in the semi-darkness (stage lights not yet in use) I could see Delirious? and a large choir assembled on stage. The choir leader/conductor was stood in front of the choir talking to them. “If you don’t know the words just sing ‘Rhubarb’ or something. Whatever you do, don’t turn around and look at the words on the screen or I’ll shoot you” she said to them sternly. The band and choir rehearsed the moment when the choir will walk on during ‘Majesty’ and join in for the chorus. Next up, Delirious? practice a very rock and roll version of ‘Hark The Herald’, and then the sound check is finished. The band come to greet me and I wonder off upstairs to the dressing room with Jon. On the way we pass Matt Redman arriving through the stage door (unlike me, his name is on ‘the list’).
One thing that always impresses me about Delirious? is that they surround themselves with top professionals, especially when it comes to their crew. Tonight they have Neil on lights, who has just returned from shooting a TV series. Matt their sound man has just rushed back from doing the sound for Jarvis Cocker on this afternoon’s recording of tonight’s Jonathan Ross TV show. Another crew members has spent the day working with Natasha Bedingfield, also shooting a TV show. These aren’t just guys the band found hanging around a street corner, they’re all recognised experts in their field of work who actively choose to fit Delirious? into their busy schedules, packed full of big name mainstream artists. It says something about the level of professionalism that goes into a Delirious? show. Anyway, a little while later it’s time to head to a restaurant for dinner. Once inside, the band are pounced on by an extremely enthusiastic fan who has come all the way from Italy just for tonight’s gig. Despite the slightly unexpected intrusion, they pose for photographs without complaint before we all take up seats for dinner. Sat either side of me are Jon and Stew, across the table are Neil (lights) and Jamie (a journalist friend of Jon, who I’m told has plenty of dirt on him - so I happily take his business card when it’s offered to me!). Over pasta and pizza we chat about various things. It amuses me to hear that Jon has just had his adapted suit (complete with bat wings) back from the dry cleaners (I bet the dry cleaner got a bit of a surprise when they cleaned the outfit).
Back at the venue everyone gathers in the large room behind the stage for a pre-gig prayer meeting. The room is rather over crowded as the 30+ members of the choir, 5 members of Delirious?, Matt Redman and band, plus hangers on (like me!) gather together. Stu G says a few words, thanking everyone for coming to perform tonight and then looks over at Martin and says “So, what do we do now?”. There’s general laughter as people joke that Stu doesn’t know how to pray. Stu responds with a story about the first band he was part of, many years ago, where he was the only non-Christian in the band and quickly had to learn how to talk like a Christian. Matt Redman quips that he must be talking about a band called “Cutting Edge” and more laughter fills the room. When things quieten down, Stu, Martin, Matt and a few others say prayers and then we file out of the room. On the way back to Delirious’ dressing room, we again pass the stage door where Carrie and David Grant are just arriving. I see another familiar face behind them, who I’m fairly sure is athlete Jamie Baulch.
As we head upstairs to the dressing room, I pass Tom (tour manager Ian’s right-hand mand) who stops me and says “Dave, would you like to fire a cannon tonight?”. I ignore the pictures flashing through my mind of large black cannon balls flying off the side of a pirate ship, and focus instead on the confetti cannons that get fired to shower the crowd with millions of tiny pieces of paper, creating a fake indoor snowstorm. I happily agree, and arrange to meet Tom during the encore. In the dressing room the band start to ready themselves for the show. Setlists are looked over, Jon practices with his Bass and Stew hits his drumsticks against a practice pad on his knee. I’m amazed to find that Stew is an almost entirely self-taught drummer, having only had 2 lessons in his entire life “and they were a couple of years ago” he explains. I leave the band in the dressing room and head onto the side of the stage to watch the end of Matt Redman’s support set. He’s doing well and the crowd are very receptive.
Finally it’s time for Delirious? to perform. I crouch down in the security pit between stage and crowd and take as many photos as I can for the first few songs, before heading again to the side of stage to take some photos looking out from behind the band out onto the crowd. Then it’s up into balcony level 1 for some more photos. Later as I stand just off the side of the stage, I notice Matt Redman sitting on the floor, watching Delirious? and singing along to ‘Our God Reigns’. Before I know it, the band leave the stage for the encore break so I dash off to find Tom. He hands me a clear plastic tube, about a metre in length, stuffed full of tiny pieces of paper. He gives me a few instructions and then we head off, along with several other cannon wielders, up the back stairs to balcony levels 2 and 3. He sends each of us off to a different part of the balcony so that we are arranged all around the perimeter, and then we wait for our cue.
Delirious? come back on stage to sing All This Time followed by Stronger, and then their final Christmas number, Hark The Herald Angels Sing. Mid way through the song we all pull the release cord on our confetti cannons and a cheer goes up from the crowd as the confetti fills the venue and floats down on everyone from high up in the roof. I pull out my camera again quickly to take some photos of the scene, before the show comes to an end. With everything finished I catch up with the band again in the dressing room, and then follow Jon down to the after show party where friends, family and colleagues are gathered. It was a stunning night. My only regret was not being able to stay for longer at the after show party, but as it was I didn’t get to bed till 2am after the train journey home - and then got woken at 6am by my daughter, so I think it was just as well I left when I did!
Tags: Artists, form, News, Photos, Son
Glorious Oak
So, Delirious? are in the studio at the moment working on their new album. Exciting times. What will it sound like? Well, I have a ‘Delirious.org.uk World Exclusive’ for you. Let me recount a conversation I just had with the bass-playing-extraordinaire that is Mr Jon ‘The Bass’ Thatcher. It went something like this…
Me: How are you?
Jon: Good. Just been putting down some bass
Me: How is it sounding?
Jon: The new stuff?
Me: Yeah
Jon: It’s the new sound
Me: Err, right…
Jon: If our last records were the roots then this record would be a glorious oak standing on top of the past
So there you have it. Don’t say I don’t keep you informed.