First, let me get this out of the way, there were two types of tickets, and I don't know if this is the first time they tried it or not, but it was not a very good system. We paid almost 10 dollars more for 'preferred seating,' not that seating was necessary but the higher price ticket should have some clear-cut amenities and not vary depending on which staff member is manning that post, tending the bar, or taking tickets at the door. Let's just say that the inconsistencies left it a bit awkward up front as most were seated and there was about a four foot empty space between people and the stage. Of course the cheaper ticket people wanted in, there was tons of room! What got in later were drunkards and rock piggies. I'll ask a few questions and want to see something in writing on the website maybe before I spend the extra again. Now I've gotten my venting about the venue out of the way. On to the show! Do watch out - the strobe-y lights make the videos go funny once or twice.
First up, a repost of the first video just so I have them all in one post: Slip of the Tongue and Number One with a Bullet.
I know I said I wasn't going to take much video, but I did - a lot. Five and a half songs worth. Well, I couldn't be the one to walk up to center stage like I did at last year's U.D.O. show at the same place, it was not the same vibe. Some that did got asked to move by the people seated behind them. Yeah, rock and roll, baby. That is probably why I wound up recording more than planned. Trying to stand back and to the side is boring, I like being in the mix up front. That doesn't mean moshing or jostling for position, just getting as close as you can to the stage without touching your neighbor. LOL, that's my speed these days and - quite frankly - what it is actually like when you get people more or less my age at a show! It's the young whippersnappers that cause most of the trouble... *shakes cane* Get off my lawn!
I've seen this band once before in the late eighties (or possibly the very early nineties) opening for Iron Maiden. I remember because Frehley's Comet was first advertised as the opener but was replaced a few weeks before the show. Too bad I don't remember much from the concert. This night I had a few drinks early but then only water as it is a bit of a drive back home.
Faster Pussycat has one original member though three of the four others have been with him since 2001, and even in the band The Newlydeads. Including bassist Danny Nordahl, whom I posted about recently. He was around in the bar (surprise!) before we got there so, yes, I was able to give him a hard time about the falling down video. He laughed it off and got another beer - professional drinker, methinks. In fact, most of the bands were around all night before they were to go on the stage. Most of us didn't care because they weren't Taime Downe, lead singer and original FP member. I got my tee shirt before the show started. I have to, bands don't bring enough 2X shirts so I usually have slim pickings and have to get it early and stash it in the car if I can. Actually, the cute little girl that I bought the shirt from was Taime Downe's daughter, Katie, I think. You can hear him say her name at the beginning of this second video when he calls an audible and they play Poison Ivy for her, which I guess they don't play live much anymore.
The band played well and I was familiar with everything they played. Maybe 13 or 14 songs or so, but I enjoyed being there. I've loved their music for a long, long time and hearing it and watching it from feet away was a thrill, though dampened by the venue's odd tickets and undefined rules. I was there for one thing, to watch and listen to Taime Downe, and that is exactly what I got. I've never stopped loving Taime Downe and Faster Pussycat since 1987 and I shall continue to enjoy them. I did overhear Ace (Von Johnson, the newer guitarist) over at the bar say they were working on a new album. I found that to be good news as albums come far and few between for this band, only 4 studio albums since 1987 - with a live one and a couple EP's and compilations mixed in.
Let's finish* with the last video I took, the last part of the show. I started in the middle of a break in the song Bathroom Wall, and kept it recording through Shut Up & F**k and the finale, Babylon.
Previous LLP Posts...
LLP 1 - Pain
LLP 2 - Nightwish
LLP 3 - Die Antwoord
LLP 4 - Pain part 2
LLP 5 - Andrew Bird
LLP 6 - Nightwish part 2
LLP 7 - Paramore
LLP 8 - Newsted
LLP 9 - U.D.O.
LLP 10 - Nightwish Imaginaerum Movie
LLP 11 - Kiss
LLP 12 - Rick Springfield
LLP 13 - Hyrax
LLP 14 - In This Moment
*I say 'finish' but I will post just one picture after the break, but it's an ugly one!
Yes, I look terrible because it is almost 2:30 am and I had a day (and night), but this is Taime Downe and my ugly mug. We waited a half hour or so for him to come out after the show. He was very nice, I got a picture, then I went home. Incidentally, that is his daughter in the background.
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