Bristol

[Aces]

Well, as a complete neutral to Ginger and his band, this was my first gig and in fact I don't know any of their songs. I attended the gig with a mate who is a huge fan.

So what was my unbiased impression? Personally I thought the gig was excellent. I found Ginger's comments funny and in most cases quite true (especially about the state of the current music business.) Unfortunately, in general, watching live rock music right now is a dying trend.

Last night I went to see Blaze Bayley at The Tunnels in Bristol and he was pretty much echoing what Ginger had said just a couple of nights previously - that rock music is being overlooked for crap on TV like The X Factor.

Perhaps some of the complainers who wanted their money back should try living the lifestyles of some of these bands who have to constantly tour to earn a basic wage. Gone are the days of huge stadium tours and record sales. That is the reason why so many old bands are back on the road because music piracy has put paid to many of their pensions.

What I saw at Ginger' Bristol gig (and at Blaze's gig a couple of nights afterwards) was a band that played with sincerity and emotion. I have no prior knowledge of how Ginger can be onstage, or as a person, but what I came away with from the gig was that he was a very dedicated front man to the crowd and his band. Perhaps people forgot how thankful he was to the 'true fans' and the support bands. How many times did he ask us to 'help the other bands by buying their T Shirts'?

Both myself and my mate were at the very front of stage up until the encore. The reason why we moved was because things were getting a bit boisterous with idiots pushing each other around and basically making asses of themselves.

So, as a totally neutral observer, I for one totally back up Ginger and also condemn the idiot who went up on stage. From my perspective it appeared like he tried to grab the mike stand and Ginger hit the mike into the roadies face as he tried to get the fan off stage.

Gigging up and down the country (especially in the winter months) can be gruelling enough and you usually find that many artists are pretty burnt out by the end of a long tour.

Perhaps the next gig you go to you will take into consideration that you have seen 3 good bands for a measly £12 (£8 in Blaze's case) and that these guys gig not for the money really, but for you, the fans!

[markE]

Wow - nice post Aces.
Welcome aboard and i hope you stick around for the musical and emotional rollecoaster that is being a Ginger/Wildhearts fan.

[joelwreford]

Aces

[Andwah]

What's the headshake for?
That hits the nail on the head, (i wasn't at Bristol) I was at the Toon and the only other front man that bigs up his band and his fans as much as Ginger is Jay Kay (bring on the stick), poles apart but loving the music and the appreciation. But to actually explain the workings of a tour the way Ginger did in Newcastle makes you appreciate just how much effort goes into 1 gig.
I think it was Duff McKagan that said something along the lines of 'You can have the show for free, you're paying for the waiting around, soundcheck and the travelling'?

Ahll Bahlls

[joelwreford]

Okay, sorry for the intrusion. I'm out.

Other than to say that video earlier in the thread of Inglorious was outstanding.

[WiredOut]

This shit's ended more times than Lord Of The Rings.

[Jason_scorching_past]

There isn't such a thing as a good crowdsurfer. All crowdsurfers are an annoyance and should piss off. You don't find yourself magically on top of the crowd for no reason and the only person having a good time is the crowdsurfer. Nobody else wants your boots in their face and clearly the incident that occurred at Bristol is the sort of result that can happen. Someone ended up in A+E, yeah excellent, rock n roll.

There is happy medium between enjoying a gig and getting involved and crowd surfing, it's not hard to work it out. The options aren't stand still and do nothing or crowd surf. This isn't directed at the poeple who prefer to just watch but to anyone saying the crowdsurfer was just enjoying the gig like Ginger asked him to.

As for the other stuff, Ginger was right to complain if poeple can't even be bothered to clap a song once the band have put the effort into playing it. Fair enough you don't have to dance about and go crazy but a bit of appreciation isn't much to ask.

[joelwreford]

You're opening things up again here mate. Ginger was NOT right to pick on just a few people at the back not clapping hard enough, asking why they even bothered fucking coming, then offering to pay them to leave, and not in a sarcastic way.

[luceo non uro]

What happened to 'end of' and 'peace out' and all that crap. Time to move on methinks.

[Jason_scorching_past]

You might think Ginger was not right to do that, I say he was. I guess we disagree on that one. If you see a show it's generally the right response to clap at the end of a song.

I'm just expressing my opinion, you don't have to jump in just because it doesn't align with yours. If you think the topic is closed then don't respond. Your opinion on the situation is all over twitter, youtube and here so you don't need to keep repeating it.

[Smithy]

Well, as a complete neutral to Ginger and his band, this was my first gig and in fact I don't know any of their songs. I attended the gig with a mate who is a huge fan.

So what was my unbiased impression? Personally I thought the gig was excellent. I found Ginger's comments funny and in most cases quite true (especially about the state of the current music business.) Unfortunately, in general, watching live rock music right now is a dying trend.

Last night I went to see Blaze Bayley at The Tunnels in Bristol and he was pretty much echoing what Ginger had said just a couple of nights previously - that rock music is being overlooked for crap on TV like The X Factor.

Perhaps some of the complainers who wanted their money back should try living the lifestyles of some of these bands who have to constantly tour to earn a basic wage. Gone are the days of huge stadium tours and record sales. That is the reason why so many old bands are back on the road because music piracy has put paid to many of their pensions.

What I saw at Ginger' Bristol gig (and at Blaze's gig a couple of nights afterwards) was a band that played with sincerity and emotion. I have no prior knowledge of how Ginger can be onstage, or as a person, but what I came away with from the gig was that he was a very dedicated front man to the crowd and his band. Perhaps people forgot how thankful he was to the 'true fans' and the support bands. How many times did he ask us to 'help the other bands by buying their T Shirts'?

Both myself and my mate were at the very front of stage up until the encore. The reason why we moved was because things were getting a bit boisterous with idiots pushing each other around and basically making asses of themselves.

So, as a totally neutral observer, I for one totally back up Ginger and also condemn the idiot who went up on stage. From my perspective it appeared like he tried to grab the mike stand and Ginger hit the mike into the roadies face as he tried to get the fan off stage.

Gigging up and down the country (especially in the winter months) can be gruelling enough and you usually find that many artists are pretty burnt out by the end of a long tour.

Perhaps the next gig you go to you will take into consideration that you have seen 3 good bands for a measly £12 (£8 in Blaze's case) and that these guys gig not for the money really, but for you, the fans!

That is a great post mate.Well said.

There isn't such a thing as a good crowdsurfer. All crowdsurfers are an annoyance and should piss off. You don't find yourself magically on top of the crowd for no reason and the only person having a good time is the crowdsurfer. Nobody else wants your boots in their face and clearly the incident that occurred at Bristol is the sort of result that can happen. Someone ended up in A+E, yeah excellent, rock n roll.

There is happy medium between enjoying a gig and getting involved and crowd surfing, it's not hard to work it out. The options aren't stand still and do nothing or crowd surf. This isn't directed at the poeple who prefer to just watch but to anyone saying the crowdsurfer was just enjoying the gig like Ginger asked him to.

As for the other stuff, Ginger was right to complain if poeple can't even be bothered to clap a song once the band have put the effort into playing it. Fair enough you don't have to dance about and go crazy but a bit of appreciation isn't much to ask.

Completely agree with this post.

I love going to gigs. I drive to most of them so not fortunate enough to be able to have a few beers and go bonkers!

When i do drive to gigs, i tend to really take in the music and participate in the song. When a songs finishes i would never stand there, hands in pockets, and ignore the fact that the band on stage had just played a song - I clap, cheer, and show my appreciation. Its not good seeing people stood there, doing nothing when a band are playing their balls off

As for Crowdsurfers - F**k Em!!! Had plenty of lumps on me heed and bruises after being kicked by these t***s when i used to go up to the front of a gig.

[Sarc]

This could go on and on forever so I'm flexing my mad skillz as a mod and locking this topic to hopefully stop the risk of things getting nasty.
End of.