"Buzzcock's Salisbury last night.

[Greatkudu]

Morning all.Well haven't seen the Buzzcock's for a few years.The last time they had Tony Barber on Bass and Phil Barker on drums,since then there has been a rhythm section change,I will get to that later.

They played Salisbury city hall,and had the ch2 format,which reduces the size of the floor space (for a more intimate show).A polite way of saying,we can't get the usual 1100 capacity.
But who cares,it did make for a great atmosphere,It wasn't packed but there was good sized crowd.Made up of some grizzled old punks,teenagers in Ramones t-shirts and others.

I spotted a z class known person Ie:Julian Richards who presented the series "Meet the Ancestors" he was sporting a Ramones t-shirt.And that was the thing other than Buzzcocks t-shirts,
the largest amout of t-shirts being worn were for the Ramones (no one liked them when they were alive).Before I get to the actual music,I had the surprise and shock of my life.I used to work for the Ministry of Defence,and at the gig was a chap who used to be the highest ranking civil servant where I worked.The equivalent of a General in rank.I would never have imagined
in a million years,that a man like that would attend a punk gig.He even stood at the front,and was dressed so smart It was unbelievable.It just shows,you shouldn't assume anything.

Now to the actual gig.One word "Fantastic".The sound balance was good,the band played brilliantly and they mixed it up with about 4 or 5 songs from the excellent new album.Steve Diggle
was amazing,he seemed to be drinking water? Didn't fuck up the songs,like he has sometimes in the past,by being of his face.Pete Shelley was his usual slightly camp self.The latest bass player Chris Remmington is a very solid bass player.My favourite songs of the night were "Harmony" blinding" version "Chainstore" and some of the new songs worked really well.

To finish off I must give a special mention to drum maestro Danny Farrant,I first heard him on Spear's "Morning Star" album about 8 years ago?.His drumming last night was a lesson in precision skill and pin point timing.A truely gifted player,after the gig he came out the front,and I had a chat with him,I said "any chance of some used stick's"?.He was only to happy to oblige.He signed them to,he is truely the friendliest and most down to earth musician I have ever met and a true gent.A great end to the evening,go and see the Buzzcock's you won't be dissapointed.

[theraven1979]

Great stuff - "the sound balance was good" !! Never thought this happened at a Buzzcocks gig!

Jim

[Greatkudu]

Great stuff - "the sound balance was good" !! Never thought this happened at a Buzzcocks gig!

Jim

Nor me,but it really was a good balance.Vocals clear in the mix.And not to loud.

[Alexinblack]

Great review mate, one or two Stranglers t shirts at Manchester last weel.

[gizzard]

Great review fella, sadly missed them this tour(Salisbury was the closet gig to me).

I've never been to a duff Buzzcocks gig, always a great night when they are in town.

[zontar]

Nice report.

Re: "...the largest number of t-shirts worn were for the Ramones." In his posthumous memoir COMMANDO Johnny R stated, "I made more money after we stopped than I ever did when the Ramones were active. We made a lot of money from merchandising, and the records sold better than ever. MAYBE EVERYONE DOES LOVE YOU WHEN YOU'RE DEAD."

[ThruBeingCool]

Good review. Saw them last week in Nottingham and they put on a solid performance there too. A bit thin on the ground audience wise but Stuart Pearce seemed to be having a good time along with everyone else. Overall business as usual but I think they need to look at smaller venues in future. Atmosphere is as important as anything else regarding a gig experience. Inni?

[Toiler On The Sea]

Pics from the Glasgow show.
http://www.amazingmusicpix.com/#!/index ... DyG5.93BaU

[Greatkudu]

Sadly there was a rather small crowd for the Salisbury gig.A shame as Salisbury should support band's more.They even reduced the venue size to CH2 size,with a reduced capcity.

But so much space,but the band did themselves proud.And I must mention how great Steve Diggle was,so much energy.Without being out of it

[fourth horseman]

Sadly there was a rather small crowd for the Salisbury gig.A shame as Salisbury should support band's more.They even reduced the venue size to CH2 size,with a reduced capcity.

But so much space,but the band did themselves proud.And I must mention how great Steve Diggle was,so much energy.Without being out of it

Funny that. Manchester seemed quite packed as well as London. I went to both of these gigs and they were brilliant, particularly Manchester which edged it atmosphere wise.

Their set featured about half a dozen tracks from the new album. I think a few people on here haven't particularly warmed to it but I think it's got a handful of good solid songs on it which became more apparent after a few listens and they seemed to pick those songs correctly for the set.

Sound wise it's a tricky one with Buzzcocks. It's obviously difficult given the heavy distorted guitar sound being so prominent, but like any gig it all depends on where you stand. The two gigs I went to on the tour I started out near and around the back or middle where the sound was much better, but as soon as you get stuck into the pit then certain parts of the mix go down and guitar becomes overpowering. Surely no one in the midst of an alcohol fueled pogo would mind certain parts of the mix being louder than others, especially with songs like Autonomy and Noise Annoys etc blaring out?

After seeing them countless times now, more than any other band perhaps, I'd always recommend Buzzcocks if they're playing in your town or near by. You might get a dodgy sound from gig to gig but if you're expecting a slick operation go and see U2 or Take That - If you want 90 minutes of none stop 2 and half minute timeless punk songs about teenage angst and a wall of distorted guitar noise then get y'self a ticket.