Comments on: Check the Guy’s Track Record: The Fall, Spiegeltent, Dublin September 08

By: aridal

aridal — Thu, 18 Sep 2008 19:11:17 +0000

donagh wrote the generic fall review. it will be regurgitated by guardian online for these the last three yrs of mark’s life.

By: Donagh

Donagh — Thu, 18 Sep 2008 13:30:07 +0000

I was thinking of Mr. Pharmacist being a cover when I wrote it, and that you couldn’t strictly call it a Fall song. Actually I was thinking about the absurdity of Sonic Youth doing a cover of M.P, and how they made it sound like a sonic youth version of the original song, which is fairly useless as a homage to the Fall.

On that point check out this cartoon by Jeffrey Lewis, which was done in response to the question “Do you think Mark E Smith is slowly turning into Stephen Hawking (looks-wise, that is)?”

http://drownedinsound.com/images/28571.jpeg

‘$63.80c per day’!! - the only reason he doesn’t sue Fall Online is because of the steady stream of Dutch Gold.

NO! I will never accept a compliment.
Yep, no lazy, paragraph fillers for me. Although I did use the phrase ‘petrified gnome’ in my recent Fall post.

By: jimkennedy

jimkennedy — Thu, 18 Sep 2008 11:50:46 +0000

Jeez, Donagh, take the compliment when it’s going - ‘thorough’ is a good thing.

It’s also probably the longest review of the Fall that doesn’t mention the number of studio albums, the rotating cast, anyone’s granny, bongoes, or any of the other usual, lazy, paragraph fillers. Well done. You haven’t even used any variant on the word ‘curmudgeon.’

By: Conor McCabe

Conor McCabe — Wed, 17 Sep 2008 20:35:51 +0000

$63.80c per day. Around 40 cans of Dutch Gold. All consumed by Mark E. Smith, of course.

By: Seán Báite

Seán Báite — Wed, 17 Sep 2008 20:30:00 +0000

‘Donagh Thoroughgood and the Reviewers’….
yeah but, Donagh, how many cans of Dutch Gold per day are Fall Online worth ??
PS Don’t forget that Mr Pharmacist is another insired cover and not, strictly speaking a Fall song…

By: Donagh

Donagh — Wed, 17 Sep 2008 14:28:31 +0000

Hey, so did I. Did I not mention that? I think they always play two or three from the back catalogue, so every tour is going to have a couple of favourites I guess.

The Fall is like any other cult. If it sticks around long enough there is always plenty of young impressionable types who are more than willing to be sucked into it, and who soon enough start getting fixated by the leader.
not just the beardy 30somethings (hi Donagh!)
Hmmm, at least I can still be called beardy.

By the way, the Fall Online called this review ‘thorough’. Looking back on it, I suppose it is a bit long. Bloody Fall Online

By: jimkennedy

jimkennedy — Wed, 17 Sep 2008 13:33:53 +0000

I dunno, I loved it. Carry Bag Man and Pharmacist? Does this make it a greatest hits tour? I like the way there’s a mix of heads at Fall gigs these days, not just the beardy 30somethings (hi Donagh!) any more. There were actual youths bopping up the front.
Fantastic Life!
Jim.

By: Donagh

Donagh — Tue, 16 Sep 2008 14:02:32 +0000

Thanks for that Alan. I’d forgotten that about the aul lad. I didn’t fit in about the stage invasion, or the tonk sound when Smith hit back the bottle of whiskey raised to him with the mike. The fight at the end though did prove that all was not well, atmosphere wise especially up the front.

By: alan

alan — Tue, 16 Sep 2008 11:13:49 +0000

so talking briefly to the auld bloke you mention, he said he was ‘from lancashire…a lancashire w*nker…’ and I think he was related to someone in the band or crew because all the crew were very protective of him. or maybe some relative of smith - it used to be common to see his sisters and even his mum at gigs. he went seriously nuts during the gig, especially during ‘wings’, leaning over the barrier, his arse wagging like a duck, beckoning lewdly and hollering at some bemused kids at stage-front. fantastically creepy. he did a stage invasion too, to much applause. there was a real air of malevolance at this gig, which always works well for the fall in terms of creative tension on-stage and heightened expectation off-stage. mark tried to smash a profferred whiskey bottle out of the hands of some idiot using his mic at one point. one thing I noticed was that elena couldn’t wait to get off stage and her usual eye contact and friendly wave to the crowd at the end was distinctly absent. I don’t think the band were so impressed by the audience vibe, it was a striking contrast to the atmosphere at the same travellling venue, spiegletent, in cork a couple of months ago.