"Out of my mind on Cope and speed"

So, then, Julian Cope at the Northumbria Uni last night ?

Fan-bloody-tastic - I was stood about two feet in front of the Drude himself for the 2 hours of the show !! When they rocked they REALLY rocked (hence the ears still ringing quite badly) and Julian did a little solo bit part way through with just him and a guitar. For the main belly of the set it was a very loud, "goes up to 11", three-piece of Mr Cope, regailing us with vocals, bass and anecdotes, Mr E on drums & facepaint and Dogan (once of Spiritulised) on lead and pulling rock shapes.

As promised they dropped in some old stuff including a few Teardrop Explodes too. Oh, and some great between song banter about Red Bull, kissing girls in the crowd and posing for potential puzzled onlookers at motorway services at 4am in the morning.

In a (just corrected) running order of:-

Nothing To Lose Except My Mind
White Bitch Comes Good
She's Got A Ring On Her Finger [And Another One Through Her Nose]
Books
Double Vegetation
Shot Down
Highway To The Sun
World War Pigs
Mr. Invasion
Sunspots
Hanging Out & Hung Up On The Line
Soul Desert
I'm Your Daddy
Julian H Cope
Out Of My Mind On Dope & Speed
Robert Mitchum
Zoroaster
Hell Is Wicked
World Shut Your Mouth
Spacehopper

I couldn't believe he played 'Robert Mitchum' AND "out of my mind.....' as these were two tracks I love and was hoping he'd play but to get both of them was a most pleasant surprise - I was well happy !!

He was bloody funny when he was rambling on between tracks - a proper entertainer. Oh, and he was wearing the exact same gloves as me and he noticed part way through and smiled.

How good is he still and how much fun was the show ? I bought three CD's at the show and ordered two more online when I got in. That's how good he is/was !

That'll take me up to 23 Cope albums !!

Gleehead Detector

So, what have I been doing since the last post ? That's the last post on here not that somebody has played 'the last post', just in case you were wondering.

Well, I've been blogging like mad. Ah. No. I've not been, have I ? Like the above it's an easy mistake to make.

Still, I'm here now as it's a pre-gig mix of nervousness and excitement as I'm off to se Julian "Arch Drude" Cope tomorrow night. I've had his albums on shuffle for the last day or two and I'm realising that there could be no way I can 'swat up' ready for the show.

He's vowed to play a two hour set or more each night, varying what they play from his 20yr history so as to feature as many tracks as possible over the tour. He's even said in a newspaper interview this morning that they'll be squeezing in some rarely play Teardrop Explodes tracks too. I smiled a big "w00t" smile at that bit. Maybe I'll hear 'Perky Jellypop Jean' ?

With 39 albums, some of them doubles, under his belt I know it's going to be a night to surprise and amuse. For all his eccentricity I've always found him to have a pretty genius turn of phrase and the sleight of hand he uses to shoe-horn wordplay into his lyrics is a constant throughout. Add to that the ability to hit the floor as a three piece Stooges wig-out or a gentle acoustic solo and even the nature of the show is up for guessing.

Either way, it's one of the most daunting gigs I've had lined up for a while due to the unpredictability of him. Hmm. If I know he'll be like that, does that make it predictable instead ? I'm confused now.

As for the title, that's something for the Cope-heads out there.

Bat where they belong......Bauhaus '06

Bauhaus from Monday night then - I reckon I ought to post something.

Soooooooooo good - far better than it had any right to be.

The setlist included the following:-

Burning From The Inside
In The Flat Field
God In An Alcove
In Fear of Fear
Terror Couple Kill Colonel
Swing The Heartache
She's In Parties
Spirit
Passion of Lovers
Silent Hedges
Kick In The Eye
Hollow Hills
Rosegarden Funeral of Sores
Stigmata Martyr
Hair of the Dog
Dark Entries
Transmission feat St. Vitus Dance
Telegram Sam
Ziggy Stardust
Bela Lugosi's Dead

The cover (and a quite breathtaking one at that) of Joy Divisions 'Transmission' was dedicated to "a dear friend" - the place went ballistic !

This Carpathian is soooooooo happy right now - been wanting to see them since '79 (literally since then) and when I did they were everything I'd hoped.

I stood no more than 4ft from Peter Murphy through the show - (un)dead centre and at the front. The guy is a certifiable genius....or a genius and certifiable ;)

Anybody wondering about going to a gig on the tour or if they still 'have it'....let me tell you they are still as vitally captivating as ever and beyond the scene that spawned them way back when.

Probably in my top five gigs ever.