Tanya at Westbeth in New York City, New York October 28, 1997
Mike reports:
Well, I just got back from the Tanya concert at in NYC and this was one Hell of a show!
First though was the In-Store signing at Sam Goody. I met Chris and Danfrom the list along with 2 guys who were on the line with us. Tanya sang 3 acoustic songs -Restless (which she messed up twice at the beginning and blamed on the codine :), Swoon and Mysteries. After she quickly signed stuff for fans. There was a one item limit so I gave my friend who I dragged along my Lovesongs Sleeve to have signed and I attempted to have my Limited edition King book signed but this BIG dude stopped me and told me that only the new CD could be signed. I wasn't happy but getting the group pic w/ Tanya during the signing made up for it. I did get a poster despite the same guy telling me I couldn't. I just waited for him to turn around and I grabbed it. Now onto the show...
The opening band, Garageland, was ok but not spectacular. I think it's a rule that opening acts have no personality. Anyway though, It took an exceptionally long time to get the set ready for tanya and co. during which a girl fainted and had to be taken away (she returned at the end to beg for a set list from one of the crew...she didn't get it). Finally Tanya came out after a 30+ minute setup. She said that the bus arrived late and this was their sound check. We forgive her :) Poor Dan though had to leave halfway through. He apologized to Tanya and said goodbye. Tanya thanked him for coming and then everyone in the club said goodbye! That was very cool. As for the set it was great as usual. At times during the show she couldn't sing loud enough to be heard over the instruments due to her being sick and she was obviously frustrated, gritting her teeth. She did calm down though and hit some difficult notes on Bright Light and Swoon much to her, and our, delight. When she came out for the encore Chris gave Tanya the get well card. She had a big smile on her face as she thanked him. She forgot it on the Amp after the show but we told one of the crew and he gave it to Rich who told us that he'll give it to her. For someone who's not feeling well she performed exceptionally well.
The set list is a follows:
Restless (acoustic)
Acrobat (Dean on acoustic guitar)
Breathe Around You
Low Red Moon
Lantern
Manna
Swoon
Pretty Deep
Bright Light
Dusted
Human
Mysteries of the Unexplained
Clipped
----------------------
Spaghetti
Bum
After the show was the best though. We had a chance to talk to Rich, Dean and Tanya! Rich and Dean signed my Lovesongs booklet and Tanya shook my hand, thanked me for coming and signed my King Book (BITE ME BIG-GOOF AT SAM GOODY!!)! When everyone went upstairs myself, Chris, Pete and Glenn (the two guys we met earlier) were resting our legs when Dean came back down and we all talk to him for about 10 minutes. He is a real cool guy! We found out that him and Tanya fell in love becouse they both act like kindergarteners, They've been married for a year (Sept 22, 1996 is the exact date), Bright Light is the next video and the video is ready (it was filmed in one continuous take and is reminicent of a 40's monster movie). We wanted to get a pic with the entire band but we realized that tanya wasn't feeling well and that we shouldn't impose ourselves on her like that so we left (we were the last ones there besides crew too!).
All in all this was a great show and a great night! It was scary when the girl fainted but to see her at the end of the show was a relief. Hey Ata, were you able to make it? I didn't see you. Rachel, we couldn't find you at the signing. Were you there?
Well it's 4 in the morning and I think it's time to get some sleep. Later everyone!
Mike
Cris reports:
Hi everyone,
I finally made it back to my dorm room safe and sound. Man what a night! If I remember correctly, at the Sam Goody in-store, Tanya played "Restless", "Manna", AND "Mysteries of the Unexplained"! This was quite a surprise because I had heard that she only did two songs in the other in-stores.
M.I.A. were Rachel and Kevin Sullivan... where were you guys!? We ended up taking the group photo minus two bodies... I hope it comes out good. It was nice to meet Mike (Bonefig!), Daniel, former listmember Pete, and soon-to-be listmember Glenn!
I printed out several copies of the opening page for the TD section of my website (http://www.oocities.org/SunsetStrip/Palladium/1994/tanya.html). I distributed it to anyone who wanted it... some people got theirs signed! Tanya was wondering where it came from and thanked me for putting up a website in her honor! I got mine autographed, but she misspelled my name (she wrote "Chris" but it should have been "Cris"... maybe I should seriously consider having the spelling of my name changed ;) ). I was to shy to correct her right there... luckily, after the Westbeth show, I worked up the courage to bring it to her attention... she apologized and fixed it :) What a sweetheart!
I took an extraordinarily huge amount of photos with my brand new APS camera... I must have used up 22 exposures just for the Sam Goody in-store! I think I took close to 50 at Westbeth. I don't know how I'm gonna afford to get all these developed! Keep an eye out for it on my website.
It was a strange night indeed. Two people fainted... I think one guy all the way in the back passed out sometime during Garageland (who's not that bad actually, they were much much better than Lincoln from the Sept. 6 show at Irving Plaza). The girl standing right behind me fainted during the loooooong intermission. She's ok though 'cause she came back to life in the end to battle Mike for the setlist! ;)
Sorry Daniel had to leave early... (Dan, did you make it to the shuttle in time?) And where was Ata? I guess he couldn't break free from his co-workers...
I handed the get-well card to Tanya as she bent down to get her guitar for the encore (which was Spaghetti, Bum, and I think one more song i can't seem to remember)
Here's what they played:
The Bees (Tanya Solo acoustic)
Acrobat (Dean on Tanya's acoustic guitar)
Breathe Around You
Low Red Moon
Lantern (Elizabeth steen on accordion)
Manna
Swoon
Pretty Deep
(Daniel had to leave right after this... Tanya had the crowd say goodbye!)
Bright Light
Dusted
Human
Mysteries of the Unexplained
Clipped
Time of the Season
I got a chance to take a photo of Rich Gilbert but I don't think it came out good because he moved after the flash fired (my camera has some strange red-eye reduction flash sequence I wasn't familiar with) Ditto for Dean. I didn't want to push for second attempts 'cause think I blinded them... they did sign the cd sleeve for my copy of Lovesongs, though! Mike, Pete, Glenn, and I were hoping that the whole band would come down so that I could get a group pix of the band. However, it was late and we didn't want to wear out our welcome...
I'll leave the chat with Dean Fisher for Mike to discuss...
OK I'm through ranting on and on... must get some sleep
- Cristopher Aguinaldo
Gregg reports:
Tanya Donelly at Westbeth Theater, 10/28/97
If you're one of those people that grades concerts on a sliding scale of zero to ten, then you've got to start Tanya Donelly out with an automatic 5 just for showing up last night for her show at Westbeth Theater.
TD's been battling walking pneumonia for over a week, and somewhere between Toronto and New York, her tour bus broke down. Add to the mix a last minute change of venue and you've got the makings of a cancelled show. But TD not only made the show, she played and sang ferociously, winding her way thru a sometimes fiery, sometimes beautiful, 80 minute set. If she didn't have to take a few seconds to "loosen a little phlegm" after each song, you'd never know her body was racked with the fever.
And if it wasn't enough for her to treat the adoring crowd to a monstrous set, earlier in the evening she did an in-store acoustic mini-set at a local record chain, singing three songs and then sitting down for autographs and photos. As she signed my copy of "LOVESONGS..." she asked me how I was doing. She's got pneumonia and asks me how I'm doing. What a cool person. Meanwhile, Mick Jagger gets a little tickle in his throat and cancels a live television concert. I'd like a re-count on this whole "hardest working band in show business" deal right now, please.
Because of the tour bus mishap, the band didn't have a chance to sound check, which delayed the beginning of the set by about 25 minutes while the techies tuned guitars and adjusted microphone equalizations. I was standing just by the stage right area (Rich Gilbert's side of the stage) when TD walked right by me and took the stage for a solo acoustic take on "The Bees." Joined by the rest of the group, she introduced everyone by first name to the crowd. Drummer David Narcizo got a huge welcome, with one fan shouting that David was the best drummer in rock. This prompted David to comment "maybe not tonight."
Then they were off. Tearing thru most of "LOVESONGS..." and a few Belly classics ("Dusted", "Low Red Moon") at a break neck pace, the band gained enormous momentum by the time they got to "Breathe Around You." Even this early in the show, "Breathe..." gained new life, especially as TD and keyboardist/backing singer Elizabeth Steen put a new spin on the second verse, singing it in a much higher register than the album version. For me, the ultimate highlight of a show brimming over with highlights was "Low Red Moon." Although this was never my favorite "STAR" track, I think it is now. TD and band turned a potentially good song into an all out great song. TD strummed furiously through the heavy sections of the verses, which were punctuated by some mighty slaps from Narcizo's snare drum. And the band cranked on behind her, slowly transforming the tune into a weighty slab of grunge metal that would make Chris Cornell proud.
"Pretty Deep", "The Bright Light" and "Lantern" also grew new meat when performed live, sounding bouncier and with an added punch from the rhythm section. And the production quality of "LOVESONGS..." was not compromised by the limitations of live performance. The subtle stops, peaks and valleys of the new material were handled bravely and flawlessy by the band, especially by Narcizo and bassist Dean Fisher. The band as a whole works extremely well together, never more evident then on the Zombies cover "Time of the Season", which was duplicated perfectly, albeit a little tongue-in-cheek.
The show closed with a two song encore, highlighted by "Bum." This was an interesting moment in the show. "Bum" is a musically challenging tune, there are complexities going on between instruments that are hard to notice at first listen, plus there are some tricky dynamic changes that take the song from a roar to a whisper within the space of one beat. And for most of the tune, Tanya is mewling the lyrics in her best meow. To deliver such goods at the closing moments of an exhausting show, zonked out on Codeine prescribed for pneumonia, tired from a sleepless night on a broken down tour bus, it would take a superhuman of infinite might. But diminutive and beautiful Tanya Donelly, all 5 feet 4 inches of her (I'm estimating), pulled it off with a big smile and made it look easy.
Gregg Lee
Cris adds to Mike's report:
She played "The Bees", although it said "Restless" on the set lists.
You forgot to mention that Gary Smith chapperoned their first date! ;) They went on a boat ride in a lake and Gary was doing the rowing...
- Cris (no "h" dammit)
Daniel reports:
Well, Since I'm the Third Listmember at the show..I'll give my rendering of the night.
I was waiting out infront of Sam Goody when I met Chris....and we met Mike inside right before we went upstairs for Tanya's show. Mike was in the middle of the crowd when he just yelled "Is there a Chris Here" I yelled Yeah, He's over here" and we all got togehter.
The IN-STORE was great "except for the 9ft tall bastard who decided to stand in front of ME!!!!!!
Tanya kept screwing up on a song (i forget which one) 'Till she screamed out "FUCK" (with a coy smile) and said "That's what Codiene will do to 'ya"....all in all a very cute exchange with the crowd.
Since Mike and I didn't have "LOVESONGS" with us The NAZI who managed the record store wouldn't let us get our stuff signed. (on the way to the show I had picked up a limited edition ADVANCED COPY of STAR) But even though Tanya Couldn't sign it...Rich Gilbert (who was off to the side was MORE than happy to sign for me. He looked at it and said "You know...I never really played with BELLY" and I just smiled and said "that's OK..I know who you are" He was really very friendly
SO, onto WESTBETH:
We were the first in line. So as all respectable LIST-members should...We pretty much Monopolized the front of the stage. Garageland was adequite, but very forgettable.
After the 19 hour set change, Tanya Finally went on. She was GREAT you could hardly tell she was so sick except for the occaisional cough.
BUT..........Since the DAMN set change took so long I had to leave (VERY RELUCTANTLY) the show halfway through.......
As I was Leaving...I said Goodbye to Tanya...She asked where I was going Keep in mind she's talking to me through the microphone, so Everybody is hearing this....I Told her I had to leave so I could catch the last Shuttle back to New Jersey. She Apologized for the long set change and had the Whole band..and the ENTIRE audience say goodbye..then she said "Be careful getting back" and I left Red-faced, and with a grin from ear-to-ear. Oh, and yes....I DID make the last bus...By 2 MIN!!!!
It was cool to meet the list members. I had met Mike at Boston last year, and I met Chris for the first time.
Also, Thanx to Mike for the invite to crash in case I missed the bus. We're all just like one big happy family on this list!!
SORRY laura couldn't make it! Have fun at Tonight's show!
Kevin reports:
Well, I expected a bunch of show reviews for this one already but I guess not:) First off I want to express my regrets for not being able to meet up with any of you at the in-store. My girlfriend and I missed the train and the next one didn't get us into Manhattan until 5:40. Then we had to go downtown go all the way to the Mercury Lounge (much further walk then I expected) and all the way back to Sam Goody. By the time we got there Tanya was just finishing Mysteries of the Unexplained, and there was alot more people there than I expected so I had no idea who was from the list and who wasn't:( But I did manage to get my ltd.ed Lovesongs for Underdogs signed and my girlfriend got her Sliding and Diving 7" signed in silver paint marker which looks really awesome:) She got one of the promo posters from the cashier, and we headed to Westbeth. We get to the venue and we find out that the place is an 18+ venue which totally surprised us because everyone was saying it was an all ages show...we are both over 18 but my girlfriend didn't have ID on her so they wouldn't let her in. Anyway to make a long story short the only reason they let us in was because "The Supper Club show was advertised as an all ages show so we have to let everyone who has tickets in." Which was messed up because the Supper Club show was most definitely not advertised as an all ages show, the Westbeth show was. The opening band, Garageland, I thought was pretty boring. Except for the drummer they all looked like they didn't want to be there and they didn't play anything that caught my ear. Just my opinion of course:) Tanya was awesome, she opened up with the Bees which really surprised me because there were two diferent setlists in front of me(I got both of them:) and it wasn't on either of them. Here is what was played:
The Bees/Acrobat(Dean/Acou)/Breathe Around You/Low Red Moon/ Lantern(accord)/Manna/Swoon/Pretty Deep/Bright Light/Dusted/Human/Mysteries(acous)/Clipped(acous)/Time of the Season/Encore: Spaghetti(awesome!)/Bum/
and this is what was exactly on the setlist:
Restless(lap steel/acous)/Acrobat(Dean/Acou)/Breathe Around You/Low Red Moon/Lantern(accord)/Manna/Swoon/Pretty Deep/Bright Light/Dusted/Human/Mysteries(acous)/Clipped(acous)/
Restless was at the top of the setlist but wasn't played. If it had been, every song from Sliding and Diving would have been played which would have been cool:) The other setlist that was onstage wasn't much different except Spaghetti and Landspeed Song were on it and Manna wasn't. The highlight of the show for me was right when Tanya came onstage she looked right at me and I gave her a big smile and she gave me this big smile right back, it made my night:) I had talked with her at the in-store but that just really made me happy for some reason. Oh well i suppose I've rambled on enough...I hope everyone who went had a great time and again I apologize for not being able to meet up with anyone:( I saw a group of people in front of Tanya give her a card in a red envelope at the end of the show so i'm assuming that was the you guys:)
-Kevin-