Type O Negative at the Astoria

'HEY PETE!'

-Type O Negative @ The Astoria

20/06/2003

Pete Steele shows us the size of his penis, as the rest of the lads recreate their favourite scene from the movie 'Blazing Saddles'!

Hard though it may be to believe, it’s been four years since Type O Negative’s last studio outing (‘World Coming Down’) and just as long since their last UK tour. As might be expected the promise of a new LP and a London date are enough to get the faithful flying from their cobwebbed towers. Of course, since we last heard from Pete Steele and Co, a rather strange thing has happened and metal has actually become trendy

(Although we won‘t hold Evanescence’s current number 1 against them, despite the phrase ‘Lacuna Coil have been robbed’ coming to mind!), with Goth wannabe Nu Metal stalwarts such as the Murderdolls ripping off Type O left right and centre. With Type O’s influence so openly flaunted by their progeny, it might come as a surprise to find that tonight’s gathering at the Astoria is of a very 'old' metal fan base. By that we’re saying that its primarily dominated by 30 something males with beer guts and receding long hair. The lack of Gothic ladies is something of a surprise considering how often Peter S wins ‘Most Shaggable Man’ in the various magazine polls, then again maybe it’s the guys who are voting for him!

Soon Petey and the boys trot onstage to surprisingly little fanfare, and career into ‘Unsuccessfully Coping With The Natural Beauty of Infidelity’ with the way the band are lined up onstage appearing to reflect their place in the sound mix. For a metal band, Type O’s live sound is a little odd in that there’s a conscious effort to capture the epic atmospherics of the studio recordings, rather than just crank up everything as loud as it will go. Pete’s thick doom-tinged vocals are still pretty prominent, but the lead guitar parts and drums are pretty much pushed to the back of the mix. Likewise the onstage drum kit is hidden in the right hand corner of the stage and its view is pretty much obscured. Pride of place on the stage appears to go to the vast racks of keyboards, which would surely be enough to have prog rock legend Mike Oldfield cream his pants. I guess we can’t complain really, as it would be pretty easy for them to stick all the keyboard parts on DAT like everybody else does. And can you really fault a song with a chorus of the words "He knows you’re fucking someone else"? Who said NIN’s ‘Closer’ had the best lyrical refrain of the last decade?

"I’ve had a bad day" Notes Pete. "I’ve had the shits all day". Considering the gargantuan size of Mr Steele (Believe me, this guy could have Bret 'Hitman' Hart running for cover!) we can only wonder about the current state of the toilet facilities back stage at the Astoria! Still ever the trooper, Pete continues to dazzle the crowd with a selection of well-chosen classics. In what has to be a bootlegger’s dream come true (if there were any actually in the house due to the tight security!) we get ‘Christian Woman’, ‘Everyone I Love is Dead’, ‘Love You to Death’, ‘Everything Dies’ and the usual parade of songs about kinky sex and life being a general asshole. And a grand total of one new song. Yes, one new song and one alone. Looks like we won’t be able to check out the quality of the new album after all!

But perhaps the most surprising element of tonight is Pete himself. He’s shaken off his surly old self and is actually indulging in a spot of impromptu comedy (with the obligatory drum roll following each punch line!). Either having the shits is playing havoc with his nervous system or he’s taken some severely bad drugs to remedy it! "Should I phone my girlfriend?" he asks the crowd. "I shagged her" cries a fan. "Well, better have an Aids test pal!" Returns Mr Steele. "You guys suck" cries another wag. "Well at least I didn’t pay twenty quid to get in here" replies a smug Pete. Either we now have a new happy, clappy Pete Steele or he’s taken something that can’t be too good for him in the long run!

Yet after what has to be the quickest hour in live music history, they’re off the stage. A cautious encore follows, with Pete obviously fresh from the bathroom. We get another new song and then the vampiretic favourite of Anne Rice fans everywhere ‘Black No.1’. And that’s it. No ‘Cinnamon Girl’ (although we weren’t expecting it) and no ‘My Girlfriend’s Girlfriend’ (although that track’s absence is a surprise).

Usually the greatest hits option that they took with the set list would have been welcome, tonight it just feels lazy. Oh well, at least we can rest assured Pete seems to have livened up a little (or maybe that was just his stomach talking). Type O may have lost some of their decadent gloom, but what they’ve lost in atmosphere they make up for with pure confidence and bravado. Who need’s the schlocky Goth cabaret that Marilyn Manson’s flirting with when you can have the sauce and chocolate of Type O (which was probably also the state of Pete’s underwear after this gig - yuck!).

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