KT Tunstall
STORMONT CASTLE, BELFAST, NI
FRIDAY JUNE 20TH 2008
What the fuck are the Police doing on "Punk Rocker"? P.D.C.
must be going soft in the head to feature this crap I hear you spit at the
computer screen between uncontrollable expletives.
Love them or hate them (I like them myself, a guilty pleasure) the Police
were definitely one of the better original era new wave bands, and they
released more than a few good tunes in their time whether or not your
punk rock snobbery allows you to admit it. You know you like em! really.
Yeah they played the hardcore punk club circuit including the Roxy
(second fiddle to the terrible Cherry Vanilla) and yeah they'll always be
remembered as cod reggae bandwagon jumpers and chancers in punk
circles. Which is fair enough because its more or less true, but that
prejudice is not what matters now 30 years on .
Okay Sting is an pompous arrogant bad actor and crap solo act, Stuart Copeland is a typical
opinionated loudmouth yank and crap tv talent judge and Andy Summers is a muso guitar
player who has been around for a very very long time, and yes they were massively successful
(as were Blondie but they didn't have to suffer the slings and arrows because they were from
NYC and they had Debbie) but thats no reason for punks to hate the music which was pretty
good sometimes. The early albums were patchy but some of those early singles are three
minute gems and thats where my opinion of the Police is based .
Anyone who is familar with NI 's troubled past will be familiar with tonights venue "Stormont".
Which was the disputed seat of power that lay at the root of much of the division that has
blighted this island and is now home to highly paid and under worked useless local politicians
who still can't agree on most things. The tickets for this show were vastly overpriced and thats
probably the main reason that it failed to sell out, coporate rock is an expensive business and
Anti Flag would be ashamed of me for being here. There was no way I was gonna pay the
wallet lightening full price (£74.50) so I took my chances on ebay and I managed to secure two
golden circle tickets at a very reasonable price. infact I was offered two tickets on the day at an
even more attractive price as speculators/scalpers who bought extra tickets to make a fast buck
from hopefully disappointed punters were badly caught out and were desperate to cut their
loses and off load their useless investments.
There was a long country path walk from the gates to the gig area where we were
surrounded by a lot of people who were older than me (some were much much older,
oxygen and zimmers required) who obviously don't go to the gigs I normally attend, and
which to be honest was off putting in the exreme. The MOR sound of support act
KT Tunstall was already wafting through the trees as we strolled along. Lets cut to the
chase here and not waste time. Her act for me, though highly professional, was extremely
boring with only a couple of uptempo foottappers stopping me from collapsing and falling
asleep on the dry grass (yeah surprisingly no rain!), it was the musical equivalent of a
handful of mogadons, but each to their own some punters liked her...I didn't! Why could'nt
we have the Stranglers supporting like the London Hyde park gig, now that would have
been something special. KT was not my thing at all, so I was glad when the pre headliner
tape comp featuring the Specials, the Clash, Bob Marley and Peter Tosh amongst
others was played and helped erase the memory of the previous 45 mins.
The staging was a giant construction which looked like it cost a pretty penny complete with
a galaxy of twinkling lights, video screens and bits of machinery that moved up and down
throughout. It was a very impressive piece of engineering and looked absolutely amazing
when it finally got got dark enough near the end of the show for the full effect to be
appreciated. As for the Police themselves and i know it probably pains you to read this
but they were very very good! They opened with 'Message In A Bottle' and played a great
set featuring all those classic singles such as 'Roxanne','Can't Stand Losing You', 'So
Lonely' etc. As well as a few choice album tracks. I'm normally not a big fan of these
outdoor mega gigs, but the musicianship and sound quality couldn't be faulted, plus they
had a bass sound so lowwwwww it actually had the ground shaking as well as the groin
tingling. And Sting does actually have a sense of humour and swears ocassionally.
Me and my trusty sidekick these days Spikey Steve really enoyed the whole spectacle and
its just a pity the band are calling it a day after this tour. I wish i'd seen them way back
when they were in their prime, but this was their first ever visit to Belfast as the Police and
as good as its gonna get now. It was a really good night out and i'm glad I overcame my
reservations and attended the gig. Thats another classic band off the 'to see before its too
late list', wonder will the Sex Pistols ever play Belfast? As they''re taking even longer than
this lot to reach these shores, the Pistols been gigging worldwide in recent years and to
their shame theres still no Belfast on the tour dates. Its alright Johnny, you'll be safe now,
not that you were ever in any danger to begin with.
Now I wasn't gong to reveal this but as i've already pissed you off with this review and my punk credibility will be zero afterwards anyway who gives a toss so
here goes. I just like loud in your face guitar based rock'n'roll music whatever the genre and I have wide and varied tastes, but me and SS are off tonight to
see (courtesy of ebay again) glam rockers and Pistols/ManRaze cohorts Def Leppard accompanied by Whitesnake play a rockin double header Befast
arena show at the Odyssey. I've seen them both live before many years ago so i know it'll be great so stick that in your punky pipe and smoke it LOL.
Joe Donnelly Belfast . 21.6.08
STORMONT CASTLE, BELFAST, NI
FRIDAY JUNE 20TH 2008
What the fuck are the Police doing on "Punk Rocker"? P.D.C.
must be going soft in the head to feature this crap I hear you spit at the
computer screen between uncontrollable expletives.
Love them or hate them (I like them myself, a guilty pleasure) the Police
were definitely one of the better original era new wave bands, and they
released more than a few good tunes in their time whether or not your
punk rock snobbery allows you to admit it. You know you like em! really.
Yeah they played the hardcore punk club circuit including the Roxy
(second fiddle to the terrible Cherry Vanilla) and yeah they'll always be
remembered as cod reggae bandwagon jumpers and chancers in punk
circles. Which is fair enough because its more or less true, but that
prejudice is not what matters now 30 years on .
Okay Sting is an pompous arrogant bad actor and crap solo act, Stuart Copeland is a typical
opinionated loudmouth yank and crap tv talent judge and Andy Summers is a muso guitar
player who has been around for a very very long time, and yes they were massively successful
(as were Blondie but they didn't have to suffer the slings and arrows because they were from
NYC and they had Debbie) but thats no reason for punks to hate the music which was pretty
good sometimes. The early albums were patchy but some of those early singles are three
minute gems and thats where my opinion of the Police is based .
Anyone who is familar with NI 's troubled past will be familiar with tonights venue "Stormont".
Which was the disputed seat of power that lay at the root of much of the division that has
blighted this island and is now home to highly paid and under worked useless local politicians
who still can't agree on most things. The tickets for this show were vastly overpriced and thats
probably the main reason that it failed to sell out, coporate rock is an expensive business and
Anti Flag would be ashamed of me for being here. There was no way I was gonna pay the
wallet lightening full price (£74.50) so I took my chances on ebay and I managed to secure two
golden circle tickets at a very reasonable price. infact I was offered two tickets on the day at an
even more attractive price as speculators/scalpers who bought extra tickets to make a fast buck
from hopefully disappointed punters were badly caught out and were desperate to cut their
loses and off load their useless investments.
There was a long country path walk from the gates to the gig area where we were
surrounded by a lot of people who were older than me (some were much much older,
oxygen and zimmers required) who obviously don't go to the gigs I normally attend, and
which to be honest was off putting in the exreme. The MOR sound of support act
KT Tunstall was already wafting through the trees as we strolled along. Lets cut to the
chase here and not waste time. Her act for me, though highly professional, was extremely
boring with only a couple of uptempo foottappers stopping me from collapsing and falling
asleep on the dry grass (yeah surprisingly no rain!), it was the musical equivalent of a
handful of mogadons, but each to their own some punters liked her...I didn't! Why could'nt
we have the Stranglers supporting like the London Hyde park gig, now that would have
been something special. KT was not my thing at all, so I was glad when the pre headliner
tape comp featuring the Specials, the Clash, Bob Marley and Peter Tosh amongst
others was played and helped erase the memory of the previous 45 mins.
The staging was a giant construction which looked like it cost a pretty penny complete with
a galaxy of twinkling lights, video screens and bits of machinery that moved up and down
throughout. It was a very impressive piece of engineering and looked absolutely amazing
when it finally got got dark enough near the end of the show for the full effect to be
appreciated. As for the Police themselves and i know it probably pains you to read this
but they were very very good! They opened with 'Message In A Bottle' and played a great
set featuring all those classic singles such as 'Roxanne','Can't Stand Losing You', 'So
Lonely' etc. As well as a few choice album tracks. I'm normally not a big fan of these
outdoor mega gigs, but the musicianship and sound quality couldn't be faulted, plus they
had a bass sound so lowwwwww it actually had the ground shaking as well as the groin
tingling. And Sting does actually have a sense of humour and swears ocassionally.
Me and my trusty sidekick these days Spikey Steve really enoyed the whole spectacle and
its just a pity the band are calling it a day after this tour. I wish i'd seen them way back
when they were in their prime, but this was their first ever visit to Belfast as the Police and
as good as its gonna get now. It was a really good night out and i'm glad I overcame my
reservations and attended the gig. Thats another classic band off the 'to see before its too
late list', wonder will the Sex Pistols ever play Belfast? As they''re taking even longer than
this lot to reach these shores, the Pistols been gigging worldwide in recent years and to
their shame theres still no Belfast on the tour dates. Its alright Johnny, you'll be safe now,
not that you were ever in any danger to begin with.
Now I wasn't gong to reveal this but as i've already pissed you off with this review and my punk credibility will be zero afterwards anyway who gives a toss so
here goes. I just like loud in your face guitar based rock'n'roll music whatever the genre and I have wide and varied tastes, but me and SS are off tonight to
see (courtesy of ebay again) glam rockers and Pistols/ManRaze cohorts Def Leppard accompanied by Whitesnake play a rockin double header Befast
arena show at the Odyssey. I've seen them both live before many years ago so i know it'll be great so stick that in your punky pipe and smoke it LOL.
Joe Donnelly Belfast . 21.6.08
