Reviews of the first gig in Vegas, February 16th

[dw1200]

Lo all,

Despite HOB nazis (poor Spencer getting hoofed out in the 1st song & wandings), managed to sneak some poor photos from the cellphone.

Great shots and thank you... I tried to warn you all about the facist regime at HOB.

As for recording... I know of one.... but this guy is hitting the first six shows before heading back home so it will probably be a week of so before he gets it on the net.

[Obviousman]

Thanks merrisl for the pics and dw1200 for reassuring us a record has been made

[doctoravalanche]

Very nice pictures, thanks !!!!

[Ozpat]

What Obviousman said....

[mugabe]

One afro, one pate, one mohawk.

[Erudite]

What Obviousman said....

And if I may repeat that...

[Obviousman]

As seen on Dominion:

Draw your own conclusions, but while speaking with Ben after the Vegas
show, he made a comment that they are working on a spanking new song that
will be added to the setlist as soon as it's up to snuff. He said the
goal was to have it from the first night, but that Chris' appendix
problems meant they haven't had as much time to work on it as they would
have liked. He added that they have also at least discussed the
possibility of a new album, but it was said with an air of innocence that
can only come from someone who is new to the Sisters camp. He mentioned
that he had never even really heard of them before his audition in Leeds
back on December 21. Pretty impressive job on learning the material in
such short order, IMO. See you all tonight in Tempe.

[Ozpat]

As seen on Dominion:

Draw your own conclusions, but while speaking with Ben after the Vegas
show, he made a comment that they are working on a spanking new song that
will be added to the setlist as soon as it's up to snuff. He said the
goal was to have it from the first night, but that Chris' appendix
problems meant they haven't had as much time to work on it as they would
have liked. He added that they have also at least discussed the
possibility of a new album, but it was said with an air of innocence that
can only come from someone who is new to the Sisters camp. He mentioned
that he had never even really heard of them before his audition in Leeds
back on December 21. Pretty impressive job on learning the material in
such short order, IMO. See you all tonight in Tempe.

Can't wait....

[Bill Hicks]

[biggy]

he had never even really heard of them before his audition in Leeds
back on December 21.

THEN BEN CHRISTO IS A LYING LITTLE f**ker !!!!!

On his myspace page he lists his influences :

"The Cure, Killswitch Engage, Boysetsfire, AFI, The Cult, Thrice, 36 Crazyfists, Sisters of Mercy, Rush, Killing Joke, Judas Priest, The Almighty, Nik Kershaw, Thursday, Sevendust, Waterdown, U2, AC/DC, Wildhearts, (Early) Def Leppard, Days When I, Katatonia, Claytown Troupe... "

[beatnick138]

Calm Biggy, calm.

[Eva]

... he had never even really heard of them before his audition in Leeds back on December 21.

That's exactly the impression I had when I first saw Ben's picture..... He's rather a Bon Jovi kid isn't he..... Outch....

[Obviousman]

he had never even really heard of them before his audition in Leeds
back on December 21.

THEN BEN CHRISTO IS A LYING LITTLE f**ker !!!!!

On his myspace page he lists his influences :

"The Cure, Killswitch Engage, Boysetsfire, AFI, The Cult, Thrice, 36 Crazyfists, Sisters of Mercy, Rush, Killing Joke, Judas Priest, The Almighty, Nik Kershaw, Thursday, Sevendust, Waterdown, U2, AC/DC, Wildhearts, (Early) Def Leppard, Days When I, Katatonia, Claytown Troupe... "

Hmm, it seems to me the influences have changed since he joined the Sisters then. Quite sure it stated more Bon Jovi kind of stuff before

Guess we'll better take the talk with a pinch of salt then

Anyway, some credit has to go to him for learning the songs so fast, that's under two months

By the way: He omitted the The in Sisters of Mercy

[Ocean Moves]

By the way: He omitted the The in Sisters of Mercy

Tell him to go and stand at the back. We'll see him after the lesson.

[eastmidswhizzkid]

he's probably contractually obliged to mention the sisters in his "influences" bit -either that or he's licking arse bigtime.

[dw1200]

Not exactly exciting but I posted the Vegas Stage setlist here:

http://www.myheartland.co.uk/gallery/de ... ge_id=1167

Note: I was wrong was *not* played....

[Obviousman]

Not exactly exciting but I posted the Vegas Stage setlist here:

http://www.myheartland.co.uk/gallery/de ... ge_id=1167

Note: I was wrong was *not* played....

Notice something funny compared to this one

The Vegas one oddly enough says 'The Sisters of Mercy' on top instead of the location. Any explanations

[Ozpat]

Not exactly exciting but I posted the Vegas Stage setlist here:

http://www.myheartland.co.uk/gallery/de ... ge_id=1167

Note: I was wrong was *not* played....

Notice something funny compared to this one

The Vegas one oddly enough says 'The Sisters of Mercy' on top instead of the location. Any explanations

Same setlist every gig?

[paint it black]

he's probably contractually obliged to mention the sisters in his "influences" bit -either that or he's licking arse bigtime.

Which bands/artists would you say have influenced you in your guitar playing, and who has influenced you as a whole?

For me the influences are eclectic - guitar, shredding, rock-tastic influences from my earlier days: Judas Priest, AC/DC, The Cult. Darker work like The Cure and The Sisters of Mercy (as well as poetry - Carole Ann Duffy, Sylvia Plath) affected my lyric writing.

[eastmidswhizzkid]

he's probably contractually obliged to mention the sisters in his "influences" bit -either that or he's licking arse bigtime.

Which bands/artists would you say have influenced you in your guitar playing, and who has influenced you as a whole?

For me the influences are eclectic - guitar, shredding, rock-tastic influences from my earlier days: Judas Priest, AC/DC, The Cult. Darker work like The Cure and The Sisters of Mercy (as well as poetry - Carole Ann Duffy, Sylvia Plath) affected my lyric writing.

so allowing that the guy who posted on dominion was telling the truth (and as yet we have no reason to think that he is full of shit) then ben is either licking arse or is obliged to mention the sisters?

[Petseri]

I am back from Las Vegas now and can add some belated comments and observations. I will not rehash what others have said unless I can add or clarify something. No, not a real HL interview this time; would there be interest in one? (Note later: Sorry for the length, I just wrote what came to mind.)

1) I was under the impression that Chris (not Ben) was new to Sisters' music. In fact, that ws one of the reasons why he was liked, so that he can add his style to the tracks and not simply reproduce his forebearers.

2) Chris needs to carry a pen with him. He borrowed mine at least half a dozen times to sign autographs.

3) Yes, both Chris and Ben hung around for a while after the gig and chatted up with the remainng fans.

3) Ben has seen a spike of myspace hits since the announcement that he was the new Sisters' guitarist; Chris has not noticed too much of an increase on his myspace page.

4) The new guns would be up for an album release, but none is on the horizon. Chris gts asked this about 40-50 times per gig. (Someone else asked him the question about a release; I followed up about how often he gets asked that.)

5) Ben and Chris have hit it off well. Both speak highly of Andrew as well, but these two are the most likely to hang out together.

6) Chris lost a hundred bucks within a few minutes by playing roulette. Mandalay Bay and the city of Las Vegas thank him.

7) Which is lower: the combined ages of Chris and Ben or that of Andrew?

8) Both guitarists admitted sound problems, but both were optimistic that they were only early tour kinks which indeed will be remedied.

9) Yes, "Happy birthday, dear Sisters" indeed was heard. It was after the final encore.

10) I am trying to get a scan of the tracklist which shows some amendments (i.e. notes like "dropped" in marker). If I can get it, I will pass it on.

11) I am not sure if the Dr Jeep/Detonation Boulevard medley works well. Even discounting the audio problems, Dr Jeep did not come across well.

12) I for one was pleased to hear no addtional covers. I do not mind if covers are played if they are part of the history (Bruhn and James on Gimme Shelter tended to be kicking), but otherwise I put money down to see a band play its own songs. I would rather hear an extra five minutes of Sisters track than a joke like a cover of Angel by the the Kelly Family.

13) No verbal acknowledgements to his new guns on stage, as there had been for Starling and Pearson.

14) Need I add that they indeed played live?

15) Andrew seemed in a good mood, but he also seemed to be concerned about the audio and/or lighting of the set. Not much banter with the audience at all.

16) About the lighting, was it more subdued than previously? To me, the light show is one of the signatures of the Sisters gig. Summer, for instance, did not seem as vibrant as I remember. The effect at "poimts of light" in Vision Thing, on the other hand, was well done. Was the stage just not deep enough for the full lighting display, or am I imagining a diluted light show this time?

17) The opening band was a good fit for a Sisters gig. Like Scoda Blush in 1998, they did not take away for the overall feel of the show.

18) Admittedly, I expected more of an anniversary gig. Other than the Happy Birthday, Dear Sisters rendition, there was no fanfare at all. It was more of an opening gig to a tour than a celebration. If LasVegas is picked to start an anniversary tour, milk it for what it is worth and offer something over the top.

19) No Andrew in an Elvis suit eother. The rest of you can deabte f that is a good thing or not.

20) A bassist was missed, which was a sentiment shared by some of the Sisters touring personnel.

21) It was nice (but not unexpected) to hear some of the newer tracks from the past few years. I did not expect them to be binned with Adam gone.

22) Chris onstage certainly gives some energy to the set. Perhaps more movement since Tim was there. His playing up the riff (in stage presence, niot musically) in Temple of Love should stay in the set.

23) The showing of his bandages was a nice touch. Just do not squirt from it unless you want comparisons to GWAR.

24) I think that the guy growling to my right thought that it was a GWAR show. From where we were, the crowd was not not too obnoxious. Some bouncing into one another, but not enough to ruin the mood. I am sorry to hear that other parts of the floor were less welcoming.

25) The early start and finishing times were due to the gig being an all ages show. They have to end by 10 o'clock in Las Vegas. Strange that in a place where time is often hidden from the public, the show ended earlier that others will start.

26) Supposedly the balcony seats were more expensive than the floor general admission. I am just as happy to stay on the floor.

27) The intro to FALAA was the same as last summer according to Chris, but others thought that it sounded like the Adam version of the previous few years.

28) Overall, an enjoyable gig with problems, but nothing to leave the audience feeling cheated. A decent (if uneventful) setlist with a good mix of old and unreleased songs. I am happy to have been there.

29) One of the nicest elements was putting faces to the names of people around here (and on Dominion). Not surprising, there are some nice people in these parts.

Martin

[Silver_Owl]

Thanks Martin.

Gives us a good idea what to expect by the time they arrive in Europe.

[eastmidswhizzkid]

possibly the most balanced (certainly the most in-depth and personal) review of the whole affair yet -though if that's because we know you then shoot me.

[dw1200]

Evidently there's been some bad blood with this guy but I thought maybe some HL people would be interested...

[Dominion] Las Vegas 16.2.2006 Recording Available
aaron quinton aaron_quinton@yahoo.com

I will do trades for this for other recordings of
other shows from this tour, I finished splitting up
the tracks about an hour ago, listening to it now, and
will be glad to recieve emails off list.

note to any pissed off-believing the rumour-mill
heartlander's who might be kind enough: if you can
verify that you are a heartlander, and think I owe you
something (maybe I do) I'll just send a copy to you.

Love and Kisses From Aaron Quinton

(Did you really think I would miss it?)

Another post contained a great idea:

...And is there any possibility of uploading it to a torrent site instead of
trading? If you have a bit of a bad reputation, as you seem to imply, maybe uploading it to share
would help give others a better interpretation of you and your motives.


We'll see what happens....

[Silver_Owl]

....and why not post that here instead of Dominion?