View Full Version : The best CT concert and fond memories
Clouseau
Apr-22-12, 12:53 PM
Hello,
What is your fondest memory of a CT concert ? Which one do you think was the best ? If you'd like to contribute to the book I am preparing about the band, you're welcome to share your recollections of CT on stage, and any related events that you think were important.
Thanks !
Clouseau
fornasetti
Apr-22-12, 1:11 PM
My first one - Leeds University in 1984 - was very special to me.
I never really rated them as a live act, though, to be honest.
david porte
Apr-22-12, 4:22 PM
I was a 'latecomer' so only managed to see them twice...once at Glasgow Barrowlands and once at Glasgow Arches. The first one at the 'Barras' was mindblowingly good, the FCC tour. Pink Orange Red had me standing with my jaw on the floor dumbstruck. Mist beautiful thing I've ever heard.
andylama
Apr-23-12, 12:06 PM
I only ever saw them live once: Universal Amphitheatre, Los Angeles, Four Calendar Cafe tour.
I must be honest: the show was underwhelming (Liz was in Full-Porpoise mode), and the opening act (Luna, was it?) was painfully dull. It's awful to think that Liz actually ruined the show, but it's true. She just wailed and scatted for the entire duration.
One charming detail: I was seated between two extreme types of audience member: on one side was a kid with a foot-tall pink mohawk and knee-high red Doc Martens, and on the other side was an elderly couple in cardigan sweaters.
fredofla
Apr-23-12, 12:40 PM
no CT concert memories whatsoever here.....but that's okay.
no huge regrets.
for me, the real magic is what came out of the recording studio.
andylama
Apr-23-12, 12:44 PM
Agreed. CT were definitely a studio band. I'm guessing they never would have toured at all, if they didn't have to.
(one wonders how XTC got away without ever playing live.)
(one wonders how XTC got away without ever playing live.)
They did in the beginning, didn't they?
HOLV tour 1990 at the Wiltern Theater in Los Angeles with Lush opening
This was a dream bill as I was obsessed with both CT and Lush at the time and the concert delivered on all counts
andylama
Apr-23-12, 5:14 PM
They did in the beginning, didn't they?
Yes, only a few times, very early on (1979-1980?). Supposedly, Partridge has crippling social anxiety, and can't get on a stage in front of people.
They've really fucked off, haven't they? Pity.
HOLV tour 1990 at the Wiltern Theater in Los Angeles with Lush opening
This was a dream bill as I was obsessed with both CT and Lush at the time and the concert delivered on all counts
That's the show/tour I wish I had seen.
The HOLV tour felt the most "Cocteau" compared to the FCC and M&K tours I saw after (if that makes any sense). Liz was spot on and not doing her bizarre dolphin thing, they dipped into their mid-80s catalog on a few tracks, and just guitars and bass live with the drums taped (just like I always imagined them from their 80s videos)
Well whaddya know, I found the old LA Times review of this show. The author confused Emma Anderson with Mike Berenyi of Lush, though :)
http://articles.latimes.com/1990-12-08/entertainment/ca-5237_1_cocteau-twins
davespear
Apr-23-12, 5:27 PM
fond memories of the Albert Hall, London, '96 M&K tour, the only one I saw:sigh:
was blown away by 'Treasure Hiding'.....and I also felt a bit out of place amongst a crowd of punk/goth types, but really, I was just SO happy to see them
fredofla
Apr-23-12, 5:55 PM
Well whaddya know, I found the old LA Times review of this show. The author confused Emma Anderson with Mike Berenyi of Lush, though :)
http://articles.latimes.com/1990-12-08/entertainment/ca-5237_1_cocteau-twins
"Perhaps Lush will loosen up in the more intimate setting of Club Lingerie, where it plays tonight. Meanwhile, following the two-night Wiltern stint, the Cocteau Twins move to the relatively cavernous Hollywood Palladium tonight, with Mazzy Star opening."
wow.
a three night in-a-row option for Cocteau Twin live seating in Los Angeles!
just imagine!
ah, those were the days......
:woo:
thanks for sharing that, Ernie.
Yes, wild isn't it? I remember wanting to see them again at Hollywood Palladium with Mazzy Star, but I was only 17 at the time and the Palladium show was 18+
"Perhaps Lush will loosen up in the more intimate setting of Club Lingerie, where it plays tonight. Meanwhile, following the two-night Wiltern stint, the Cocteau Twins move to the relatively cavernous Hollywood Palladium tonight, with Mazzy Star opening."
wow.
a three night in-a-row option for Cocteau Twin live seating in Los Angeles!
just imagine!
ah, those were the days......
:woo:
thanks for sharing that, Ernie.
fredofla
Apr-23-12, 6:18 PM
Yes, wild isn't it? I remember wanting to see them again at Hollywood Palladium with Mazzy Star, but I was only 17 at the time and the Palladium show was 18+
tell me.....omg.....and Lush at Club Lingerie! i remember seeing Young Marble Giants perform there just a few years earlier! a night to remember! what a great intimate venue it was.
:nod:
I saw them on the 4CC tour at the Civic Auditorium in Portland. The band was excellent, but as mentioned before, Liz was doing the barking dolphin thing. She was very loovely though. Tiny little thing, she was.
Luna opened at this show also. I loved them. I had seen them a year before opening for the Sundays at LaLuna (RIP). I was excited to hear them because I knew about Galaxy 500. By the time they closed with Indian Summer I was hooked. The Sundays were dissapointing. The arrangements were stripped down and drony, which I liked, but Harriet Wheeler sang horribly flat. It was painful. Almost as painful as Liz's porpoise shouts now that I think about it.
Quisquose
May-1-12, 2:33 PM
The one and only show I ever saw - Milk and Kisses tour, June 9, 1996, at the Black Cat Club in D.C. I went to no small amount of trouble and expense to see this show, and was a bit stressed out, but it was lovely and intense. I'll never forget hearing the sound check with "I wear your ring" floating out into the street. One of my fondest chillbump-inducing moments of memory.
deanlmorgan
May-10-12, 1:29 PM
Heaven or Las Vegas concert, Seattle, WA. I won tickets to see them after the concert. I had Liz sign 3 things (including the song list that I still have). Meeting them was the highlight, but the concert that sounded the best was M&K at a little dance club in Seattle called DV8.
Clouseau
May-10-12, 3:49 PM
Could you develop on the "barking dolphin thing" ?? I read in an interview that a fan club who didn't like Liz's new way of singing was formed at that time (4CC tour)...
Quisquose
May-10-12, 7:16 PM
This is a good example of it:
z4arnK6ZFck
See, this is one reason why I feel the Liz Melts Down thread has some validity. Not even touching on the Coachella thing, she freaked out people on a whole tour. It's not even like Bowie on the Diamond Dogs tour, where he turned into a soul singer.... She never backed it up. It was just a huge disappointing thing that led nowhere. Nobody expected them to sound just like the records, but there were no melodies or harmonies, just barking and da da da's... and that weird bird thing. It was like she was still the Lullabies singer singing Blue Bell Knoll songs.
I love Liz, and I hope she kicks ass at the Meltdown Fest. But there is a very real reason why many CT fans have doubts.
davespear
May-11-12, 8:26 AM
I can only hope she does not sing like that at Meltdown, but I'd still be pleased to have seen her
From what I've seen on you tube etc. of her collaborations with the likes of Yann Tierson, Felt, Ian McCulloch, (Angel on Ruskin?), and others, and being older and wiser,I hope that she'll be on good form, and not too scared of performing
valid logic, I think. Many years ago I saw Elvis perform his last concert at Tahoe in California. He really was nothing like his movie/record persona....he was fat (NOT saying Liz is!), grumpy, out of tune, and very very prone to temper tantrums. He walked out in a fit of pique during my favourite song of his, "In the Ghetto". He was not the idea of the famous "Elvis",
HOWEVER, I like the fact that I can say I saw him in concert, no matter what shape he was in. Now, this may come as a complete shock to most of you, but I am not well-acquainted with Liz' music, nor do I hold her high in my list of favourites (Harry Chapin holds the top there). But I think I may have an idea of what many of you are feeling. That said, I also understand why some of you are "slagging" her off...her history somewhat invites that. I hope that we can all express here what we feel, whether it's hero-worship, or the anger and disappointment that resulted from Coachella.
kittens to all!
See, this is one reason why I feel the Liz Melts Down thread has some validity. Not even touching on the Coachella thing, she freaked out people on a whole tour. It's not even like Bowie on the Diamond Dogs tour, where he turned into a soul singer.... She never backed it up. It was just a huge disappointing thing that led nowhere. Nobody expected them to sound just like the records, but there were no melodies or harmonies, just barking and da da da's... and that weird bird thing. It was like she was still the Lullabies singer singing Blue Bell Knoll songs.
I love Liz, and I hope she kicks ass at the Meltdown Fest. But there is a very real reason why many CT fans have doubts.
bearclaw
May-12-12, 6:39 AM
I guess for me I was very fortunate in my experiences of seeing cocteaus perform live I saw them twice [ sadly I wish I could have seen them on every single tour, but fate and living in a shitty little town in south wales meant that was never gonna happen lol ]
my first cocteau gig was the FCC tour at manchester academy with seefeel supporting
I've never been one to get hung up on a band being able to replicate their studio sound live particularly a band like cocteaus its simply just not possible
So for me standing at the front of the academy waiting for cocteaus to come on stage was a simply exhilarating experience having been listening to their music since i was 14 or 15 years old I never thought I would ever get to see them play live. Now I know for loads of people the FCC tour was a difficult one [ I aint going to re tread all that stuff ] for me I was simply blown away to finally see not only my favourite band but three people that a hugely admired who's music had lived with me for all my adult life & here they were
My over riding memory was how small Elizabeth was lololol She was stood right in front of me !!!!! I couldn't look her in the eye lololol For me seeing them perform live was truly magical and wondrous and I will treasure those memories for the rest of my days until my eyes fall to sleep one final time
The second & sadly final time was at the Ritz in Manchester with Lionrock & straw [ ? ] supporting This being the milk & kisses tour just simply blew me away Elizabeth was relaxed and confident I recall somebody shouting out "we love you Liz" she smiled sweetly and said " I know I love ya too" or maybe that was just me dreaming lolol
I simply loved this show I had gone with my partner at the time and a friend from work my partner wasn't really aware of them at the time he had heard me play a few albums now and then at his but never really got them .......... until he saw them live then he was smitten lolol
I cant begin to start to imagine what seeing Elizabeth is going to be like cos I never dreamt that it would possible again my mind is a whirl with all the possibilities so I'm simply going to surrender to it and enjoy every moment of it ;-) no pre conceived ideas or expectations just simply happy delighted overjoyed to be going
I saw many but the early days were easily the best; 1984 being a really good time - Victoria Palace and Chelmsford were exceptional. After that, there were a few really good ones over the years (Sadlers Wells, Town & Country) but towards the end it was never the same and the magic was kind of gone
Seeing Liz with Massive Attack at Brixton a few years back brought back all the old memories and just hope the August shows will be as magical as those first few shows
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