Bristol, 3rd December 2004

I waited 14 years for this, and a somewhat truncated set - but definitely worth the wait!

Here's a first cut at a set list:

?/Energei/Mod Mock/Sparta/Wrong Place/Mr Pharmacist/What About Us/New Big Prinz/(break)/White Lightning/(break)/Blindness.

Oh well, maybe I didn't miss so much of the gig after all. I was just going to post my review then I saw you had started a thread.

Bristol gig review - they were six like dice but they’re back to five!

Bloody hell, they went on a bit early – we got there just before ten and they were on Sparta already! I was hoping that was the first song. And when they launched into Pharmacist, I was thinking ‘they must have moved it up the set list’. Yeah right – you’ve missed half the gig you pillock.

Not sure how many people were there, it’s quite a small venue, I guess it was 200 – 300. Sounded brilliant though. The keyboards were well up in the mix. Prinz in particular was blinding, What About Us also sounded great, so did Right Place – it was never my favourite song but this was the best one I’ve heard.

Can’t remember what else they played I was bolloxed, that might have been all we saw. There was only five of them there though. The guy at the back playing guitar at Carling Academy (think that is Jim Watts?) was playing the bass. It also sounded completely different to Islington, not sure how to describe that but this was better. I think one of the speakers was fucked (Sunday, to the left as you were looking at the stage), that might have something to do with it. I think Smith was wearing the same shirt as well, if anyone’s interested, it was plain light blue or it could have been grey. Very workmanlike, I didn’t notice a glove. Didn’t notice much amp twiddling either, but he had a few goes on the keyboard and seemed to keep looking in my direction. Funny that, I think a lot of people have the same feeling.

For the encore, they ripped through White Lightning and I was loving it. It was like they were trying to play it as quick as they could and get off, but it worked. Everyone kept on cheering, then Eleni came out and said ‘we’d like to play more but they said it’s club night so we have to stop now. Sorry’. Anyway everyone kept on and finally, eventually, they came back on to do Blindness. Totally awesome rendition of this song, which is definitely in my all-time Fall Top Ten. Eleni did the backing vox and was great. It was worth going to the show just to hear that song. The band started up, rumbled on for a bit, then MES came back on and really it was only at this point that the crowd got going, it seemed a bit subdued until then. Smith didn’t pass the microphone round, maybe that’s why. Someone made the stage to sing along with him for a bit though, Smith had his arm round him then he split. And then it was over all to soon, with a thumbs up from Ben as they left the stage. Roll on the next Fall show.

lovely stuff - again. pity there wasn't so much of it

ermmm where were the drummer and bassist?!!!!

think I saw Trafford crossing the stage just after they finished, otherwise JWatts back on bass duty

fairplay - the young lad on drums was fucking brilliant - was he from the support band?! the only point where he lost it really were the changes in Pharmacist otherwise - HUGE FUCKING ROUND OF APPLAUSE!!!

thought the sound was dreadful for the first few songs

pics to come - MES looked completely out of it but held it up really well

there were a couple of times during modmockgoth when he reminded me of the way he says "I'm mentally ill" on that vinyl justice clip

happy bunny

saw Jim Bikebloke but no Splart?

All good stuff, and rather different music-wise and words-wise to the recorded material.

Thoughts on the individual songs:

Mod Mock Goth - insistent, repetitive (the way I like them). Could have been 5 minutes long, could have been 20.

Sparta F.C - veered between the brilliant and the shambolic, let down by not the most audible backing vocal, but the only disappointing moment of the set.

Wrong Place - like the Peel Session version, lovely and sparse.

What About Us - a different beast to the Peel Session version, dancier, catchierand with more kick to it.

Prinz - interesting take on this, oddly electronic.

Blindness - done very fast! Missed out the cavalry/Aristotle Onassis/Jane Seymour openingss, which was a shame, but for all that very well done. MES used some long word repeatedly, which may have been "encapsulated" but I don't remember now.

not much to add to last nights foulmouthed outburst - I swear a lot when vdrunk/happy, sorry

except

big ta to Mike the brotherinlaw for driving us all - over and above the call, czech lagers due

Davetherave might be up for a couple of honorary titles from last night
1) Oldest firsttime fall gig (49!!!!)
2) Furthest distance travelled to get to the bierkeller (150 mile roundtrip?)

still a bit puzzled about the lineup

first track was the joke

Same problem at the beerkieler in manchester,
Turn the Mic up, girl!

Same problem at the beerkieler in manchester,
Turn the Mic up, girl!

Is she allowed to ?

Just got back to home after 2 days away (FA Cup in Stockport).

Bristol was very good. But I assume Trafford and Birtwhistle have gone now?

Jim on bass, Ben guitar, Eleni and a kid drummer (someone from the crowd shouted "Go, Chris!" at the start). He did exceptionally well, really - Ben guiding him through the later stages, almost seeming to tell him to calm down at points during Blindness (memories of "yeah, that's a great drum roll, that's coming out of your wages").

Ben said something at the start about a new lineup but I couldn't work it out. When he sauntered on, MES muttered something sardonic about a refund.

Setlist, I think: The Joke, Mountain Energi, Mad Mod Moth (superb), Wrong Place, Mr Pharmacist, What About Us, Big Prince, Sparta FC. Encores: White Lightening, Blindness.

Eleni's keyboards much more evident than I've seen/heard before, it all worked really well. Wrong Place and White Lightening can do with being retired, Blindness came across a treat.

Some chap raced onto stage to shout "Blind Man!" repeatedly during the final encore before getting carted off, in part by Eleni. Loved the way Eleni walked on and off stage handbag in tow. MES messed about with the keyboards during various songs, all to reasonable effect. Brisk but enjoyable.

Same problem at the beerkieler in manchester,
Turn the Mic up, girl!

right at the start she was chanting something - thought it might have been a new song, turned out she was shouting "soundman, soundman!"

Not got a lot to add to whats already been written, but a few thoughts...

When they came on (VERY early) it was Eleni, Ben, Jim and the drummer from the support band, Ben and Jim were using the support band's guitars so I wondered for a second if they were going to do some short improvised project or something, but they started into 'The Joke' and I realised it was The Fall! This was most bizarre - where the hell were Steve & Spen? Mark came on and muttered something uninteligible about a refund and they started in earnest.

The drummer was obviously not rehearsed and they did well considering - Mr Pharmasist was a big mess but the rest of the set was pretty good, if oddly emotionless. I guess they were having enough trouble just keeping the songs together!

After 45 mins or so they went off but came back to do White Lightning as per usual. The crowd bayed for a second encore and finally got it - Blindness. This was the stuff - played with passion and power. I thought the whole 100 mile round trip worth it just for this song!

So all in all a pretty good night. Set was too short and lacked a bit of verve but certainly did not disapoint.

But where were the rest of the band?

Mod Mock Goth was the best song of the night (absolutely brilliant), I thought the young lad from the support did a sterling job (surely a baptism of fire if ever I've seen one, every time the poor little mite did reasonably flashy drum roll I felt nervous for him).

Superb performance from Chris the young drummer.
By the way, I'm close to completing a book about The Fall - and thought this may be the place to ask if any fans have any anecdotes re: meeting Smith etc.
If you do - please email me at brixlookalike@hotmail.com
Apologies for the pseudonym, but I have to keep everything rather low key prior to publishing - that'll be autumn (fall?) 2005.
Cheers.

Arghhh!
You cant tell us this then give us NO details!
Spill it...