GIG NUMBER FORTY-ONE
Who
But I had paid to see Alec Empire and he certainly was the most memorable part of the night. So just how was he so loud? For a start, he was screaming throughout. But the real noise seemed to be coming from a computer in the corner (no guitar is that loud!) being controlled by some guy who looked beyond bored. The crowd were clearly enjoying things and, taking advantage of the lack of barriers, were continually jumping onto the stage and immediately diving back into the crowd. During a long spell without singing, people were jumping onstage to shake hands with/kiss/hug Alec, which was a very weird thing to see happening during a song! I don't think the white noise was going down well with everyone though as some people seemed to be walking out. But I'm glad I stayed to the end as Alec spent the last few minutes crowdsurfing and the noise reached a crescendo as the guitarist started rubbing his instrument against the wall. The sound tailed off and I quickly left to avoid the rush, knowing that I'll never hear anything as loud again in my life. Mission accomplished!!
Mark: 7.0/10
Alec Empire
Support
The Eighties Matchbox B-Line Disaster
The Shizit
Where
Manchester Hop And Grape
When
5th October 2002
Price
£8.50
Who with
No-one
Position
Towards the back
Comments
Yes, a strange choice of gig indeed! I had absolutely no knowledge of any "music" by Alec Empire (if you can call it that). I just thought that I wanted to see something so loud and insane that I'd never need to go down that path again. I'd caught a few seconds of him at Leeds and was astonished by the volume and this gig didn't disappoint. It was so loud I was left literally deafened afterwards! So anyway, I decided to dwell around the bar to enjoy the spectacle and to steer well clear of the moshpit on this occasion. The gig was opened by The Shizit who were fairly mediocre. They were loud and rapping and seemed to be enjoying themselves but I don't think they could ever have got to play much bigger slots than this. Things improved massively for The Eighties Matchbox B-Line Disaster (a surprisingly big name for the support) who were probably worth seeing in their own right. They may have gone overboard on the strobes but provided a tense and exciting set, even though the singer didn't seem to yet be the stage presence I'd imagine he is now.
