GIG NUMBER NINETEEN
Who
As for the show itself, its brilliance sunk in the moment the first song finished. The audience were not moving at all and I was wondering what everyone else was making of it. But everyone broke into massive applause when the song finished and I got it: everyone was blown away and just wanted to stand there in amazement! Later though the tempo did pick up as Grandaddy provoked some moshing with A.M. 180 and Summer Here Kids but this set relied on sheer beauty rather than the volume of the music. The ending was particularly special as the video screen froze on a still of the band - immortalising the moment in a quite beautiful way! I quickly got into their records afterwards and was not disappointed, as Grandaddy became my second favourite band for quite a while. In many ways this was Grandaddy at their peak and I will always hold them in high regard!
Mark: 8.5/10
Grandaddy
Support
Lowgold
Where
Wolverhampton Wulfrun Hall
When
1st February 2001
Price
£8.50
Who with
Tom and friends
Position
At the front, in the middle!
Comments
After a massive six-month gap between gigs, punctuated "only" by two festivals, I went back into the fold with this excellent performance. I'd only just discovered Grandaddy through Alan Parsons In A Winter Wonderland on the XFM Christmas album but was so blown away by its sheer warmth I decided to see them without any further persuasion. It was Tom who'd got me into The Flaming Lips who was also going, so I thought I could take this one quite safely on trust. Lowgold were OK, but my memory of their show is now completely obscured by a fine performance from Grandaddy. I'd borrowed The Sophtware Slump the previous day, but still only recognised He's Simple, He's Dumb, He's The Pilot and The Crystal Lake, Alan Parsons being sadly omitted. But, despite my ignorance, I had much fun taking in Grandaddy's robotic soundscapes, their set draped in greenery and, most importantly, their video screen. The video was original, being a group of windmills on a green landscape. Every two minutes or so, a herd of reindeer ran across and jumped over Jason's head to massive cheers! This backdrop changed later on to an urban scene with occasional trains but the windmills remain the defining image. Although the urban image did lead to the heckle "when's the next train?" which made me smile.
Setlist
First Movement/Message Send: ID# 5646766
Hewlett's Daughter
Levitz
Chartsengrafs
For The Dishwasher
A.M. 180
XD-Data-II
The Crystal Lake
Laughing Stock
Jed's Other Poem (Beautiful Ground)
Summer Here Kids
Miner At The Dial-A-View
He's Simple, He's Dumb, He's The Pilot
Taster
Nonphenomenal Lineage
So You'll Aim Toward The Sky
