Richard Hawley

It still is, well at least it was the last time I looked!

I think its Suffolk, Norfolk, Cambs and Essex.

Mind you, going by what Anglia news covers, they'd add Bedfordshire, Northants, Herts and Buckinghamshire in to the mix.

But back to more pressing matters, the gigs tomorrow night. I'm looking forward to it.

me too!

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The Regent is a big old place though. It was a bit ambitious expecting him to sell it out. You can't compare that with a titchy little place like the arts centre and for your info (to the chap above) the camera obscura gig was definitely not sold out. i was there.

Anyway... back to last night...

This was actually my first ever Hawley gig (cancellations and booked holidays have conspired against me in the past) and I thought he was very, very good. He leaned slightly too heavily on the new album for my liking (he played the whole darned thing). "the ocean" sounded incredible but the only 'poppier' tune he played was "hotel room". for a first timer I would have liked one or two more of the older tunes (but that's just me).

it had a very eery atmosphere in the place though. i've stood for several indiepop gigs in the corn exchange over the years (house of love, wedding present, sleeper, echobelly, ash, blur, etc) but it was extremely hushed last night. excellent accoustics from where we were sat though (4th row). overall, very enjoyable and the crowd (for a school assembly ) seemed very enthused.

Er - it IS a tour to promote the new album!!

Glad you enjoyed it though.

Gavdann

Have a read of what Richard has to say about what he is playing on this tour (as an irregular on the forum you won't have been aware that he had told us all some time back that he was showcasing the new album this time round - and the other choice of music at the gig is in the same tone).

http://richardhawleyforum.co.uk/viewtopic.php?t=13345

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well nice of him to give a heads up but he only wrote that yesterday and I bought the ticket moons ago.

I'd have definitely gone anyway because i'm a fan. maybe I'm one of those whinging minnies but l missed all those times he played the old songs for "fucking years" - he cancelled last time around in cambridge and I couldn't make the rearranged date.

like I said, i enjoyed it (a lot) but showcasing the ENTIRE album was a baby step too far for me personally. if he played 6/8 new songs and revolved them through the tour it would have made both the hardcore fans and casual observers more happy imo.

Sorry, I should also have linked his earlier post from way back when the tour was first planned, I believe it is somewhere in the mega thread about Trueloves Gutter or in the one where people were suggesting songs. But I'm at work and just popping on briefly so not got time to search for those.

A lot of gigs I've been to the band has showcased mainly new songs with just a few oldies thrown in, which is what Richard has done here, just that the oldies he chose were in the same slow zone as the album. To do something like Serious or Tonight the Streets are Ours would have slightly spoiled the atmopshere for me, but maybe not for others.

But all said and done, it's Richard's gig, not ours, and he'll play what he wants to so whatever we say, he probably won't be influenced.

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There's a raven in the distance, his inscription's all around you, you can't hide

https://www.facebook.com/LiamMcKaheyandtheBodies
https://cousteaux.com/music

Good review!
They failed to mention the technical problems that dogged the first half of (i think) 'soldier on' but it gave a very good account of the evening.
We were chuckling about the "she might be a right cow!" line after the gig.

I was there last night & thoroughly enjoyed it. The audience was on the mature side, but its good to feel young for a change! The seating was a bit like a school assembly as he mentioned a couple of times but I think he suited the more intimate venue rather than the Regent. His voice was superb, the band played very well & his stand up routine was pretty funny too! I think the acoustics at the Corn Exchange are ok for the quiet stuff but when the noise arrived on Soldier On I thought my head was going to explode!

It was my first Hawley gig too & I could list loads of old songs I would have liked to have heard. Not that I'm complaining about the songs he did play, it just makes you realise how many great songs he has written now.

I agree with you Ipswichita, on pretty much all that you have said.

For me, not being used to having to sit down at gigs, it was a bit strange at first, but that was not down to RH in the slightest. Like you said, the school assembly springs to mind, but by the end of the gig, it didn't matter at all that we were seated.

I thought that the Corn Exchange was a good setting and was glad that we ended up seeing him there rather than at The Regent.

Richard's voice was superb and I am glad that the beauty of Truelove's Gutter came across so well live.

As I have been on the forum a little while, I knew that Richard was going to be focusing on playing songs from Truelove's Gutter, rather than his earlier songs.

I really love the sound of new album and have been playing it pretty much constantly since its release, so I was more than happy to hear it in its entirety. Remorse Code was breathtaking. Hotel Room and The Ocean are two of my particular earlier favourites, so, to be honest, I was in clover by the end of the gig. I have no complaints about the set at all.



At the risk of sounding like a polly parrot here! I also have to agree with what Denise says, for me the set flowed seamlessly and I just think some of his faster songs would have made it much more disjointed and spoiled it a bit for me.

So for me and my fella, a good night was had. Many thanks to Richard and band.

The merchandise man (whose name I don't know) was really helpful and friendly too and deserves a special mention of thanks

I really don't think anyone should be lambasted for coming on here and giving an honest review of the shows, Nobody is slating it, the comments have been overwhelmingly positive. But If somebody finds it a bit slow in places, or a little heavy on the new stuff, or they might have liked to hear such a song.. so what thats their opinion, you pay your money you are entitled to it as far as I am concerned, and with this being a forum.....

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http://www.last.fm/user/strumms
I saw an elsebound train, on the overpass
In the driving rain, every ticket costs the same
For where you can't go
Mustang horses, champagne glasses
Anything frail anything wild
It's the price of living motion, what's beautiful is broken
And grace is just the measure of a fall.

Who's lambasting??

nobody, which is the point, innit !

_________________
http://www.last.fm/user/strumms
I saw an elsebound train, on the overpass
In the driving rain, every ticket costs the same
For where you can't go
Mustang horses, champagne glasses
Anything frail anything wild
It's the price of living motion, what's beautiful is broken
And grace is just the measure of a fall.

Review of Richard's gig at Ipswich Corn Exchange

http://tinyurl.com/ybhsq2r