why hasn't gang of four sold out yet?

interesting show, I didn't know what to expect

they were quite entertaining and the bass player and drummer were tight (as an aside, the drummer was about as un rock n roll as you can get, he looked like one of my uncles!)

they were also fairly intense, staring into the crowd - the whole microwave thing must have had Seth cjecking out his insurance policy as bits of microwave started flying into the front row :roll:

also quite an aging laddish element up front, and to the arsehole who celebrated the first song by showering everyone with beer (props to staph for going in and getting him) I hope they threw you out so you missed the rest of the show - not cool at all

That live version of "He'd Send in the Army" was UNREAL…not the best show ever, but definitely one of the best I've seen in a while. They were so damn tight. Sorry, but so much of these wannabe bands today pale compared to how wound up those guys sounded. It was superb.

Sorry, but so much of these wannabe bands today pale compared to how wound up those guys sounded.

that's what i been sayin'!

Originally posted by kosmo vinyl:
yeah the set was a bit short there are still several classics left from the first two records, which of course didn't matter because i had a great time. a couple even from hard, but that was a different line-up

This show was mind blowing that's for sure…..I tried to make the Philly show the following night but it was sold out….there weren't any tracks from "Hard",but they did do one tune from "Songs of The Free" and one from "Shrinkwrapped"….I just listened to the show again and it sounds great!

Anyone want to take a stab at posting a set list for Friday's show?

Radio 4 was horrendous. At one point my friend turned to me and asked how they had so many songs.

Wasn't at the DC show, saw them in NYC on Weds and it would appear they were playing the same setlist every night. Here is the Chicago setlist, at the second NYC show they flip-flopped Why Theory? and
At Home He's A Tourist

Return the Gift
Not Great Men
Ether
I Parade Myself
Paralyzed
What We All Want
Anthrax
Why Theory?
At Home He's A Tourist
He'd Send in the Army
Natural's Not In It
To Hell With Poverty!
We Live As We Dream. Alone
Damaged Goods

Originally posted by aaron:
Anyone want to take a stab at posting a set list for Friday's show?

This guy says it was close to this:

Set List (close)

Not Great Men
Return the Gift
Parade Myself
Paralysed
Ether
Natural's Not in It
At Home He's a Tourist
What We All Want
Anthrax
He'd Send in The Army
**
To Hell With Poverty
I Found That Essence Rare
**
Damaged Goods
Sweet Jane

I thought the show was excellent. Lots of old(er) people seemed to agree, based on the sea of bobbing heads on the floor.

I thought that Radio 4 was better than the last two times I saw them. They (thankfully) stopped doing the harmony thing, but the frontman still tries way too hard – that spastic arm thing and the menacing way he runs at the guitar player – with the rock gimmickry.

Gang of Four: 20 Years On, Still in Gear


Monday, May 23, 2005;
When Gang of Four made its local debut at the Ontario Theater in 1979 – preceding the U.S. release of the band's first album, "Entertainment" – it was an obscure opening act. But the British quartet quickly took command of the stage, and of the evening. The headlining Buzzcocks were no contest for the Four's dynamic music and athletic stage presence.

Although inactive for most of the past 20 years, the group is much better known today; its punk-funk style (if not social commentary) has inspired scores of imitators, many of recent vintage. On the reunion tour that visited the 9:30 club Friday night, the Four faced a new challenge: to prove that their sound is still vital, and that the members – now pushing 50 – still have the vigor to deliver it. Any doubts were banished by the opening "Return the Gift," which found guitarist Andy Gill, singer Jon King and bassist Dave Allen shifting musical roles and stage positions as electrifyingly as ever.



The taut one-hour show wasn't merely a rehash of the songs the original lineup played before Allen departed in 1981. The set list drew heavily on "Entertainment," but also included songs as recent as 1995's "I Parade Myself." King had some new moves and a huskier voice (the latter was probably a result of 13 performances prior to Washington, the tour's penultimate stop). Allen took a more prominent vocal role, notably on "He'd Send In the Army," the most significantly rearranged song.

The essence of the quartet's sound, however, remains its balance between tension and release: the tightly interlocked rhythms, sudden switches in tone and emphasis, and Gill's explosive yet controlled guitar. Friday night's runner-up wasn't the Buzzcocks but Radio 4, the Four-influenced opener, but it could have been anyone. Gang of Four can still blow the competition off the stage.


– Mark Jenkins