Gig review: Simple Minds @ Edinburgh Castle, 18-07-09
Between us, my husband and I have seen Simple Minds perform over 50 times in six countries, and own a library of concert recordings dating back to their punk rock club days in 1978. So it’s fair to say we’re authorities on the subject. And before last night’s concert on the esplanade at Edinburgh Castle was even over, hubby and I were in firm agreement that it was the most dreadful show we’d seen in years, and the worst Simple Minds gig we’d ever attended.
Note rain ponchos and cascading ennui
Most of us know that Jim has slowly changed from singing the songs live to crooning them, making up new lyrics, forgetting them altogether, or speaking them in something closer to beat poetry than music. I can buy that as an embellishment for a few songs. But that was how the entire gig went. There was literally only one song that he sang the whole way through. The rest were so badly mumbled, mashed up, or left for the audience to sing that Mel lost the beat twice. How you can forget the lyrics and lose the beat to the standard greatest hits you’ve peformed almost weekly for 25 years is beyond me. (Even hubby, who broke his Bruce Springsteen cherry this week, observed that The Boss never forgot a single word to songs he hadn’t played in years.) See The Lights wasn’t even See The Lights, it was like watching someone’s dad doing karaoke at a wedding. Call me picky, but if I shell out £90 just for tickets, I want to hear the band actually perform the songs, not mumble and fluff through them as if it was a soundcheck. The Wee Man, Andy Gillespie, and Molto Sexy Boy were on fire as usual, so credit to them for salvaging the gig from being a walkout.
Which brings me to my other problem, the set list. It was standard issue greatest hits, despite the fact that they have a new album out. They only played two songs from that album and never mentioned it once. (Great marketing, guys.) They just did a greatest hits tour last year, so it’s not as if the Castle gig was a one-off celebration. As any fan of any band knows, you can love a band while wanting to fling yourself from the castle walls on hearing that horrid pop radio hit that was big in America for the 438th time. But that was the whole gig. In the pre-gig fan meetup, there were people from more countries than I can count who had flown in from all over the world just for this show. What a shame not to give them something to remember.
Now, I sound a little crabbit about the whole thing, as every person in the audience had the right to be. Between the opener and SM, a good old
Edinburgh gale blew through. I do not mean a drizzle, a rain shower, or even a torrential downpour. There was a waterspout in the sky. I wasn’t sure if I was watching a gig or the freakin’ Discovery Channel. It was that severe. Two hours after the concert ended, my fingers were still pruned as if I’d just gotten out of the bath. Being Edinburgh Castle out in the open, there was nowhere to run for shelter other than under the wooden seating risers, which were even worse because the water was pouring down through them. But the show must go on, so they started the gig while the gale was tapering off. Try enjoying a show standing on wooden risers in a gale in a plastic poncho when you’re so wet that your clothes are starting to bleed their colours. Once the gig was over, you’re discharged from the scenic vista of the Castle Esplanade to the Grassmarket, a street whose only inhabitants at 11 PM are hen nights, stag parties, and drugged-up lads looking for a fight. And you’re left to dry yourself off in a pub loo between vomiting hens, hours after the bog roll has run out.
When Jim first came out he said “I can tell tonight’s going to be something special” – and you would think, in the vista of Edinburgh Castle, it would be – but it was the most uninspired gig I’ve seen since, well, nevermind that one. They were running through the motions to the point where it was taking the piss. In the last song Jim even sat on the amp and said “Taxi for Kerr. I’m starving.” Easy for you to say, Jim. You’ll be in a dry warm dressing room in 60 seconds eating sushi. We’ll be wringing our clothes out in a pub loo with miles to go before we sleep.
We see them next in December at the SECC and hopefully they’ll have gotten their act together by then, literally and figuratively. It was lovely to see the old crowd and old friends (especially the lot from Liverpool), but all in all, I’ve never wanted to be at home with a warm drink and WordPress more than I did last night.
Thank you for such an accurate review! I’m glad you have the energy to post such an articulate listing – I am still feeling rough after being so drenched last night.
Hope you enjoy December better…
Kirsten Lomas
19 July 2009 at 8:42 pm
I think the review was a little on the harsh side – they couldn’t help the weather but I agree about Jim forgetting the words – how hard is it to remember “Too proud to cry” on See the Lights – or even worse, to repeat one verse and miss out another altogether for Sanctify Yourself (the very same thing happened three years ago at T on the Fringe). For singalongs like me, you don’t know where you are going! (We spotted the beat going arse over elbow too – only through the ears though – my glasses were too steamed up!)
We were near the front and the atmosphere was pretty good _ I thought the set was short compared to recent and would have killed for a Speed Your Love To Me instead of efforts such as Hypnotise!
Still, they did play Norwich the night before so must have been tired.
We finally got home just before midnight, still drenched, and to top it all off, those fries at Burger King in South Queensferry were rank – I’ll never remember the Forth Road Bridge in the same light!
funkyfernie
19 July 2009 at 8:49 pm
We didn’t get back home to Glasgow until past 2 AM, still soggy at the seams. Because of the fan meetup the day was a total of 16 hours door to door, and I have to say the fan meetup was the high point of the day.
Hubby’s leather shoes are still drying out 24 hours later.
idea15
19 July 2009 at 9:23 pm
myself and my two cousins came up from Liverpool and i must admit there was more scousers there than anyone.
Liverpool must have the most harcore simps fans anywhere.
And the last time i seen them was at my fair city back in 2004 at the summer pops.
And that concert blew this one at of the water.
Talking of water i have never been so wet in my life, but i turned that into a positive and enjoyed the experience of watching my beloved minds whilst getting pissed wet through.
I must agree with you with jim missing too many words and making them up. he might of well of been playing countdown it got so bad. Charlie continues to infuriate me with his playing.
most of the time i’m not so sure if he’s plugged in because i can’t hear his licks.
The bass playing is shit hot though and he practically carries the show.
And yes the song’s, how many times do i have to hear la la la la for the millionth time.
A song they didn’t even write.
What about light travels from the new album, the best song they have recorded for years. and yes i know they didn’t write that either.
It was good to hear stay visible and new gold dream sounded great.
I am still waiting for them to sing come along way.
I don’t think they ever play that live.
The high light for me though was meeting charies guitar tech before the show in a boozer by the castle. we had a good chat and i got two of charlies picks. That was worth the journey alone.
In all though i will always enjoy watching simps no matter what because its the day as a whole that makes the whole day so special. me and my mates geting pissed, talking to fellow fans then watching the gig. a few more bevvies after and off to bed.
You can’t put a price on that.
Paddy
19 July 2009 at 9:47 pm
A wee bit harsh – I though they were pretty good. Yes the wedding band style of Mr Kerr’s delivery could have been seen as jarring but hey it was fun. The rain – never seen anything like it! Full waterproofs and poncho – still got soaked. Band were brilliant – superb bass. I am not , and have never been, a SM fan – my other half is and she thought they were great. I enjoyed it but could the folk at embra castle not have had some weather protection for us oldies please……………..
david
19 July 2009 at 10:02 pm
get over it, 3 nights on the trot in the rain, you would have been allowed to feel knackered and a bit out of sorts. Yes, I agree Jim’s lyrics have been a little erratic but he is still full of bags of energy but still not sure about the “i see through your disguise” See the Lights lyrics!? Was it a personal message to someone? Seen the Minds near on 40 times now since 1982 and to be fair I have seen worse gigs but of course also seen better. The drenching was a pain but hey once we’d all bounced up and down to the various songs kind of forgot about it! It was always advertised as a 30 Years Gig – hence the tour later in the year is the Graffiti Soul tour – bit of a give away if you ask me!? Kepp kicking on The Minds and yes, Jimmy boy practise the lyrics a bit more or get a prompt screen in the floor of the stage – LOL!!
noel
19 July 2009 at 10:45 pm
Best review of 2009 tour I’ve read H.
I’ve 2, 3 boots from this tour so far [Isle Of Wight and 2 German gigs] and am not overly impressed either.. mind you, I’ve also read reviews today comparing Edi to the second coming… soooo…
…..anywaaaay…
The versions of the back catalogue this time around seem a bit forced, yet oddly, the new stuff [when they decide to play it] sounds really, really tight, especially Moscow Underground, perhaps it’s where their ‘heart’ is? the album is a really good set of songs, so why ignore 90% of it?, ah but they still have to play those 3, 4 1980s hits for a few poor wee souls… it’s just some of the older tracks are being phoned in by JK, especially She’s A River and See The Lights; I get the sense the latter number is a favourite of his-nibs? as it’s been on the effing setlists since 1991…
re: The weather, sounds even worse than Manchester in August of 1991 and that was horrid and they also added insult to injury and played Stand By Love & Ghost Rider that night, mind you back then we didn’t quite chicken out with the dayglo binliners, we just stood, shivered and took the rain [and the subsequent pneumonia]
They’re in the US in October now, I hope [a]. we get more Graffiti Soul and [b.] they sit JK down in front of his pc and get him to start using Google.. let’s start with this: lyric searches, SM songs.. cut n paste to ms word doc – print, print, read!
ta
iain.
iain, NJ
19 July 2009 at 10:47 pm
I do agree that you are a little harsh on some points. There was no gale just a very heavy a prolonged shower which hung over the castle due to now wind to push…
Anyway, met lesson out the way.
This was still billed as the 30 years tour, so it was no surprise to me that we only had a couple of the new songs..
I came away myself feeling deflated by what has to have been the bands worst performance I have seen in 25 years. Jim forgetting words was bad but Charlie Burchill’s playing was awful in places. On Friday evening I had ventured over to Glasgow to see Sample Minds, who I am booking for an event next year, and I can honestly say that they performed some of the songs better, especially Stars Will Lead the Way and Hypnotised, and that shouldn’t ever be the case.
Strange thing about last night was the atmosphere before was saying this might be poor because there had been so much hype about it..
Well lets all hope that by December we have the band we have followed for all these years back and just put this down to an off night and any failings being exagerated by shite weather..
Graeme Houston
19 July 2009 at 11:04 pm
@Paddy – hubby was at that Liverpool gig in 94 and still ranks it as one of his best ever.
@Graeme – we enjoyed Steve and Simon’s company after the gig (I have an almost comical habit of bumping into Simon at every show.) Two absolute gentlemen who are a pleasure to spend time with, socially or musically. Right Steve, that’ll be £50.
@IJC – I’d laugh at your pneumonia comment but for the past hour I’ve had the cold sweats and shakes.
Gonnae close this thread now, I really need to focus on work on Monday.
idea15
19 July 2009 at 11:25 pm