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10/19/2008

Carl & co at Southampton

photo by Yfli

The brit leg of DPT's tour is quickly wrapping up. Great report (as usual) by Alicepooh (needless to say this tour seems to be TOTALLY ignored by British press):

"'It's the end of the tour', Didz announced after the show last night. Not quite sure how that works out, given they've got 3 more English dates in the next fortnight. But for reasons other than the obvious (I'll be really sorry to see the last of the English tour dates in a fortnight), I'd be really sorry if last night had been the last one. The band played well. But if a significant percentage of what makes a gig good or bad is about mood, about audience and performer interaction - that funny, slightly hard to define chemistry that makes things exciting or crazy or ugly - then last night was really scraping the bottom of the barrel. From the off, it was clear that there were a lot of wankers in the crowd. People who felt it was OK to boo and heckle Kieran Leonard - the only support of the evening - just bloody piss me off. There's no rule that says you have to like a support band. I happen to really like Kieran's stuff, but it's very different from DPT and it's understandable that he goes down much better with some audiences than others. But heckling? That's just horrid. And unnecessary. And completely ignoring the bottle that it takes to get up on stage in front of a crowd not there to see you and perform on your own. But even that didn't prepare me for the level of sheer agression in the crowd last night. Or the woeful inadequacy of the security team at dealing with the crowd or the surfers or... well, anything, really.Only once before have I been deliberately attacked by someone else in the crowd. Last night I and a number of my companions were assaulted by a couple who deliberately thwacked us on the head, dug elbows into our backs and scratched shoulders. For no apparent reason other than that we were on the barrier and they weren't. A crowd surfer was dropped by security after a particularly inept attempt to drag him over the barrier by the ankles - and he was clearly stunned - but that didn't stop them trying to haul him upright and out immediately. The band were pelted with full beer bottles and cups throughout the set. And it pissed them off. Carl, it appeared, wasn't feeling well either. They dropped both Blood on My Shoes and Truth Begins from the set - whether due to Carl feeling dodgy or annoyance with the crowd - but it all felt slightly sour. Didz waggled his finger admonishingly at the crowd (Daddy-ness coming out) and Carl told the crowd off, suggesting that if anyone spotted who was throwing bottles they might beat the shit out of them. The undisputed highlight of the set was the last song, YFLI, dedicated to guitar tech Mo, whose last gig it was - and who joined the band playing the song - obviously having the time of his life. It was one of the few times when the stage sparkled with a sense of joy and fun. I know a lot of people really enjoyed last night. And, the band did play well. Tight and fast. But I won't be heading back to Southampton to a gig in a hurry."
Plus! Photos by Veronika Moore on Flickr.
Setlist by Linna: Wondering - Holly - Buzzards - Doctors - Hippy - T.O.England - Bloodthirsty -Kicks -Gin & Milk - Gentry - Come Closer - Enemy - Chinese - Playboys - Plastic - Deadwood (encore) Bang Bang - YFLI

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