Shawn Smith Europe Tour reviews, etc...

alexross42
alexross42 Posts: 377
edited May 2008 in Other Music
Hi,
I'm well excited about seeing Shawn @ Bristol on Friday, thought it'd be good to have a place to share reviews/stories etc from his shows on this tour - I can't find a forum for him through the official site?
I read on his guestbook that he played 'Crown of Thorns' in Edinburgh, which is awesome. Any other gems being played that people know of?

Cheers,
Ross.
My Music, 'Crowd of Oaks' - Spotify | Bandcamp

Manchester 2000 :: Cardiff 2000 :: Prague 2006 :: London 2007 :: Manchester 2009 :: London 2009 :: Manchester I 2012 :: Manchester II 2012 :: Milton Keynes 2014 :: London I 2018 :: London II 2018

*BRAD* Birmingham 2013 :: London 2013
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  • greenmind
    greenmind Posts: 34
    alexross42 wrote:
    Hi,
    I'm well excited about seeing Shawn @ Bristol on Friday, thought it'd be good to have a place to share reviews/stories etc from his shows on this tour - I can't find a forum for him through the official site?
    I read on his guestbook that he played 'Crown of Thorns' in Edinburgh, which is awesome. Any other gems being played that people know of?

    Cheers,
    Ross.


    you shouldn't try to find out before the show! spoils the excitement...

    he was incredible in edinburgh.

    i didn't have a clue he was touring until 2am the morning of the show when i was posting about him in another thread and randomly happened to click on the sticky thread and find it had been updated with euro tourdates.... kinda gave up on it, but when i got home from work (and at work i happened to come across a copy of Mojo magazine's '100 greatest ever vocalists' which bizarrely included him) in glasgow at around 1920 i found out i could get a lift and it was some trip...

    all quite surreal. the way i found out about it... the fact he's actually touring here (seemingly no promotion, no angle or 'scene' to promote him with, no profile, and no press interest in his music) and the gig itself (bourgeois edinburgh dive with small but ecstastic crowd)...
    take a teenage riot to get me outta bed right now...
  • London Calling
    London Calling Posts: 164
    Was at the Birmingham gig this evening and it was awesome considering its one man and a keyboard.
    Met Shawn before the show, awesome guy really down to earth. Asked him about the new Brad album and he said he wanted to put it on the web for free, Radiohead style, but Stone is against it. He doesn't know what's happening with it and he's pretty much given up on it.
    As for the setlist, can't remember specifics but a lot from interiors and shield of thorns was played. He also played crown of thorns and purple rain.
  • alexross42
    alexross42 Posts: 377
    Awesome, thanks for your posts. Shame about the latest Brad album, I'm quite surprised that Stone's against that method of release. Glad to hear that stuff was played from Shield of Thorns, it's such a great album!
    My Music, 'Crowd of Oaks' - Spotify | Bandcamp

    Manchester 2000 :: Cardiff 2000 :: Prague 2006 :: London 2007 :: Manchester 2009 :: London 2009 :: Manchester I 2012 :: Manchester II 2012 :: Milton Keynes 2014 :: London I 2018 :: London II 2018

    *BRAD* Birmingham 2013 :: London 2013
  • joeend
    joeend Posts: 30
    buttercup, screen, day brings, time o year, suffering, not to late, some never come home, ring that bell, crown of thorns- version that is so different to the recorded version-superb...satchel, brad, solo stuff......goose bumps all night...fantatsic....roll on thursday at putney
    London Wembley Arena 28/10/1996
    London Wembley Arena 29/10/1996
    London Wembley Arena 29/05/2000
    London Wembley Arena 30/05/2000
    Reading Festival 27/08/2006
    London Wembley Arena 18/6/2007
    London O2 18/08/2009
    London Hyde park 25/6/2010
    Manchester 20/6/2012
    Milton Keynes 11/7/2015
    London O2 18/6/2018
    London O2 17/7/2018
  • UKpearljammer
    UKpearljammer Bath, UK Posts: 910
    Good to see some talk about these shows, yeah there's not been too much promotion with these shows, I tried to help out but didn't get too much of a response. Can't wait for Putney and Bristol though, even better as I;ve only recently got back from Australia so will be seeing all my mates for the first time in ages. As much as I love Crown Of Thorns I have to say I didn't think much of Shawn's version going from the mp3 I've got of it but hopefully it sounds better live.
    My PJ shows:
    London 28/10/96, Las Vegas 11/7/98, London 29/5/00, Nurnburg 11/6/00, Prague 14/6/00, Salzburg 18/6/00, Verona 20/6/00, Milan 22/6/00, Zurich 23/6/00, New York 8-9/7/03, Boston 11/7/03, Reading Festival 27/8/06, Shepards Bush 11/8/09, Berlin 15/8/09, Manchester 17/8/09, London 18/8/09, Dublin 22/6/10, Belfast 23/6/10, London (HRC) 25/6/10, Alpine Valley (PJ20) 3-4/9/11, Manchester 20-21/6/12, Leeds 8/7/14, Milton Keynes 11/7/14 To be continued....
  • greenmind
    greenmind Posts: 34
    MINDWIREUK wrote:
    Good to see some talk about these shows, yeah there's not been too much promotion with these shows,
    As much as I love Crown Of Thorns I have to say I didn't think much of Shawn's version going from the mp3 I've got of it but hopefully it sounds better live.

    there is a bluesy acoustic guitar version on youtube, but this is piano and actually pretty faithful to the original but with a slightly different melody on the chorus. its great anyway. don't really know much about shawn's connection to l'andrew... apart from the links to malfunkshun and mlb through brad and von nord... i wish that documentary would be released on dvd.

    its a pretty unusual tour, and probably hard to promote... he must have had almost zero attention in the UK press since the late 90s. there were only about 50 people at edinburgh, and it wasn't a common venue. he might have drawn a decent crowd in king tuts or sleazys in glasgow. i don't think its website even mentioned brad or twilight singers or pj or anything.

    i mean i've been to plenty of shows with even less than 50 people there, but they've normally been small or new bands with a little coverage in the indie press or the band's label or whatever and in the venue's own prominent listings. was this advertised in mojo or uncut or anything?
    take a teenage riot to get me outta bed right now...
  • greenmind
    greenmind Posts: 34
    he did sell out a big venue in london tho...
    take a teenage riot to get me outta bed right now...
  • joeend
    joeend Posts: 30
    there was about 100 in birmingham, very nice...think putney tonight will be different tonight, should still be very good cant wait again....hopefully he will play a few different tunes ...
    London Wembley Arena 28/10/1996
    London Wembley Arena 29/10/1996
    London Wembley Arena 29/05/2000
    London Wembley Arena 30/05/2000
    Reading Festival 27/08/2006
    London Wembley Arena 18/6/2007
    London O2 18/08/2009
    London Hyde park 25/6/2010
    Manchester 20/6/2012
    Milton Keynes 11/7/2015
    London O2 18/6/2018
    London O2 17/7/2018
  • alexross42
    alexross42 Posts: 377
    It's such a shame that there is so little coverage, it's the usual story though of having an amazingly talented singer/songwriter being overlooked whilst having to put up with the wealth of uninspiring regurgitated dirge that is constantly pumped through the radio/TV.
    Thanks for sharing your thoughts, it's getting me well excited for Friday!
    My Music, 'Crowd of Oaks' - Spotify | Bandcamp

    Manchester 2000 :: Cardiff 2000 :: Prague 2006 :: London 2007 :: Manchester 2009 :: London 2009 :: Manchester I 2012 :: Manchester II 2012 :: Milton Keynes 2014 :: London I 2018 :: London II 2018

    *BRAD* Birmingham 2013 :: London 2013
  • Terryible
    Terryible Posts: 462
    I can't wait tonight, even through I don't know much of his solo stuff except his latest album, it should be a great gig.

    Anyone going for a few drinks beforehand in Putney
    26/02/1998 Wellington, 09/09/2006 Marseille, 16/09/2006 Verona
    23/09/2006 Berlin, 30/09/2006 Athens, 18/07/2007 London
    02/07/2009 Honolulu (EV Solo), 22/11/2009, Sydney, 29/11/2009 Christchurch
  • joeend
    joeend Posts: 30
    do not worry i am sure there be plenty of brad, satchel stuff as he did in birmingham,he actually told us he didnt have a set list and was making it up as he went along and could only play tracks he could remember!!!

    check out http://www.brumlive.com for gig review and photos....he only played a few solo tracks and even those are quality, (i did know them) but his voice is awesome for any to to enjoy them that didnt know them
    London Wembley Arena 28/10/1996
    London Wembley Arena 29/10/1996
    London Wembley Arena 29/05/2000
    London Wembley Arena 30/05/2000
    Reading Festival 27/08/2006
    London Wembley Arena 18/6/2007
    London O2 18/08/2009
    London Hyde park 25/6/2010
    Manchester 20/6/2012
    Milton Keynes 11/7/2015
    London O2 18/6/2018
    London O2 17/7/2018
  • strummers
    strummers Posts: 2,611
    Amazing! Beautiful setting - really old church in York, dates back to 1135 (if I remember right). Or as Shawn put it "a motherfucking old building" :D .

    Just him and a piano (and his hat!). Great night, great bloke. Met him briefly after the gig - he was signing things and taking pictures with everyone.

    What else can I say? Hurry back Shawn!
    http://www.wishlistfoundation.org
    http://www.strummersphotography.com

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  • SoonForgotten2
    SoonForgotten2 Posts: 2,245
    Some photos from tonight in London:

    http://www.flickr.com/photos/jmgphotos/sets/72157604955699426/

    Spoke to Shawn for quite awhile prior to the gig- really great guy and gleaned some interesting info on Brad and how things were back in the day in Seattle. It was cool to have a Guinness )or two) with him. Gig was awesome too, of course!
    <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/jmgphotos/sets/72157600802942672/">My Pearl Jam Photos</a>

    <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/jmgphotos/4731512142/&quot; title="PJ Banner2 by Mister J Photography, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm2.static.flickr.com/1135/4731512142_258f2d6ab4_b.jpg&quot; width="630" height="112" alt="PJ Banner2" /></a>
  • chime
    chime Posts: 7,839
    SoonForgotten2 wrote:
    Some photos from tonight in London:

    http://www.flickr.com/photos/jmgphotos/sets/72157604955699426/

    Spoke to Shawn for quite awhile prior to the gig- really great guy and gleaned some interesting info on Brad and how things were back in the day in Seattle. It was cool to have a Guinness )or two) with him. Gig was awesome too, of course!

    Hey saw you at the bar when I arrived but didn't get a chance to say hi ... so *waves" hi glad you had a good night.
    So are we strangers now? Like rock and roll and the radio?
  • alexross42
    alexross42 Posts: 377
    So last night I finally got to see Shawn in Bristol and I'm pleased to say that it definitely lived up to my expectations and then some! Such an intimate venue, Shawn was playing on a lovely Steinway piano rather than the keyboard he's been using at other gigs and it sounded great.
    The place was quite nicely laid out with tables amongst chairs, candles and fairy lights at the back of the stage, then it started thundering throughout 'Screen' which added to the whole vibe. The audience was very attentive, about 70-80 people were there but it was absolutely silent during the songs, which was really nice.
    I heard some songs live that I never thought I would - 'Isn't That Right' for one! 'Crown Of Thorns' was fantastic and thankfully I got most of it on video too as well as a few others and some audio, so I'll upload soon and post some links.

    Meeting Shawn afterwards was great, as others have said he's such a down-to-earth approachable guy, really hope he tours here again in the near future and gets the exposure he deserves!
    My Music, 'Crowd of Oaks' - Spotify | Bandcamp

    Manchester 2000 :: Cardiff 2000 :: Prague 2006 :: London 2007 :: Manchester 2009 :: London 2009 :: Manchester I 2012 :: Manchester II 2012 :: Milton Keynes 2014 :: London I 2018 :: London II 2018

    *BRAD* Birmingham 2013 :: London 2013
  • Mike_No_One
    Mike_No_One Posts: 53
    Firstly, the tour was a huge success. Ask anyone who attended. But it is interesting to read the bitching and griping from certain quarters. What some people have failed to take into consideration is that due to the sudden nature of the tour (sandwiched between two Belgium appearances) there was no time for print press promotion. Now you can whine all you like about why Shawn played this venue or that venue (people complaining that York was seated!) but the bottom line is that venues can be booked up months is advance. The choice was limited and the venues I chose were deliberately 'different' - meaning not crappy rock clubs. It took a lot of work. Of course it'd be great to see Shawn play KOKO but y'know, that's not going to happen right now! He's flown across half the globe and I still get someone in London complain that he's playing in Putney (which is in LONDON)! Well, he sold the fucker out and played an amazing show. If you were too cool to get tickets then tough shit.
  • alexross42
    alexross42 Posts: 377
    That's too bad to hear about people whinging, some are never happy!
    Glad the tour was a success, any ideas on how Shawn felt it went?
    It sounds like you were pretty much responsible for the tour so I guess all I can say is thanks!
    Let's hope he enjoyed it enough to come back some day,
    Cheers,
    Ross.
    My Music, 'Crowd of Oaks' - Spotify | Bandcamp

    Manchester 2000 :: Cardiff 2000 :: Prague 2006 :: London 2007 :: Manchester 2009 :: London 2009 :: Manchester I 2012 :: Manchester II 2012 :: Milton Keynes 2014 :: London I 2018 :: London II 2018

    *BRAD* Birmingham 2013 :: London 2013
  • see_the_world
    see_the_world Posts: 172
    Mike_No_One wrote:
    Firstly, the tour was a huge success. Ask anyone who attended. But it is interesting to read the bitching and griping from certain quarters. What some people have failed to take into consideration is that due to the sudden nature of the tour (sandwiched between two Belgium appearances) there was no time for print press promotion. Now you can whine all you like about why Shawn played this venue or that venue (people complaining that York was seated!) but the bottom line is that venues can be booked up months is advance. The choice was limited and the venues I chose were deliberately 'different' - meaning not crappy rock clubs. It took a lot of work. Of course it'd be great to see Shawn play KOKO but y'know, that's not going to happen right now! He's flown across half the globe and I still get someone in London complain that he's playing in Putney (which is in LONDON)! Well, he sold the fucker out and played an amazing show. If you were too cool to get tickets then tough shit.

    Fuck 'em. Bristol gig was a fantastic night and it was all the better for being at the Folk House rather than upstairs at the Academy or something. Wouldn't have been able to watch with a nice hot mug of coffee on the go in there. How can anyone complain about having to sit down to watch a man play piano? Thanks for making it happen.
    If I knew where it was, I would take you there...
  • alexross42
    alexross42 Posts: 377
    I'm slowly (but surely) uploading vids to YouTube that I took @ the Bristol gig,
    first up is 'Wrapped In My Memory':

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EGJZjGuQVsU

    'Crown Of Thorns' should be up tomorrow!

    Cheers,
    Ross.
    My Music, 'Crowd of Oaks' - Spotify | Bandcamp

    Manchester 2000 :: Cardiff 2000 :: Prague 2006 :: London 2007 :: Manchester 2009 :: London 2009 :: Manchester I 2012 :: Manchester II 2012 :: Milton Keynes 2014 :: London I 2018 :: London II 2018

    *BRAD* Birmingham 2013 :: London 2013
  • alexross42
    alexross42 Posts: 377
    Crown Of Thorns:

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XG2E3FDWqmw
    My Music, 'Crowd of Oaks' - Spotify | Bandcamp

    Manchester 2000 :: Cardiff 2000 :: Prague 2006 :: London 2007 :: Manchester 2009 :: London 2009 :: Manchester I 2012 :: Manchester II 2012 :: Milton Keynes 2014 :: London I 2018 :: London II 2018

    *BRAD* Birmingham 2013 :: London 2013

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