Posts by boredatwork

Quote from OneForTheVine

You are both welcome!

It is the overly understated way that this tour has been rolled out that led me to posting about it here, complete with the pre-sale password. Let me tell you how I found out about it...

I get emails from every venue where I have seen a show. That, of course, is standard industry practice, and it's mostly a good one. Anyway, large venues host sporting events as well as concerts; so, being on the mailing list for one kind of event usually signs you up for mailing lists for all events (this is less good of a standard industry practice, but I'll certainly forgive them this time). The local professional ice hockey team in Philadelphia sent me an email Tuesday morning to announce their upcoming games (the team is having a historically bad season, so sending out more marketing emails is probably a good thing - attendance at the games now must be dreadful). Anyway, as I was scrolling down the message, in the banner ad at THE VERY BOTTOM OF THE EMAIL was the announcement about this Roxy Music reunion tour! I just stared at it for a few seconds. The way it looked (and where it was located in the email) I just assumed that it must have been announcing some kind of 50th anniversary celebration of the band for fans of the band, maybe with a tribute band playing. It was so underwhelming-looking that I didn't recognize it as a proper announcement of a real reunion tour.

Reading it more closely, it began to dawn on me that this might be a real reunion tour announcement. So, I went to Bryan Ferry's website (I knew his would be active; the one specifically dedicated to Roxy Music isn't always active) - sure enough, the RM reunion tour was a real thing, and Bryan (or, more likely, his webmaster), very helpfully, posted the pre-sale links and password. After I scored my ticket, I made it my temporary mission in life to tell as many people as I could that this tour was actually occurring. I found out completely by accident, and I'm sure that there would be others in the same boat. It looks like I guessed properly.

Anyway, you two enjoy your shows, and I will enjoy mine! I'm just so happy that it's happening!

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I must admit I’d never bother to scroll to the end of a venue email for a local sports team event, I’d just delete it!

Annoyingly this morning I happened to see a brief interview on Sky TV with Graham Gouldman saying a 10cc reunion tour of the UK had just started. Good I thought, when are they playing Manchester? Turns out it was 3 days ago

But for anyone who doesn’t live in Bath, Cardiff, Manchester or Southend, here’s your chance:

https://10cc.world/events

Quote from OneForTheVine

Roxy Music is doing a small run of shows in honor of their 50th anniversary in North America and the UK! The original band (minus Brian Eno, of course) is going on the road again - yes, even Andy Mackay, who had somewhat recently announced his retirement from live performance due to his Dupuytren’s Contracture. I guess he found a treatment/training regimen that worked for him.

There is a pre-sale going on RIGHT NOW. If you want to take part in it, the password is “ROXY50” (without the quotation marks) for pre-sales on both sides of the pond.

I already have my ticket for Philadelphia, three days before the general on-sale. If you are a Roxy fan, now is your chance to see them again, and very likely for the last time.

Many thanks for the tip. I didn’t know about this tour & got tickets for Manchester this morning. This afternoon the pre-sale had sold out. Never seen them before. It’s a shame Brian Eno won’t be with them, but Genesis fans know the feeling

Only 3 UK dates seems quite modest though; I’d have thought they’d have done more than that.

Quote from FeelItComing

What you appear to be saying is you want all those posts to stop.

I haven't posted here for several days because of what has occured in this thread. The games are just a harmless diversion. All you have to do is ignore them.

No, not in the least. I don't want the games to stop. They’re a vibrant part of the forum & long may they continue. But the forumites who participate in them will click on the Games section anyway whenever they visit & will then immediately see all the latest threads. Other users, including prospective new ones coming across this forum, will see what’s happening in the Genesis-related threads. So the latest settings seem like a good idea of Christian’s, especially now while the band are active!

Quote from Backdrifter

It's not a "throwaway aside" though, it really is "I hate wokeness and I am determined to bang that hatred in with a big mallet at every opportunity even when it's completely unrelated", which is what I find amusing. If you wish or choose to characterise that as a loud defensive protestation, go to it and enjoy 👍

I read it as a throwaway aside not directed at anyone in particular. But even if it was somehow aimed at you, then what does it really matter since if you consider yourself to be woke (& if you don’t, why respond to something so peripheral?) then surely that’s something you’re comfortable with? Every time someone responds defensively to what clearly isn’t a personal attack, it suggests to ordinary bystanders that they have a nagging worry that there’s actually something discreditable about the trait that was mentioned in passing & need to reassure themselves.

Quote from foxfeeder

The only remaining improvement I'd guess you'd like to see is the renaming of Dashboard to Dashbored!

Yes you’re right. I’m definitely living up to my username - today was exceedingly dull!

Quote from thewatcher

Wow man, you are on fire in this thread. The casual zingers are just electric. A towering display of wit. Bravo.

Quote from Backdrifter

You've got to admire the ability to crowbar - red-faced, straining and sweating - "woke" into a thread about re-setting the dashboard. That's dedication!

I hadn’t even noticed the aside that's caused this aggro, perhaps due to having no idea what Curb means, but since it’s now been singled out to take the thread off topic anyway:

I’m often simultaneously amused & bemused by the loud protestations of those who suspect they might be described as woke. It’s defined as being aware of social injustice - who objects to that? Yet the touchy reaction & immediate denigration of anyone who merely uses the term in passing is tiresomely predictable & often creates an unpleasant & tense atmosphere.

If the original poster had attacked someone then a defensive response would be justified. But a throwaway aside? Seriously?

Somewhat belatedly: thanks Christian!

From the viewpoint of a casual visitor I prefer these Latest Posts settings, & can’t help feeling that it’s more encouraging for all the potential new forumites generated by the band’s current tour to see at a glance what’s happening in the Genesis-related threads instead of being confronted with a long list of song titles relating to hatstands, owlets & marshmallows

Quote from thefarmer

boredatwork

"The Manchester Arena is back to its old self: very crowded, bar queues blocking the whole concourse, very few masks to be seen & no one asked to see Covid passes. It was great to be somewhere that felt normal rather than the dreaded “new” normal."

I don't want to start a Covid row which is why I haven't mentioned it untill now but as you mention it . In Birmingham they did a quick visual check of the pass , it could've been from a cornflake box! In Manchester they didn't bother at all. I for one don't want to be crowded indoors with non vaccinated people. Having a decent queuing system for the bar does no one any harm . I was told Covid passes would be needed and felt ok to go but uncomfortable when I got there. Wearing a mask does no harm and may save a life or avoid a much needed hospital place. No doubt a life will be lost as result of this tour or lack of Covid safety if all the places are like this.

Correction needed: I don’t think having bar queues blocking the concourse is a great idea, it’s a long term fault of the Arena’s design & I mentioned it only as a sign of things being back to normal.

Given the overall UK vaccination totals & the age of those at the concert, I’m confident that most of us, including me, had been vaccinated & were therefore sufficiently well-protected to sit back & enjoy the show. Let’s all take reasonable precautions, but I can’t imagine anything more miserable than sitting through a long concert wearing a mask, a constant nagging joyless reminder of the pandemic that’s been ruining most aspects of our lives for far too long already.

However, one thing management could do that would help reduce spread of the virus & definitely improve the atmosphere for most of the audience is to shut the bar when the show starts. That would stop the flow of idiots constantly squeezing up & down the narrow rows, disturbing everyone else by forcing them to stand up & breathe all over each other in much closer proximity than throughout the rest of the venue. If you’re looking for the likeliest source of infections at a concert, it’s right there!

Aaaaahhh.....FREE COW!

Le Freak, c’est chic

(and yes you may laugh, but how many English school kids had ever heard the expression “Freak out” in 1979?)

Quote from LivingForever1999

Lots of technical difficulties yesterday! Generator problems and flat tire on the tour bus. I guess that's what happens with such a large production. Glad they still played the whole set!

Well I’m really glad I saw the show in Manchester on Saturday night not Friday, since my last train home left from the opposite side of Manchester at 11.38pm!. There were fewer problems on Saturday than were reported on Friday.

A few thoughts on the Saturday show:

The Manchester Arena is back to its old self: very crowded, bar queues blocking the whole concourse, very few masks to be seen & no one asked to see Covid passes. It was great to be somewhere that felt normal rather than the dreaded “new” normal.

Tony played a few bum notes in several numbers.

Phil interacted well with the crowd.

During the band intros it was Nic who got the biggest cheer from the crowd.

The more stripped down performance they did in the middle of the set worked well for That’s All but not at all for The Lamb Lies Down & Follow You Follow Me.

The big screens behind the stage showed plenty of close-up footage of Phil, Mike, Tony & Nic, & some of the 2 backing singers, but virtually none of Daryl except during his erm... reinterpretation(?) of the Firth of Fifth guitar solo.

It was sad to see Phil hobbling off stage very slowly with his walking cane at the end. Someone even asked whether he had Parkinsons.

Overall it was a very good packed show, & I’m glad I finally got to see them live.

Quote from Backdrifter

By most broad definitions Hackett's albums and singles place him above Banks in terms of chart success. Each have penned very catchy solo songs, some of which were singles, that under different circumstances could have been hits by most definitions but obviously weren't. Profile, brand, promotion, radio play, whatever factors there were meant they didn't reach that special milepost. Both have proved themselves skilled writers so it shows how hard the business of hit songs, however you define it, can be.

That seems like a fair summary.

More noticeable than hits now is that Steve seems to have an ongoing musical presence, consistently producing albums (even if as has been observed in other threads, some of the recent ones are rather less memorable), collaborating on other musicians’ projects & touring - apart from during pandemics. He seems to be contentedly settled into that round of visible activity. Whereas apart from the upcoming Genesis tour we don’t really know what Tony’s being doing. There’s been 3 classical albums in about 20 years & a short classical piece for a concert a few years back, but no sort of consistent musical activity - although in fairness to Tony, the winner of the Not Doing Much Musically for Inordinately Long Periods Competition must be Peter!    

I’d have voted for “Hidden in the World of Dawn” & “The Magic of Time” if they’d been on the list.

Quote from vl1

The experts and powers that be:

all seemed to catch it, while lecturing us on how not to

said no evidence of human to human transmission

said it wasn't airborne, then it was

said little risk of spread at large indoor events, then outlawed them

said little risk of spread at large outdoor events, then outlawed them

put perspex screens everywhere which block airflow, and do nothing for airborne particles coming over the top

said masks are useless then enforced the wearing of them

decided public health policy with mathematical models which routinely get it wrong

patronised the public with silly slogans and songs to wash your hands to

over ventilated people, and bought shedloads of unused machines

built nightingale hospitals which were clearly never going to be used

went around shaking people hands in a pandemic

allowed the infected into old peoples homes

allowed the uninfected to get infected in hospitals.

have moved the age at which you can get certain approved vaccines due to safety worries, another mathematical model.

have as far as I know done little or nothing to assess the cleanliness,safety,airflow,practices of the hospitality/leisure industry which is about to open up.

People who question this aren't the same people claiming the vaccinated can stick spoons to their heads. You don't need any expertise or hindsight to question it, it was obvious from the start.

next slide please.. Smart motorways.

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Indeed. As per your list, many of the things that the UK government have got wrong in the pandemic were done because they were following whatever was “the science” & the SAGE experts’ opinion at that particular time. “The science” & opinion then changed & the government changed the rules accordingly.

But since the start of the pandemic any questioning, of “the science” has been decried as misinformation. Respected scientists expressing valid concerns about lockdown’s effects on missed cancer treatments, heart attacks, strokes etc were attacked in the press or silenced e.g. by having social media accounts suspended. Yes the obvious loons who think Bill Gates is injecting people with microchips & suchlike should be ignored, but the general groupthink condemnation of any sort of questioning, however reasonable or well-informed it may be, is just as worrying.

This morning I turned on Today, the main BBC radio news programme, to hear a presenter grilling a treasury minister about PG’s request for government support for music festivals as WOMAD faces cancellation. I think they’d interviewed PG himself earlier on.

The treasury minister wasn’t particularly helpful, but maybe PG’s old band could use some of the profits from their lucrative upcoming tour to bail out WOMAD. It wouldn’t be the first time....

Quote from seven-eight

In the US here, Madison Square Garden now has a policy of "no shot, no entry" basically, which means you can't attend any event without proof of a vaccine. This is a very dangerous path as far as I am concerned. This is a path toward segregation of the population which definitely rubs me the wrong way. I hope other venues choose differently.

I find it worrying too. What will the venue deem acceptable proof of vaccination? My son has a card with the dates handwritten in biro by the nurse & Witchwood only has a sticker. Would they be turned away at the door? Or will everyone be forced to carry a personal tracking device (aka a smartphone) to participate in normal life? And once Covid vaccination status is universally accepted as an entry requirement it won’t end there: next winter it’ll be flu vaccination status too, & so on. It’s a slippery slope.

We can't eliminate risk entirely so we need to manage it sensibly. I’ve been vaccinated & that gives me an acceptable level of protection. I have no right whatsoever to insist that everyone else must do the same or be treated like a pariah. Yes, I have a very slightly increased risk of catching Covid at the Genesis concert if someone else is unvaccinated. I also have a slight risk of being hit by a car on the way to the venue, but I’m not going to let either of these remote possibilities stop me going!

Quote from Backdrifter

the balding singer-songwriter

Well whoever described Phil as “balding” clearly hasn’t taken a look at him now, since the “ing” has been redundant for years!

Quote from Squigelyfox

I watched 'The Pursuit of Love' too. Loved the series.

It made decent Sunday night TV, but the previous BBC dramatisation some years ago was rather better; the heroine seemed less irritating & it didn’t contain the anachronistic modern songs that this version had.

Quote from Backdrifter

My point was that whatever his shortcomings are, and clearly they are many, as someone who was brought into government at a senior level and was there during a crisis his testimony can't simply be ignored, certainly not by the parliamentary machinery if not by the media.

From what I understand, his inflated view of himself precedes his involvement in brexit and Johnson's government.

Even if what he has said, and the evidence he's presented, is partially flawed why would you want the issues he's referred to, to wither away?

Because all the attention just inflates his feelings of self-importance/messiah complex, the Covid enquiry when it comes needs to examine the issues he’s raised but in a more measured & less hysterical atmosphere than currently prevails, and finally because I’m not obsessed with, & am therefore sick to death of hearing about, the wall-to-wall coverage of Dominic Cummings!

I was slightly surprised (& momentarily worried given his age & health!) to see Phil featuring in the Sky TV News headlines just now, but happily it’s positive: https://news.sky.com/story/the…ral-resurrection-12321389

Love the backhanded compliment in the statement: “The authors said Collins had done himself a favour by failing to reinvent himself.”

Quote from Backdrifter

I've seen a few of these comments along the lines of "first they hate him, now they love him, aha, gotcha", which as a position is a gross oversimplification.

Clearly, this is someone with a self-serving agenda and by all accounts he has some sort of god complex.

Maybe he has, but then if the entire media was obsessed with endlessly reporting my every word, deed & thought I reckon I’d be entirely justified in having a god complex! Just ignoring him, or at least keeping things in proportion, would be the most effective way of ensuring it withers away, so surely it’s worth a try?