DIDN'T I SEE YOU AT THAT GIG?

Scanned some concert entry tickets today, trying to amuse myself whilst i fight the worst migraine ever to befall anyone. No I'm not exaggerating, guys don't do that, we simply tell it how it is. Back to the tickets, I'd stashed some from the 80's in an old photo album, it seems Perth had only one large venue back then - much like today....

Moving Pictures & The Church 82Skyhooks 83

The Moving Pictures gig was I think my first ever "big" concert, as in not a pub gig. I was more interested in the support act The Church, than Moving Pictures and quite possibly more interested in Jenny the girl I took along. The Skyhooks gig I was dragged along to by friends as I wasn't really into their music, ended up being a really fun gig.

U2 84 INXS 84

This was the first time I ever saw U2, completely blew me away. This was the era of War, Boy and New Years Day, good times. Three days later we were back at the same venue to see INXS. I remember thinking at the gig that Michael Hutchence was a prancing pretentious git and he probably was. To be fair to him though I was most likely comparing him to Bono's act a few nights earlier.

Stranglers 85 Eurythmics 87

I was so looking forward to The Stranglers gig, serious punk rockers from the UK coming to Perth, we were pumped. Turned out to be the worst gig I have ever, to this day, been to. People were nodding off in their seats. The band dressed in black on a stage draped completely in white sheets stood perfectly still for every song. Avant Guard? Boring as bat shit! Actually I've seen bat shit that was more exciting than them since. We walked out by half time as did two thirds of the crowd. The Eurythmics were explosive and kind of made up for this awful night a few days before.

U2 89

U2 with B.B King, words are not needed.


Comments

Miles said…
How much were tickets back then old fart? $2?

:D
stu said…
hahaha actually I recall amounts like $27.50 and my wage as an apprentice chef in 1982 was about $120 a week, so comparable
Anonymous said…
That's sad about The Stranglers. I saw them in '05 at... Club A?

Whatever that place is at Observation City and they were well worth the price of admission.

I suppose '84 would have been when they were at their biggest. They probably work much better in a small venue when they don't have to play that damned 'Golden Brown' song.

My oldest surviving tickets are branded with BOCS and all the ink has long since faded away.
stu said…
It was the Aural Sculpture tour, so the show opened with 20 minute slide show of ears...human, animal, statue etc etc.

Then when they appeared on stage they were themselves statues, hardly any movement except occasionally the lead guitarist would throw a leg out wildly, shake it and then resume the statue pose.

Maybe they were trying new things out on a Perth crowd. But it may also have been a throwback to their meninblack period. Not so good for us. A major disappointment cos we were so looking forward to the gig
Kwality said…
I reckon the Moving Pictures/Church show may have been $9.96. There were plenty of those shows around that time sponsored by 96FM. All the same price.
stu said…
oh yeah! That sounds familiar
DS said…
I saw The Stranglers on the UK leg of the 'Aural sculpture' tour, I remember they hardly communicated with the audience, used a brass section and the stage set was exactly as you described, it was basically just all white while the band dressed in their usual all black, I remember them not playing their recent hit 'Skin deep', using radio mikes and leads which were coming into vogue at the time, these enabled musicians to be more 'mobile' on stage but Hugh and JJ hardly moved all night, the support act was some guy doing silly voices and farmyard noises, the crowd made it clear they weren't impressed, by the time the band hit the stage we were all pumped up but it was a decidely average show, if you look at the setlist from the Zurich show which was released on CD, they had changed a few things but the acoustics were still very muddy and they still weren't speaking to the audience, saying that, all is forgiven, still a fan, still buying their albums and attending shows.
stu said…
Wow, you just described the show I saw here to a T. You've reminded me that they didn't sing Skin Deep here either. Yeah still a fan myself, just a bad bad tour.