Jon wrote:

>Yeah, I was there.  So was Randy.  Randy and I had a lengthy discussion 
>about Buzzcocks always having crappy opening acts (He's seen them a number 
>of times).  He thought David Talent might have been the worst he'd ever seen.

It was Billy Talent (not David), but I don't blame you for getting it 
wrong.  They're dreadful.  I think they were even worse than 
Mephiskapheles, the previous record-holder.  And yeah, I was right--it's 
Atlantic that is behind them and will be releasing their album.  I guess 
when stuff like Good Charlotte sells, this is what we end up with.

>I felt pretty bad about it, but at least they did stop and let those in 
>the vicinity enjoy the rest of the show.  Which they did.  Man, what great 
>tunes.  Maybe played a little faster than my ideal tempo in some 
>instances, but still...The thing that made the whole evening worthwhile 
>was the goofy grin on my wife's face (no punk rocker, she) throughout the set.

I agree, some of the tempos are a tad too fast nowadays.  We're not yet 
into late-Ramones territory (that LOCO LIVE album is just awful), but I 
hope they don't speed it up any faster.  My theory is that this extra 
velocity and aggression is a by-product of the new album, which is the 
harshest-sounding record they've done since SPIRAL SCRATCH.  Still great 
hooks, but a little meaner.  It seems to be doing well for them, 
though.  This record and tour are getting more attention than anything else 
they've done since reforming in 1989.

Anyway, I could have hated everything else (which I didn't--far from it!) 
and still made my night with that rendition of "I Believe."  That's 
probably the best performance of any song I've heard yet this year.

>Last night I went out for a drink wih some friends and got the scoop on 
>the rest of the evening.  Apparently Pete Shelley was dragged to the "punk 
>rock" bar in town, the Replay Lounge where he proceeded to party all night 
>with the locals.  The story is that he walked up to a number of people and 
>said "D'ya fancy men?"  In the event of a negative response he'd reply 
>"Oh...Well let's get
>drunk then."  He charmed everybody and people were just gushing about what 
>a great guy he was.

He's very nice.  I introduced myself to him while he was watching the first 
band and not many people were there yet.  He knows my name from the 
Buzzcocks list (which he reads), but to my surprise he said he recognized 
me from 1999 (I attended three shows on that tour).  Later he graciously 
signed a couple of singles for me.  I missed Diggle, though!

Randy