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The End, Nashville, TN
Thursday, 8 October 1998
with godspeed you black emperor!

Review #1 | Review #2

i must say it was my favorite Low show i have been to. the venue was not so great but everyone seemed to be quiet from where i was anyway. this is from memory but i think the setlist was something like this.

well nevermind. i have no idea. i do remember

- two step
- immune
- lion lamb
- anon
- starfire
- condescend
- coattails
- words
- violence
- will the night

though. gybe! was stunning again and i got the zine with their new song. any idea when the new split cd comes out anyone?

steven sewell
birdmad.boy@mindspring.com


It's getting to be another beautiful fall season here in Tennessee. The sky is a dark, dense gray... the temperature is cool without being cold. The clouds reach down to linger at the top of the hills. It's gorgeous.

Screw football. This is Low season.

At least... this is the review I *would* have written. I hate to seem contrary and perhaps my perceptions of that evening were colored by my own experiences, but this was not one of the strongest Low shows I've seen, and this marked my sixth time at one of their concerts.

I've just finished copying my videotape of that evening and here is the complete set list. By the way, the video quality is pretty poor (although the sound is decent), so it's not really worth a trade.

- Lion/Lamb...?
- Violence
- Condescend
- Coattails
- Two Step...?
- Anon
- Starfire
- Words
- Lord, Can You Hear Me?
- Will The Night
- "Encore:" Drag

I'm not sure of the title of the first song, but the lyrics went something like
"Are you a lion or a lamb?
Are you as guilty as I am?"

The one I called Two Step (since Phil calls it Two Step) had a chorus that sounded to me like:
"To stand around the room." Perhaps it was
"Two step around the room." ...I dunno

That was my favorite song of the evening.

The show was booked at a place called The End which I had never heard of, but was lucky enough to discover that it was affiliated with the Exit/In. They don't even have a phone in this place, so I had no idea what time the show was to begin. I showed up at close to 8 o'clock. Godspeed didn't take the stage until nearly 10:30 pm! I have to admit they were AMAZING and I will most certainly be buying their CD when I get a chance. How could I even begin to describe them? Tortoise meets Rachel's on steroids would be a good start. I still have to say that I like Low more, however. They're more melodic rather than atmospheric.

Despite this show having the biggest turnout and the warmest reception I've ever seen here, Low just seemed to be pissed off in general. What was up with them? Unfortunately, my girlfriend was tired that evening and I left immediately after the show ended (nearly 1 am), so I didn't get a chance to talk with the band at all. They stopped halfway through the opening song to complain about the sound. There was some minor bass feedback going on, but overall the sound really wasn't too bad. Alan made what seemed to be a quite condescending remark.. "Roll the low end off my vocal. I ain't no Randy Travis." To illustrate the sound problems he stomped around the stage in rhythm. With each step that he took a resounding "BOOM" swept through the venue. I quipped that maybe he was trying to perform one of the remixes. It seemed to me that they tried to rush through their songs wherever possible. They just didn't appear to be into it. When the audience called for an encore, they gave a half hearted rendition of Drag. By the end of the song Alan was shaking his head no and simply said "That's all." It sounded suspiciously like "Piss off." Very weird indeed.

I hope that things aren't going as poorly for our heroes as I think. Again, maybe I was just distracted, or maybe we both were. I wish them the best of luck and can't wait for the next CD.

Chris Phillips
rein020b@yahoo.com


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