[kj] Killing Joke at The Wiltern

[countessghoulita at aol.com]

 TB,

thank you for another amazing report :)


Yes, the weather did not do any good for people to wait outside at the venue. When we arrived shortly before 8pm, the security let us in really fast and efficiently, which was a blessing. The crowd was pretty mixed, it was good not to see "hipsters" in American Apparel/Hot Topic this time. Of course, also some really interesting characters were in attendance, but this was a Killing Joke gig, and everything is possible ;)

I agree with you when you wrote that the venue did take a long time to fill up. The stage at The Wiltern is too high, and there were no barriers in front of the stage, so Miche and I opted for standing at the general admission area instead, where we gained a top spot; we thought that the crowd in the "pit" would have crunched us to bits, as this would be the case in a KJ event. We could have actually been in that pit and bring more life to it, after seeing that the audience there was really motionless and passive especially in the central area in front of the stage, to our disappointment and total disbelief. We could spot Cliff & Kara in the back of the pit area, and see they truly had an amazing time during the show :)
I think the folks next to and behind us must have loved our jumping, slamming, dancing, singing and screaming. At this point I have no voice and can only speak through signs (hi, LB: this is the Xmas present from your wife, enjoy!) I had an amazing work-out, plenty of fun and still lots of adrenaline in me ;)

As far as the opening band is concerned, they didn't sound like Bauhaus at all to me (sorry about that). Both the drummer and the percussionist were really good, and their sound made me think more of Ginger Baker rather than Kevin Haskins, and the two band members playing organ and keyboards made me think of Iron Butterfly especially on one song. If Bauhaus need to be mentioned, the only man who can play maracas on stage and get away with it is Peter Murphy.

The sound quality was not to good (perhaps it was better for those standing in the upper levels of the theater.) BPF stole the entire gig, he's a beast. Geordie was amazing, but visibly annoyed at the paparazzo who would not stop appearing at his side to take pictures like a ghost, then darting to the other side of the stage to snap more shots. That is annoying, and unprofessional. Nevertheless, Geordie never lost his concentration throughout the concert, even when, at a certain point, he turned his head to the paparazzo and must have charred him with a death stare. 

A truly positive aspect of the gig and venue was that Jaz was able to express himself to the best of his ability. He wasn't "talkative" at the HOB two years ago, but we also know the HOB is when it comes to artists speaking their mind. He indeed was quick in introducing and commenting "Love Like Blood" as stated in the LA Weekly blog today. 
He took really great care in introducing the new tracks, and those who are not familiar with "Absolute Dissent" could receive a nice insight, short and sweet ;)

As TB said, the new tracks are really, really tight live. I am sure "Here Comes The Singularity", Kali Yuga" and "The Raven King" would have been simply stunning live if they were part of the set.
.
"ESS" and "This World Hell" offered the only consecutive break for me from screaming before and after them, singing and slamming/dancing. 

I am happy that the band will enjoy some really well-deserved rest. They were truly energetic last night, despite the technical constraints related to the sound quality. I missed Youth, and the way he shows how much he loves playing on the stage is simply priceless. 

CG





-----Original Message-----
From: TB <planetary at socal.rr.com>
To: 'A list about all things Killing Joke (the band!)' <gathering at misera.net>
Sent: Sun, Dec 19, 2010 9:52 am
Subject: [kj] Killing Joke at The Wiltern


Finally after just over a year of holding on to my ticket, saw the mighty 





















































Killing Joke at The Wiltern.











































































































So much in just the last couple weeks seemed to conspire to add up to a mediocre 





















































show if not it being canceled altogether.  From the





















































tour being rescheduled back last Spring to poor publicity for the show booked 





















































optimistically in a great if clearly too big for the





















































band venue to Youth leaving the tour last week to this being the 5th show in 5 





















































grueling nights without a break to the utterly





















































miserable weather last night, it seemed like everything was conspiring to 





















































sabotage the final show of this tour.  I can happily say,





















































that did not happen.











































































































After a frankly harrowing drive from Huntington Beach to LA in constant wind and 





















































rain, I got to the Wiltern about 7pm.  Much to my





















































surprise, there was only about 20 people lined up (usually by 7pm, there's a 





















































couple hundred or more lined up depending on the band).





















































Bringing an umbrella was probably the single smartest thing I did as they didn't 





















































open the doors 'til 8pm and some people who came





















































unprepared were soaked in a matter of minutes standing out there.  Getting my 





















































ticket from Will Call was no problem although the guy





















































didn't ask for ID and initially handed me two tickets (I came alone).











































































































Once inside, it was a long 1 1/2 hours 'til the opening band came on.  The place 





















































was *very* slow to fill up and even by the time





















































Killing Joke came on, you could still get a pit wristband and the place was only 





















































about 40% filled. The merch booth was out of shirts





















































except for some larges and XXLs.  Bootleggers outside The Wiltern were peddling 





















































a decent looking rip-off shirt of the "Courtauld





















































Talks" art that was better'n the official shirts sold inside.  











































































































The opening band was surprisingly decent which means they weren't great but at 





















































least they weren't "Amen" who opened for KJ in 2003





















































and was laughably bad.  Performing mostly instrumentals, they came off as sort 





















































of like a weird cross between Bauhaus and I dunno,





















































The Doors although they looked like typical slackers from Seattle.  At one point 





















































several of us in the pit yelled "Who Are You?" and





















































the bassist/singer mumbled something about "I'm not gonna tell you."  Dude needs 





















































to get some stage presence.











































































































Sp Killing Joke comes on around 10:30 and opens with Tomorrow's World followed 





















































by Love Like Blood as usual for this tour.  The





















































rather disjointed setlist seems haphazard on paper but it flowed pretty well 





















































live.  Band sounded superb although at times it seemed





















































like they were playing to a big empty hall considering the audience at times was 





















































pretty sedate even for a less than half full venue.





















































The sound mix up front was excellent - I stood about 5 people back in the pit 





















































just off center on Geordie's side so I could hear his





















































guitar straight from his amp cut through the PA mix. It was rather interesting 





















































that the band packed their gear really tightly





















































together on the large stage as if they were playing a tiny club stage.











































































































We got the standard set for the North American leg of the tour, no surprises and 





















































the encore was Eighties and Pandemonium.  It really





















































seemed the band was very focused on delivering a solid, tight, no-nonsense 





















































performance.  The minor downside was the show lacked a





















































certain sense of wild unpredictability like what I saw in '03 when it seemed 





















































like the band was going to go off the rails at any





















































moment.











































































































Jaz was very talkative in-between songs although not as truly manic as I've seen 





















































him in past shows, especially the '03 show I





















































caught.  His vocals were solid the entire night.  Geordie stuck with bottled 





















































water the whole show.  The substitute Bass Dude really





















































did a solid job and was wearing a "Where Is Youth" shirt.  Speaking of Youth, I 





















































didn't hear anyone around me wonder about his





















































absence and I don't think Jaz really acknowledged his absence.  But the big star 





















































of the gig had to have been Big Paul - absolutely





















































storming on drums, even more impressive than at the '08 show I caught, imo.  He 





















































is really the glue and engine driving the band right





















































now.











































































































The new songs came across really well live.  I can see why the band plays "The 





















































Great Cull" and "This World Hell" at the expense of





















































perhaps better songs off the new album as Geordie clearly enjoys playing those 





















































two tunes.  It's a shame Fresh Fever, In Excelsis,





















































Raven King and Endgame have been dropped or never made it into the set as the 





















































rest of the new material is excellent live.











































































































Before the encore, Jaz led the audience in "Happy Birthday" for Geordie who also 





















































got a cake which was passed on to those up front





















































and wound up all over people and the floor.  Pandemonium wrapped up the show 





















































with Jaz thanking the audience and leaving the rest of





















































the band to close out the song.











































































































Show ended about midnight leading to an even more gnarly drive home in driving 





















































rain and Saturday night drunks all over the road (I





















































saw one car in front of me hydroplane and gently bounce off the center carpool 





















































lane rail on the 405 freeway).











































































































Here's the best of my mostly horrible photos from the show:











































































































http://i60.photobucket.com/albums/h26/Partyslammer/KillingJokeWiltern3.jpg











































































































http://i60.photobucket.com/albums/h26/Partyslammer/KillingJokeWiltern2.jpg











































































































http://i60.photobucket.com/albums/h26/Partyslammer/KillingJokeWiltern1.jpg











































































































T.B.











































































































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