I've been a Gimmes' fan for a long time now but I
never had the chance to see them play live. Since they chose not to
come to France for this Euro tour, my girl and I had to go to London
to see them. The trip and afternoon in London were cool and the 2 hours
in a pub before the show were very nice. We had a lot of beers and vodka,
we ended up pretty wasted which I believe is how you should go to a
Gimmes' show.
I wanted to do a long and detailed review for this
website, I wanted to have the complete setlist, a lot of pictures and
all, but the thing is, I got a little carried away, and ended up being
very drunk. Here's what's left of this excellent night we've spent with
the boys.
When we got in the Astoria, The Sainte Catherines
were playing. I must say, I was a little disapointed with them, the
energy just wasn't there. Maybe that's why I had to go to the bar so
many times... Don't you think the intro of "Ring Of Fire =
4 Points" sounds a lot like Apocalyptica's "Life
Burns" ? If you don't know this band, you should check them
out, they're good, especially live. I don't like metal at all but these
four vikings cover metal songs using only cellos, it's pretty great.
Anyway, once The Sainte Catherines were done with their set, Capdown
came in. Now that was a good surprise ! These guys rocked the shit out
of the whole place, it was crazy. I didn't know them at all so I can't
tell what songs they played, but if they come near your home, go see
them, they're quite amazing.
When the Gimmes took the stage, everyone went crazy.
The blue cowboy outfits, although ridiculous, made the punketeers look
fucking cool. I believe they'll be wearing these on the "Western"
album's cover. Like on the rest of the tour, Chris wasn't there, he
was replaced by his talented brother Scott. They started with "Stairway
To Heaven". I'm not going to pretend like I remember details
but the show was amazing. Spike's singing was incredible, and the others
played almost flawlessly, which was kind of a surprise to me. Mike looked
pretty fucked up, more than the others. I think he's the one most determined
never to play a Gimmes' show clear minded. Say or think whatever you
want, but he's a fucking funny man. The band kept making fun of Joey
who had a messed up haircut. They kept calling him "hey haircut"...
After a little over an hour, they left the stage, and came back to play
a few other songs. They weren't wearing the cowboy oufits anymore but
their lengendary hawiian shirts. They played 2 or 3 songs and finished
with "End Of The Road". Like the true rock stars
they are, they threw their shirts into the crowd at the end of the show
and left.
Here's what we remember they played (not in order,
except for the first and last songs), there might be a couple more :
Stairway To Heaven
Danny's Song
Me And Julio Down By The Schoolyard
Seasons In The Sun
Nobody Does It Better
Mandy
Rocket Man
I Believe I Can Fly
Over The Rainbow
Summertime
Tomorrow
Blowin' In The Wind
Sloop John B
Wild World
Desperado
Ghost Riders In The Sky
Nobody likes us, everybody hates us, Americans
Country Roads
End Of The Road
We wanted to stay a little after the show, but another
gig was taking place right after the Gimmes so we were pretty much kicked
out of the Astoria. Just before that, Limo, NOFX's scottish roadie,
gave me a beer, thanks Limo. Us scottish boys got to stick together
;)
We left the Astoria and went to the backdoor to wait
for the band (yeah I'm a groupie). Surprisingly, we were alone there.
Suddenly, Spike came out with his girlfirend (or wife I don't know).
I thanked him for the show, we shook hands, and that was it. There is
no way I could have said something original (I'm a Gimmes' fan and I
was drunk).
So that's about it, we went to Victoria station,
took a train to Gatwick airport, got there around 0:30, slept on a bench,
and took a plane early the next morning. Check out this website :
http://www.sleepinginairports.net/
Many thanks to the band, Sandrine (for coming with
me), the punkers who were there, Limo (for the beer) and the other scottish
fellow I talked to. Cheers to you all !