[1 May 2005] Life in One Chord
Fuck.

I saw the Straightjacket Fits on Friday.

And they were fucking great.

A voice from the past that I'd given up all hope of seeing again, come back and playing the music again.

The venue was packed, enough to bring my social anxiety into play but I drank a few beers and stood at the back and dealt with it that way. They started with APS and there aren't many songs I'd choose ahead of that to hear first up. 100% predictably, someone then called out for Down in Splendour. Shane just told him 'look mate, asking 'where's Andrew?' was old last week', and after that no-one hassled him. It's a shame, it would have been magnificent to have Andrew back in the band, but that just isn't going to happen. So no Down in Splendour. No Sparkle That Shines, no Roller Ride. Shame, but I can cope.

Shane had a refreshing attitude to the gig "we're going to play this song, because we like it - even though everyone else hates it. We're just going to play what we like" - which got a fairly good round of applause. I guess it's better to watch a band doing what they want than a band playing the same greatest hits set at every gig, whether they like the songs or not.

Funnily enough for me, some of the songs I don't particularly like on record were the highlights of the gig. Mainly the stuff off of Blow. Hearing it now, in context, it's a clear link between the earlier Fits stuff, and Shane's later work with Dimmer. It makes sense.

The real highlights were Bad Note for a Heart, a maginficent version of She Speeds (I think the first time I've heard them play it), and Dialling a Prayer (maybe the first time they played that). 12 or so songs and then off, but a pretty damn good night. 
| ¶ 7:37 pm