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Peter Hammill at the Queen Elizabeth Hall. London
October 6th 2004 8:00pm
Thursday October 7th
Arrived in London today and went by the QEH to pick up my concert ticket. Nice warm sunny day for exploring (and getting lost) in the city. Met up with Ben from Sweden (Hammill Yahoo! member) and went for drinks. Much anticipation for tomorrows concert and much wondering as to what Peter might play. Time will tell... Had a great time with Ben!
Friday October 8th
Went to the train station to meet up with JM and JP but unfortunately the train broke down between London and Paris! They are now 5 hours late... will they arrive in time? Terrible news for them. As I went by the QEH again today, a very nice lady named Rose gave me a poster of the Mind Your Head festival, but while waiting inside the artists entrance, I noticed the schedule on the wall.... Peter Hammill: 3pm-6pm soundcheck, 7:30pm doors open concert at 8pm.
The french connection finally arrived and we met up with a few Hammill fans at a pub before the concert. Once at the QEH, I was surprised to see Emilio, awaiting none other than David Jackson. David arrived and kindly signed a few autographs and answered a few questions. As more fans flocked for a quick handshake, it was best to move towards the hall area. The concert started rather abruptly and to great cheer.
Peter quickly walked to the piano while acknowledging the crowd and broke into
My Room. His playing steady but determined and singing quite crisp which set the tone for the night.
Siren Song and
A Better Time followed.
Gone Ahead from Incoherence was a world premier and sounded great on grand piano. One of my favourites followed,
Vision. Peter got up, took a sip, toweled his face and walked over to the guitar. After tuning it (you'd think he'd have done it during the soundcheck?) he started with
The Comet, The Course, The Tail.
If I Could (another fav) and
Amnesiac followed.
Shingle Song was started accapella and a cracking version of
Patient
ended the guitar portion of the set. As Peter got to go back to the grand
piano, he mentionned to the crowd: "You'll be pleased to hear that there is
at least one doctor in the house this evening", I assume he was talking
about Emilio. Peter, just as soon poured out another classic,
Easy To Slip Away.
Bubble (Ben's all-time favourite) was fused with Chris Judge Smith's
Four Pails! The choice of that song at this concert at this point in time had special meaning. Without the aid of hallucinatory substances, time seemed to slow down during this song the words seemed to ring clearer and true. This was definitly the highlight of the night.
Stranger Still and
Traintime came and went in typical fashion. Peter then announced that this would be the last song of the set and proceeded with
Still Life. As usual, the crowd demanded an encore and Peter didn't keep us waiting long. Beforehand he did say that this next one would definitly be the last song and that he hasn't performed in it a long while,
In The End. Some parts of the song were evidently reworked to suit his voice, but it came out very well indeed!
..When my mouth falls slack!
and I can't summon up another tune..
shall I then look back and say,
I did it all..
too soon! (spoken)
And with that he was gone. The concert in general was a little reserved but was obvious to prove a point! We could have expected more from Incoherence or anything from Clutch for that matter, but I suspect that those songs need the sort of accompaniment that only a Stuart Gordon can give.
Taking my time leaving the Hall, I noticed someone who looked much like Guy Evans. I was a little hesitant to ask for an autograph imagining the embarassement and shame if it wasn't him, but then I saw David Jackson only a few feet away and figure it must be him. He kingly signed my ticket and put up with my questions about his latest musical ventures. He did mention to be looking seriously to do something with the Italian Study Group and a solo venture was far on the horizon.
After the concert many fans ended up at the 'Hole in the Wall' pub... but I wont go into detail about the 'going ons' that happened.
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