Stiff Little Fingers; Liverpool O2 Academy 2011

Stiff Little Fingers: Liverpool O2 Academy 29/10/2011

Last time Stiff Little Fingers Played Liverpool, 21/10/2009, half an hour in some idiot threw a plastic glass at the stage. It landed short of Jake Burns and soaked the stage in front of him. Twenty or so minutes later presumably the same idiot threw a second glass just as ‘Wasted Life’ got going. This time it hit Jake squarely in the belly and soaked his guitar. He ceased playing and took off his guitar before the rest of the band sussed what had happened. They stopped playing too as Jake took the mic and,

“We didn’t come here for this. Good night.”

It looked like the gig was over as the whole band left the stage. A shock went through the crowd. Roadies towled down the stage. Folken started looking at each other with concern. Down the front us older ones exchanged martyred looks of ‘Ah for fuck sake !’ pissed off with the beer chucker and feeling sympathetic towards the bands attitude. Thankfully after five minutes or so the Fingers returned to the stage and struck up ‘Wasted Life’ take two.

They missed us out last year and I can’t help wondering if that thrown beer had a lot to do with that. I wondered how things would go tonight. A rumour went around that the gig had been cancelled three or four days before the show. It hadn’t been though, apparently it was the band playing the night before that got cancelled. It wouldn’t be until I was actually in the venue that I discovered the cause of ‘gig cancelled’ stuff. It seemed that the roof had fell in upstairs making the big stage unsafe for use. Instead of cancelling SLF the venue opted to put them on downstairs on the smaller stage.

That was fine as far as I was concerned because I usually get some very good shots from there. Only five hundred were suppose to be let in, but by the time the Finger’s hit the stage the place was rammed solid.

Getting off the bus I’d had a quiet pint before moving onto Ma Eggerton’s. As I got to the bar and ordered a drink I looked to my right and who should I see but Planet-X regular, the lovely Lisa. She was in with several other bodies but my memory fails on the name registration. Lisa knew one of the members of the support act Sonic Rednecks, fronted by Ozzy John, who's also in another band called Dry Retch.

Sonic Rednecks: Liverpool O2 Academy 29/10/2011

Anyway, moving on to the venue I was greeted by the friendly security and wasted little time getting a pint and making my way down front to check out Sonic Rednecks. They were actually pretty good and it didn’t take long for the front man to pick me out the crowd and dedicate a song to me. I don’t know what the song was called but there was something Nick Cave-ish about the lyrics that involved vengeance and a dangerous stranger shooting someone.

Sonic Rednecks: Liverpool O2 Academy 29/10/2011

At the end of their short set the band gave out some free four track CD’s featuring the songs ‘Sister Love’, ‘Mama’s Back On The Game’, ‘I Want More’, ‘Back In The Box’. They are loud, fast, and surprisingly tuneful. Nice guitar riffs that touch on the Dead Kennedy’s in places.

Sonic Rednecks: Liverpool O2 Academy 29/10/2011

I took a look behind me. The crowd had thickened significantly. I got talking to a Polish lad before we were interrupted by an old leather clad punk who was a bit pissed and determined to make it at the front of the gig for the start of the show. Within a quarter hour or so the pressure from behind began to build. By the time SLF hit the stage we were like sardines in a tin.

The heat was stifling. Sweat trickled down my face. Movement wasn’t so much restricted so much as near impossible. I’d thought I’d have a pretty easy time of it getting some top shots tonight but I was beginning to wonder. There was a steady jostling from behind as folken attempted to get good specs before the show started. What it would be like when everyone went nuts and tried to pogo I could already imagine clearly. It was going to be a rough night down front.

How many times had I seen this band ? Just about every time they’ve played town since 1988, barring illness and adversity. From past experience I knew exactly what to expect. A bloody good show of old favourites, a smattering of new stuff, and maybe a cover or two.

Stiff Little Fingers: Liverpool O2 Academy 29/10/2011

Stiff Little Finger’s opened their set with ‘Wasted Life’. The crowd went nuts. I was crushed up on the barriers. Resistance was useless. I whipped out the camera and banged away hopefully. Frankly I wasn’t too optimistic. Every time I thought I had the shot I got jostled. Movement behind me was continuous, pushing, pulling, and pogoing me all over the place. Staying where I was, was hard work. Several times I had to fend off folken who wanted my spec.

Stiff Little Fingers: Liverpool O2 Academy 29/10/2011

Stiff Little Finger’s put on a great show. They always do. It was nice to hear their cover of The Specials ‘Doesn’t Make It Alright’ again but I reckon they could have dropped the cover of ‘Love Of The Common People’ and replaced it with Bob Marley’s ‘Johnny Was’ which always goes down well. ‘Straw Dogs’ was a bit of a surprise and I was sharp enough to get it on film along with ‘Roots Radicals Rockers And Reggae’, ‘Tin Soldiers’, and a cover of Alice Cooper’s ‘School’s Out’ before the card gave out full.

Stiff Little Fingers: Liverpool O2 Academy 29/10/2011

You can tell from the footage how lively the crowd was. I was doing my damnedest to hold a steady shot. I finished the night with a bruised rib cage, bruised forearms, and knees. Somewhere around ‘At The Edge’ I was feeling just that.

Stiff Little Fingers: Liverpool O2 Academy 29/10/2011

Sweat ran down my face. I was dripping. I was feeling fatigued. The crush down front combined with the heat was making it difficult to breathe,

“Do us a favour man. Give me a little room to breath please.”

The guy behind me was pretty wedged in himself, but managed to give me an inch. I clung onto the barriers, holding my chest off them and tried to recover some. For a moment or two I thought I might have been in trouble, but I was damned if I was going to have a heart attack just two days before I celebrated being three years undead and past a quadruple heart by-pass. I’m not done yet.

Stiff Little Fingers: Liverpool O2 Academy 29/10/2011

The full set list was;-

Wasted Life
Just Fade Away
Nobody’s Hero
Silver Lining
Fly The Flag
Liar’s
Back To Front
Barbed Wire Love
Harp
At The edge
Dosen’t Make It Alright – The Specials cover
Love Of The Common People – cover
Wait And See
Strummerville
Straw Dogs
Roots Radicals Rockers And Reggae
Tin Soldiers
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‘School’s Out’ – Alice Cooper cover
Suspect Device
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Alternative Ulster

Tracks Filmed By Viper - (More Footage @ YouTube.com Channel; - 'vipertheundead')

Stiff Little Fingers: Liverpool O2 Academy 29/10/2011

Stiff Little Finger’s left the stage and the crowd began to disperse. I just stood there a while clinging to the barriers regaining some breath. The roadie I’d collared before the Finger’s came on stage for a spare set list came over with a set list for me. In the immediate aftermath of surviving the gig I’d forgotten about that, but he hadn’t. Thanks mate.

As I changed into a dry shirt the guy I met at Zodiac Mindwarp last March found me. I’d last seen him just before going in to see Blondie. We caught up on some news and swapped contacts. Outside the fresh cool air was refreshing. I stood a while, lit a cigar, and watched the crowd dispersing into the Halloween Saturday madness that was going on all over town.

I headed over to The Cabin Club for a few well needed liquid refreshments. They had three bands on tonight. I caught two of them but wasn’t really taking too much in. Besides my camera card was full. Whoever they were they weren’t bad. I was having more fun talking to the guy on the door and observing the passing fancy dress procession.

I didn’t stay long, just long enough to re-hydrate and make a few new pals. .

Viper 1/11/2011

Live Lounge

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First Published 7/11/2011 by Viperslair.co.uk

Re-published 14/3/2012 With YouTube Footage

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