Tom Waits

[trotsky assortment]

How'd you get on with those Waits albums, Mr Van Cleef?

[Ballad of Ballard Berkley]

http://www.list.co.uk/article/8567-tom-waits-to-play-scotland/

Form an orderly queue...

[Anon]

I was a bit annoyed with the rumour that Edinburgh was the only date, but if it was £30-40ish I'd probably have tried and go...'tis a bloody marvellous city after all.  But £75-95?  Go fuck yourself, Mr. Waits's tour manager, fuck yourself really violently and brutally.

[thecuriousorange]

£75 -£95????????????

How much was the London show in 2004?

[Glebe]

Woah, 3 dates here in Dublin?! It's probably already sold out thought. Fuck it.

[Famous Mortimer]

That most surely is bool sheet.

I suppose if he's not bothered about touring, then it makes sense to charge the earth for it, but he's never struck me as that kind of guy. Why not do a leisurely-paced, reasonably-priced, small-arena tour of Europe?

[buntyman]

Very expensive but i'll be desperately trying to get tickets anyway. I'll be at work when they go on sale unfortunately so will be reliant on a crappy Windows 98 computer. I'm very excited right about now.

[Peru]

 I saw him in London in 2004 and the initial face value of the tickets was £28. Everyone ended up paying ticketmaster £65 though, because clearly everyone and his fucking dog had got on the free list. It was the worst organised gig I have ever attended (and that really is saying something). People were having their mobiles taken off them at the door 'in case they had cameras on them', with the management accepting no responsibility for losses. I'm amazed that there wasn't more of a fuss made about this debacle. The gig itself was, however, amazing. Johnsburg Illionis solo at the piano...wow.

However, these ticket prices are beyond a joke. They're more than Leonard Cohen, more than Zeppelin, more than most of Madonna's seats, more than McCartney, Bowie, U2..... Who the fuck is in charge. I'm not going because I can't afford it, plain and simple.

[scarecrow]

at £95, Waits can fuck off. He obviously cares to the extent that measures have been put in place to beat touts but.... it's a lot to pay for an artist known for his indie/lo-fi/DIY ethics..

[Lee Van Cleef]

How'd you get on with those Waits albums, Mr Van Cleef?

I'll let you know if I ever get around to them.

[thugler]

Any sources apart from this 'list' site confirming dates or prices. Surely ONE english date wouldn't be that hard.

Ah, I see ticketmaster is listing the edinburgh/dublin dates. What a load of shit.

[CaledonianGonzo]

Just seen this - bloody hell.  £95 is rather steep, isn't it?  I'm no fan of the Playhouse, either.  Think I'll have to sit this one out.

[trotsky assortment]

Ms Trotsky and I were determined to see Tom this time around too, but at nearly £200 for a pair of tickets, there's no way we can justify the expense.  Besides, he's probably playing Hammersmith Odeon and frankly, their approach to making arrangements for wheelchair users is pathetic.

[buntyman]

So did anyone buy tickets in the end? £7.50 service charge PER TICKET added onto the £95 ticket price was hard to stomach. Oh well I got my tickets and they're in the second row so it's going to be brilliant. Pay day tomorrow, won't check my bank balance til then.

[thecuriousorange]

Got my tickets for the Sunday night. Third row ........................ of the balcony.

Last I checked, the Monday ones weren't all sold out yet.

[Whug Baspin]

The prices are pretty outrageous, although in 2004 I paid about 65 I think for a Hammersmith ticket that wasn't very close to the stage at all. I would really really recommend going to this if you can though. It's worth it just for hearing him in the flesh as his voice cranks into action like an old car that still works perfectly. It is something that I don't think the bootlegs capture that well at all.

[Cog Sinister]

I don't really have the money but the London gig in 2004 remains in the memory, so I've ponied up the cash and will be dragging my arse to Dublin on the 30th. 

[Glebe]

My mate got a ticket for one of the shows here in Dublin, which sold out in three hours.

[Ballad of Ballard Berkley]

So... any reviews from you lot? It all went strangely quiet in this thread, bearing in mind the furore over ticket prices beforehand. Did the great man live up to expectations?

[trotsky assortment]

I have a mate who trekked all the way up to Scotland to see him.  Got tickets for his birthday, the lucky bugger.  Apparently, Waits was amazing...

[Glebe]

My friend saw him here in Dublin, said it was one of the best gigs he'd ever been to.

[Sam]

I've just realized "Martha" is one of the most beautiful love songs ever. I mean, I always liked it, but I span it recently having not heard it for ages and it really moved me. I have to say though, I am not a fan of Tim Buckley's cover of it, despite being a Buckley fan.

Also, this is a stunning version of "Christmas Card..."

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=12qBoy2rhVw

[Table Top Joe]

http://www.tomwaits.com/

Brand new website to coincide with the new live album.

[Jackson K Pollock]

http://www.tomwaits.com/

Brand new website to coincide with the new live album.

Thanks for that - there's currently a free 8-track preview of the album to be downloaded in exchange for an email address. Having a listen now, and it's very enjoyable - got quite a Big Time feel about it, actually.

[buntyman]

Yeah that 8 track preview is quite generous actually. It has a few tracks from the Edinburgh gig that I went to on the live CD so I'm definitely getting it as a memento of probably the best gig I've been to. I'm sure the CD is pretty good in it's own right although I did download about 12 full gigs around the time he was touring so I probably don't really need it. I'm probably more interested in his between song chatter on disc 2 and how it's cut together. I've ordered the set with the little program and the t-shirt on his website, not a bad price really considering he probably could have got away with charging double.

[Jumble Cashback]

I went to the Edinburgh gig too (I was so delighted, what with living there and all), but, despite Waits being my favourite recording artist, I still thought Leonard Cohen's gig was slightly better.  Does anyone have the full tracklisting for the new live album?  Incidentally, here's my recommended 'Best of', just to get that old ball rolling again...

Disc 1:

Green Grass
A Little Drop Of Poison
New Coat of Paint
Alice
Intro/Eggs And Sausage (In A Cadillac With Susanne Michaelson)
Intro/Better Off Without A Wife
What's He Building?
Dead And Lovely
Innocent When You Dream (78)
More Than Rain
You Can Never Hold Back Spring
Fumblin' With The Blues
The Black Rider
Black Wings
Mr. Seigel
A Good Man Is Hard To Find
God's Away On Business
Lucky Day
Anywhere I Lay My Head


Disc 2:

All The Time
Whistlin' Past The Graveyard
Blue Valentines
Step Right Up
Martha
Another Man's Vine
Burma-Shave
Fannin Street
Broken Bicycles
Down There By The Train
Hoist That Rag
Rain Dogs
Singapore
Cemetry Polka
Jockey Full Of Bourbon
I'll Take New York
Army Ants
The Day After Tomorrow
How's It Gonna End
Jayne's Blue Wish


Bonus Track: Children's Story

[thugler]

Thanks for that - there's currently a free 8-track preview of the album to be downloaded in exchange for an email address. Having a listen now, and it's very enjoyable - got quite a Big Time feel about it, actually.

Just got hold of that also, really like it, but the mix is a bit odd, loads of crowd noise, and the band is a little indistinct at times.

[Why I Hate Tables]

On the cast list for the new Terry Gilliam film that he's in, I was very pleased to hear he got a good billing in the trailer. Being slumped on the settee and suddenly hearing "Tom Waits" and seeing him pop up as the devil was a pleasantly surreal experience.

[Table Top Joe]

Being slumped on the settee and suddenly hearing "Tom Waits" and seeing him pop up as the devil was a pleasantly surreal experience.

I'm hoping that's going to be what happens when I die.