Ol’ Gang
And This Day
He Pep!
Plug Myself In
M5
I’m Going To Spain
Spinetrak
Das Vultur Ans Ein Nutter-Wain
Cheetham Hill
The Mixer
The Chiselers
Ten Houses of Eve
Hip Priest
Lie Dream of a Casino Soul
Oleano

NOTES

1 hour 19 minutes

And This Day released as part of expanded Hex Enduction Hour and 1982 Box Set.

Poor Audience Tape – quite a bit of chatter. Instruments are a muddy mass with little separation and some serious hiss in places.

A unique gig because of the line up and the also the sizeable amount of guitar histrionics. The opening two numbers are just about discernible as the tracks they purport to be however I am not sure what Flanagan/Stewart are playing on “And this Day” but it is not “And this Day”. Smith enters about half way through as manic slide guitar slides all over the mix and rescues the tune. “You Pep” is back to normality with a dense wash of sound.

“Plug myself in” is a fractured mass of noise and squiggles with Mark intoning balefully over Thurston Moore like angular scribblings – eventually the beat comes in but its a bit wooden and slow and the whole thing sort of meanders along and is not helped by the inappropriate guitar soloing that nudges in occasionally. “M5” has some odd synth noises at the start but gets there despite some odd rock stylings in the chording from the guitars, again Smith rescues it by focusing the lyrics against the beat. More weird synth noises and analogue bubbling and Smith sings the intro accapella to “Spain” moans about the on-stage mixing – the guitar plays, Smith sings across the chords and it all gets a bit muddled. The drums pick up the beat eventually and sort gets it together but it’s a bit an unholy mess really.

Normality returns with a muscular “Spinetrak” however why the guitarist just cant play the chords instead of doing little twiddles/noodles is a little odd. The singer disappears for the next few numbers – a member of the audience offers the view that “he can’t hear himself”. The band trudge woodenly through a heavy rock version of “Vultur” which sounds a bit cabaret in places. Synth drum noises introduce a noisy blues version of “Cheetham Hill” which sort of sounds like it should do – in places.

Smith returns to more synth warblings and a direct and well played “Mixer” – Simon also seems to pick up the beat a little and it gets a bit more pacy. “Chiselers” has a hell of a back beat and seems to again pick up speed after the opening chords. “Eve” is suitably sloppy and is dominated by a not altogether appropriate guitar riff. “Hip Priest” features some more totally out of kilter guitar harmonics and arpeggio’s/plucking and a strange wash of synthesizer goo. At least Hanley and Wolstencroft have got it right. The song fights its way through all the extraneous noise but there is some serious audience chatter at this point which is essence makes it difficult to take in.

“Lie Dream” just about gets played – a sort of complete mess where the guitars appear to be playing a Ramones tune and the rest The Fall song. Also somehow the Fiery Jack tries to fight its way through. Very strange. “Oleano” gets a similar unfocused treatment and the thing contrives to get going but fails miserably and ends up as a rag bag of notes and uncoordinated playing.

The only gig played by this line up of the band – not surprising really. Seems in retrospective to be horribly under rehearsed.

Essential for the only documented recording of this line up but a bit of a trial to sit through.