Friday, 30 October, 1981 Northeast London Polytechnic, London, England

Soundcheck

Jawbone and the Air Rifle

Gig

  1. I’m Into C.B. (Medley Version)
  2. Look, Know
  3. Fortress
  4. Deer Park
  5. Lie Dream of a Casino Soul
  6. Fantastic Life
  7. The N.W.R.A.
  8. Just Step S’ways
  9. Slates, Slags, etc.
  10. Middle Mass
  11. Winter
  12. Jawbone and the Air Rifle
  13. Leave the Capitol

NOTES

An excellent audience capture net of the muddy soundcheck recording which is a  good reference but pale in comparison to the very clear capture.  There is a slight drop out in Deer Park.

Mark’s vocals are exceptionally clear despite perceived on stage problems with sound via monitors

The genesis of Hex was delivered through this Autumn/Winter tour and the emerging six piece sound is presented here in fledgling form. A notable start with the second known outing of “CB” in its in early narrative form where discordant guitar backing morphs into a jaunty greatest riffs medley.

An exceptional trio of songs follows with a storming “Fantastic Life” creating a wall of unforgiving garage sound. It transpires that “NWRA” has been extracted through the use of “Soap….. Sodium Pentathol”.

Mark demands that the band goes faster during “Sideways” – he is right to do so as it has a lumpen feel to it tonight….almost constipated in its delivery.

Mark explains that he is trying to get a vocal uh sound and its like shouting against a brick wall before and amazing nigh on nine minute version of “Winter” with a cryptic “egomania” slipped in before the vocals proper start. The tension and release here is palpable unfortunately slightly ruined by extraneous audience chatter, and a slight break in the song I assume due to a tape flip.

Encores include a wee tale from the “Hebredians” which is a tad slow, and “Leave the Capital” introduced by a gnomic “omnipresence is better than mere presence” – again to my ears a touch slow in the delivery.

It may be that the recording needs speeding up a tad to reflect the actual sound?

Other than those minor gripes a good gig with mostly solid performances.