Mac solo shows

[Wabbit]

Hi

The infamous youtube clip seems to have put a negative vibe on the solo shows and I think
this is unfair.

The reviews for Tunbridge Wells and Glasgow were fantastic with no incidents. Everyone who was at Brighton and posted a review said that the show was very very good apart from the incident (only five mins long and not Mac's fault at all) and the abrupt ending
which was ....well.... the ending. Liverpool was also good (although the atmosphere was a bit weird maybe due to the very formal church like surroundings and the fact that the venue was not very intimate for an intimatge gig like that ?? maybe). Also the stop/starting of a few songs was a bit frustrating and due to the venue not being very intimate did not seem appropriate (unlike Brighton which was more like being with Mac). He did actually play quite a few songs all the way through in Liverpool (youtube is proof of that) and they were very good.

So all in all the shows were very good with one five minute incident caused by a fan who was so passionate about the songs he couldn't bear time being 'wasted' on chat!!

Solo shows were therefore a success !

That is why I always hesitate to write a review because you can say a thousand times that 99 per cent was brilliant but there was a bad incident and people will still pick up on that 1 per cent bad incident writing off the whole gig as crap!

Shaz

[Voodoo Billy]

I agree, Liverpool was good. I would willingly drive the 180 mile round trip and pay the £100 hotel plus £20 tickets to see it again.

[black francis]

It's rock and roll. I remember thinking Mac getting into a fight on stage was the best thing that could happen. He gets some street cred and the fan can tell everyone he had Mac's balls in his face or something.

Win-win.

[In The Margins]

I think whether the shows were a success or not depended on the attendee's point of view. The Glasgow review you posted mentioned that the sound in the back of the venue was bad, so his witticisms and the c word joke were lost to everybody but the first few rows. I suppose if I was sitting in the back I would have thought he was just an old rummy forgetting the words and chords.

The heckler in the video is yelling for Ian to play the songs. While I can understand his frustration, I found the whole interaction frightening. It was like a fight was going to break out at any moment.

Also finding out that his own people, the people he pays to take care of him, caused the thing that got him so angry that he had to be ushered from the stage before hitting somebody? Egads.

[Wabbit]

My point is that if you review something you can say it was fantastic but if you mention a negative thing it is that that sticks in everyone's mind and then everyone talks about how bad it was despite everyone who was there saying most of
the show was really really good....

for example when the positive review of Glasgow was posted people seemed to say
phew thank god it was good after all the crap shows.
They were NOT crap shows! (yeah if the sound is bad due to venue then it would spoil your experience but I am talking about the reaction of people on this forum to
Mac's performance despite the reviewers saying he was very very good)....

[JackT]

My point is that if you review something you can say it was fantastic but if you mention a negative thing it is that that sticks in everyone's mind and then everyone talks about how bad it was despite everyone who was there saying most of
the show was really really good....
...

Other than that, how was the play Mrs. Lincoln?

[mrsmac]

Hi

The infamous youtube clip seems to have put a negative vibe on the solo shows and I think
this is unfair.

The reviews for Tunbridge Wells and Glasgow were fantastic with no incidents. Everyone who was at Brighton and posted a review said that the show was very very good apart from the incident (only five mins long and not Mac's fault at all) and the abrupt ending
which was ....well.... the ending. Liverpool was also good (although the atmosphere was a bit weird maybe due to the very formal church like surroundings and the fact that the venue was not very intimate for an intimatge gig like that ?? maybe). Also the stop/starting of a few songs was a bit frustrating and due to the venue not being very intimate did not seem appropriate (unlike Brighton which was more like being with Mac). He did actually play quite a few songs all the way through in Liverpool (youtube is proof of that) and they were very good.

So all in all the shows were very good with one five minute incident caused by a fan who was so passionate about the songs he couldn't bear time being 'wasted' on chat!!

Solo shows were therefore a success !

That is why I always hesitate to write a review because you can say a thousand times that 99 per cent was brilliant but there was a bad incident and people will still pick up on that 1 per cent bad incident writing off the whole gig as crap!

Shaz

totally agree, I really enjoyed Liverpool & Brighton (minus hecklers and ending) and wish I had been at the other two

[In The Margins]

I've seen many of their shows where I was happy and thought they did a great job and a reviewer will rip it to shreds, to the point I ask myself, were we at the same show?

It only matters that you liked the show. Personally, if I was going, I'd rather see him play the songs through and sing rather than mumbling on about this or that. He's a fine guitar player and his voice sounded to be in decent shape.

At some point you have to wonder if the stopping and starting was a by-product of all the alcohol he drank. Some drunks think they're funny and charming, while they're not. Some drunks are just mean. He seems to be both.

Also, while I don't think his autobiography will ever be published, it seems he has been working on something. That's got to be where all these stories and proclamations (namely, I wrote all the songs) are coming from.

[Sick4Tunz]

Their haloed hero
Crooning angel in their eyes
Falling from the sky