manchester was just plain weird though. yeah, doing gigs in the round has been going on since before the globe theatre was built. but usually the audience is around the players... 8) (and yes, given that all the staging was brought in it could easily have been arranged into a long, wide stage but i kind of like the way they tried something different) I was there on Sunday night. I liked it too, the way the audience was corralled into such a small area, and subsequent band movements caused maximum confusion, and most of us opted to stare hopefully at the empty mike stands, instead of craning our necks to see the top of Stuart M's head ... so I had time to look around me and listen to the songs and watch the steady progress of a wee girl in a sheepskin coat who crept past me and who wouldn't be able to see a thing unless she got to the front. Afterwards, driving to Birkenhead in the pouring rain we talked about how we felt about it. Four people's conclusions approximate as follows: Futile pilot were shite. The stage setup was unconventional, but worked. B&S kept us waiting an awful long time before they came on. But that was OK, because they were brilliant, technical hitches notwithstanding. Maybe a bit more polish next time but who wants slickness? I've seen a lot of bands (beginning with Japan at Edinburgh Playhouse when I was 14 in, er, 1982) and B&S was by turns one of the most moving, and quirky, and funny, and flawed. I think that's a good combination. Even the flawed part made no difference. It was just part of the experience. One note of dissent: I think Orange Juice's version of In A Nutshell could never be bettered. Or is this too dogmatic? Charlotte ----------------------------------------------------------------------- . This message was brought to you by the Sinister mailing list. . To send to the list please mail "sinister@majordomo.net". . For subscribing, unsubscribing and other list information please see . http://www.majordomo.net/sinister . For questions about how the list works mail owner-sinister@majordomo.net . We're all happy bunnies humming happy bunny tunes. Aren't we? -----------------------------------------------------------------------