Thanks to all the people who mailed me privately to agree with my comments on the Manchester shows. Can we all agree on something here? Having a good time with your mates doesn't make the gig any good - it just means you've had a good night out at a shit gig. I had a good time on the Saturday, it was just the performance that was shit but I wouldn't tell anyone that I thought it was a good gig just because I'd had a laugh with my mates. And that comment about naivity that Tag made is ridiculous. Stubbornly refusing professional advice equates suicide in this game. Learn from those that have done it before. Sure, they tried an 'unconventional' set up and I applaud that. They could easily have made it work as well. As a matter of interest, I hear that the band refuse to work with 'corporate' promoters such as MCP, SJM and Metropolis prefering instead to work with Barry from Dingwalls under the Foundation moniker. Does anyone out there really care if they use an independent promoter or not? Who knows the difference? It's not like signing to Jeepster instead of signing to Sony - it's more like making your own guitar because Fender are sell-out corporate bastards. I'd like to see them at the Royal Albert Hall, I think it would suit them and the capacity is about right but has Barry got the money to put up as a deposit? I don't know, maybe he has - but then, will they all be stumped at the first production meeting when the hall start grilling you about flying points and sightline seats? Who knows? And please - I'm not casting aspertions here, I don't even know Barry, I've never done a show at Dingwalls and I'm sure he's a smashing chap (with good taste - he's also doing Tortoise) and it's very possible he DOES have all the relevant experience necessary - I'm just trying to point out the stupidity of (allegedly) refusing to work with 'corporate' promoters. What next? Belle and Sebastian release a 78 on shellac? Oh, and Peter's comment about the Radiohead support - they did get offered that if I remember rightly. I reckon they would've got kicked off after the first gig for having no road crew and hopeless engineers. Good job they turned it down then!... Mark ----------------------------------------------------------------------- . 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? -----------------------------------------------------------------------