May 30th 1991 – Leicester De Montfort Hall
Supported by: Buffalo Tom
This was an interesting gig, not one I would have normally have chosen to attend at the time. I hadn’t really got into “indie” music yet, so this would be the beginning for me.
The whole gig happened quite by chance really. I was listening to the radio probably a fortnight or before the gig, to a local DJ on Leicester Sound (the commercial alternative to Radio Leicester at the time) who I really liked called Jay Cooper. He had a competition to win latest album (yes, vinyl still) by The Wedding Present called Seamonsters. I only entered as Jay had just played the track, “Dalliance” (I think) off the album and it sounded good.
You had to ring up and answer a question that had just been read out and the first to get the right answer won a ticket to the gig, can’t remember the question, but it would have been fairly simple, like “What’s the name of the new Wedding Present” album?….just to check you were paying attention. Anyway, I got through live on air and got the question right! Yippee!…..They then speak to you off air (and it was actually Jay), take your details and tell you to come and pick up your prize from the offices near Lee Circle during opening hours…..nice!
I didn’t know until I picked it up, that you had also got a copy of the “Seamonsters” album, so you could swot up before the gig. I hadn’t won any competitions (bar a box of Quality Street in some raffle once), so this was a very happy day.
Buffalo Tom
I felt obliged to turn up early for this gig. As someone had had the decency to give me a free ticket, I felt I should definitely give both bands a go.
Bufallo Tom were a really good band and became my first trip into swirly guitar layers and instruments really blending into each other.
They’d come over from Boston, Massachusetts. I’m not sure whether I would class them as indie or rock, but either way, really great start to the night.
The Wedding Present
It wasn’t a very big crowd as I remember, which might explain how I ended up with free ticket! A half full De Montfort Hall felt very strange as I hadn’t been to a gig this light on the floor up until now, maybe Spear of Destiny a few years earlier was quite small, but that was at least 3/4 full as I recall.
Anyway, the music was great, the played songs off two of their three albums to date, Bizarro (1989), Seamonsters (1991) – nothing off the earlier George Best album.
Enjoyed the live sound of the boys, led by David Gedge on vocals. They were really powerful and songs such as Dalliance, Brassneck and Dare got the crowd going and even the slower “Suck” seemed to go down well.
I didn’t really follow The Wedding Present after this, I think mainly as their next album would be 3 years later, which was quite a break (and most left the band during this time), but whenever I hear a track by them it brings back great memories of this gig……I’d go and see them again and maybe I should invest in a bit more back catalogue.
Not bad for a freebie…….
One interesting fact, in 1992, The Wedding Present would release 12 7inch singles (one each month I think), all charting in the Top 30, equalling Elvis Presley’s record….you will sleep well knowing that 😉
Set List
- Crawl
- Dalliance
- Dare
- Don’t Talk, Just Kiss
- Bewitched
- Take Me!
- Suck
- Kennedy
- Lovenest
- Corduroy
- What Have I Said Now?
- Brassneck
- Heather
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