fan

The BBC Electric Proms Website Needs You!

The BBC Electric Proms website is looking for some help from you all. Here’s what they have to say:

We’re trying to gather live memories from people who have seen Doves in
the past and might remember some of their early or landmark gigs.
I hoped you and the members of the Doves forum would be the right people
to ask.

We would like short one sentence memories that will eventually go on
display on Doves’ Electric Proms page and on the wall at the Roundhouse
on the night of their gig.

Think you can help? You can post your response in the comments, email me, or post them on the thread at doves board here.

Bingley Review & Video

Another cracking video thanks to Gibbo!

Paul Bingley, sent in his review of the Bingley set, always enjoy reading fan reviews over the same old bland media reviews:

What do you get when you spend £15 on a ticket, drive 385 miles, queue for one and a half hours to buy a beer, and then squirt it down a filthy toilet? Believe it or not, you get to enjoy a day out at Bingley Music Live.

There is, of course, another ingredient to make such a day ‘extra-special’ –and that’s a full 90 minute set by Doves. And so, on 5th September 2009, those who were there were served up an absolute treat by the best band this side of the Universe.

We’d arrived at Myrtle Park a little after 4pm and just before Ocean Colour Scene took to the stage. I wasn’t a huge fan of them back in their day, so while my wife went off to cross her legs in the toilet queue, I withstood the beer line and waited for the theme tune to ‘TFI Friday’.

Sure enough, it was the first song they played. The trouble was I had to endure the rest of the back catalogue as I inched my way towards a £3.50 cup of tepid, brown fizz. Why oh why, eh?

Eventually, with two pints of something firmly in hand, and with my wife safely back from the Battle of Portaloo, we weaved our way towards a sensible position in readiness for Doves. The trouble was, once we’d found it, we were hard pushed to find anyone sensible in the immediate vicinity.

That’s what you get when you drive to a gig. While you’re sipping your hard-earned pint (and trying to make it last for about an hour), those around you are glugging their way through whisky, vodka and wine while persistently wetting themselves. Happy days for some, I suppose.

Five minutes into watching four silly little girls giggling and niggling in my face, I decided we should move. It didn’t get much better, although I did get a fantastic view of The Zuton’s Abi Harding and her sexyphone. That was a nice moment.

7.30 came and went, but no Doves. Luckily the crowd didn’t get overly restless. Most were too busy shouting, fighting or generally not taking any notice of anyone except themselves. Come on Doves, I thought, where are you when you’re needed most?

The piped music finally faded and the familiar strains of ‘Jetstream’ spread out across Myrtle Park. I’ve now decided that this song is the most sublime set-opener in the history of world music. It builds intensely and only kicks into gear once Andy begins pumping that bass drum. At Bingley, it certainly got everyone’s attention, and as usual it raised the hairs on the back of my neck.

‘Snowden’ is a Doves song that most non-fans would probably recognise, and they all did at Bingley. As Martin Rebelski began playing those spine-tingling opening notes on his ‘Poland’, the crowd was so stirred my neck hair almost floated away.

It was just before ‘Winter Hill’ that Jimi finally said hello. Despite the vast number of idiots in the audience, it was clear that most were extremely receptive to what he said. At one point, though, he heard a group of people chanting ‘you’re shit, you’re shit’ and then realised that he was in Yorkshire and they were, in fact, singing its praises. He laughed it off and so did we. This was a love-in.

‘Pounding’ began with a loud scream from the audience and off we all went into Lala land. Sadly, a couple of bald men near me felt it necessary to fall to the floor and cuddle each other in a rather aggressive way. When they were finally pulled apart, they’d acquired grown mud haircuts. That must be them, I thought –the greatest deniers.

The band tore through a mixture of old and new, and by the time they’d reached ‘Black and White Town’, the crowd were in raptures. It was around this point that someone –perhaps not enamoured with the quality of alcohol –decided to launch a pint towards the stage. It fell earthward before sonically bouncing off of Jimi’s guitar. Oh dear, I thought –Jimi’s going to cut you with a look.

He took a few seconds to compose himself before calmly admonishing the person for almost drenching a number of young children near the front. Children, I thought? What about the bass? Is it alright? Does it still work? Jimi stayed calm but soon drew a small sword shouting, “by the power of Greyskull!” Like the gas-mask-thing at Delamere, it was a bit lost on me. But I still laughed nonetheless. Oh to be a Doves fan.

I soon turned into a whirling Dervish near the end of ‘Caught by the River’. I was finally stopped from spinning by the band walking offstage. Will they return? What song will they return with? It turned out to be my favourite one, and it brought a lump to my throat.

‘The Cedar Room’ is always a firm favourite and it’s obvious why. But when it’s performed to a big crowd on a crisp sound system and in an enclosed setting, it’s completely awe-inspiring. I found myself (and thousands of others) in total, unadulterated bliss. If I could have sung it any louder I would have. Remarkably there was a man behind me who did. He was fantastic.

It got better. As the rhythm of ‘There Goes the Fear’ echoed around Myrtle Park before crashing to a halt, hundreds of people began spewing from the exits. I hesitated. My wife tried to drag me with her but I glanced back at the stage to see Jez disappearing with his guitar still slung around his chest. “No, they’re going to play it,” I said.

A few minutes later, in front of the few thousand remaining people, Doves walked onstage for their second encore. As I jumped to Spaceface with a bellyful of Tuborg, I glanced all around me. Every single person was up and dancing. Now that’s what you get when you hear Doves.

Thanks Paul! A brilliant review once again.

The band visit the West coast of Ireland Friday night to play Cois Fharraige. Then on Sunday its Bestival playing with the likes of Elbow & Kraftwerk! Do send in your setlists/reviews/photos etc!

Øyafest Round-Up

Doves on Stage at Øya. Photo by Anders Arntsen

Thanks to Jon Zeigler for letting me know about these two reviews of doves set at Øyafest.

Dagsavisen.no – Doves in the sunset (5/6 stars)

The jist of the review in English thanks to Jon:

The reviewer says exactly what I was thinking as I stood there, about how the scenery suited the band and the music perfectly. Sunset, tower cranes with birds
flying around them, beautiful sky, a flock of birds in V-formation passing over the stage, the white opera house in the background etc. The guys on stage were also quite aware of the scenery. Jez was often looking up towards the sky or towards the cranes. I noticed the birds in formation because Jez was following them with his eyes until they passed over the stage behind him. At one point Jimi lifted his sunglasses and said “It’s looking good, man!

abcnyheter.no – “Manchester band Doves delivered the goods (met the expectations) at Øya”
5/6 stars

Ok I did not get the jist of that Side2 review I posted on Saturday. Jon has very kindly transcribed the review in full:

Keep the band, fire the sound guy. That’s one way of summing up Doves gig at Øya.

“The Manchester-band Doves has in many peoples eyes (including yours truly) given the world one of the best albums so far this year. With three other
albums of similar quality under their belt, it just had to be a success when the seasoned gentlemen arrived at Øyafestivalen Friday night?

Unfortunately, the sound guy had other plans.

First half of the show was basically ruined by bad drum- and guitar sound. After three songs, frontman Jimi Goodwin was made aware of the
guitar trouble by a frustrated, but helpful audience.

Because after all, we were there to experience fantastic versions of “Jetstream”, “10:03” and good old “Pounding”. But even though the guys had
included the best songs from their “new classic” ‘Kingdom of Rust’ in the set list (plus some older snacks), there was still something unredeemed(?)
and murky(?) about the whole thing.

However, from the driving rock song “The outsiders” to the closing with Doves’ eminent signature-song “There goes the fear”, everything works the way
it’s supposed to. Then, when you hear how fantastic the trio sounds, it’s extra upsetting/bitter(?) to think about the embarrassing sound problems in
the first half of the concert with one of the worlds best guitar bands

-So please come back anytime guys – but fire the sound guy. That’s an order!”

Jon also added his own thoughts on the set:

I stood in front, close to the speakers and didn’t really notice anything wrong (except for Jez breaking a string and occasionally signaling to the sound guys to turn something up or down.) but at one point someone in
the back shouted “turn up the guitar”, so it’s obvious that there were some sound problems. Also some minor problems with Jimis bass, but that was quickly taken care of. At the start of the show, several people shouted out requests for “Catch the sun” (and others), but Jimi, although appreciating the requests said something like “We’re not quite there yet”, (as in “we’re not the kind of band that takes requests”?). He also mentioned at least twice that Andy was getting married next Sunday, and that he was going to sing in the wedding. He commented that Andy had “been with her for 15 years, so it was about time he did the right thing”. Anyway, this was my first Doves gig, and I think they did a great job.

Thanks so much to John for the above links and taking the time writing the translation. Also thanks to Vivi for letting me know about the Side2 review at the weekend. Without you guys, I would have nothing to report from Øyafest! I’ve had so much great feedback for the blog since setting it up in Febuary, but without the help of you guys – the readers, sending me links to reviews/pictures/setlists etc the blog would be nothing. Cheers!

Doves now take a wee break from live performances for a few weeks. Next up will be Bingley first weekend in September. The blog shall remain active as always posting news as I get it. I will also put up a few goodies later in the week from the US tour.

Latitude Festival Fan Review #2

Here’s another fan review of doves Latituide Festival set. This time sent to us by Paul, who won our recent competition for Latitude tickets.

It was the competition for me: answer the question, ‘who was the stunt cyclist featured on the Winter Hill video’ to find a free way to the Latitude Festival. I answered correctly (Danny MacAskill, in case you’re wondering) and promptly sped the short distance up the A12 to Henham Park.

The first thing that strikes you about Latitude is its clientele. There are no Hackett-clad, shaven-headed Neanderthals dragging their knuckles through the mud here. No, this is a family-friendly festival that welcomes Barbour-wearing, Range Rover types with curly-haired children called Fifi and Trixibell.

Negotiating my way past several pastel-hued sheep, performing androids and the ‘Lake Stage’ (a postage stamp pontoon in the middle of a pond, if you will), I spotted former barrister and TV presenter Clive Anderson lolling at a picnic table. You won’t see that at the V Festival, I thought.

The comedy arena is something else you won’t see at V either (unless you catch Oasis in August); but with over five hours to kill before Doves’ performance, I made a beeline for Latitude’s very own titter tent and sprawled under its canvas.

I spent the next two hours in varying positions of discomfort. Firstly, wetting myself at the toilet humour of Carl Donnelly; then squirming at the awkwardness of US comedian Janeane Garofalo (who could neither compete with English humour, nor the noise coming from the Obelisk Arena); before doubling up at the manic depiction of Ed Byrne’s marriage proposal.

Feeling suitably invigorated, I ricocheted between the bar and Obelisk Arena in readiness for Doves’ set. First, though, I had to spend the next 60 minutes standing my ground whilst being brutally attacked by gormless teenage crowd-surfers. Yes, I steadfastly endured White Lies’ pubescent mosh/ball pit.

Thankfully, order was restored at 8pm. Doves and Martin Rebelski rode to the rescue as ‘Jetstream’ echoed across Henham Park. Finally, all was good with Latitude again.

They galloped through ‘Snowden’, ‘Winter Hill’ and ‘Pounding’, stopping only for Jimi to comment on the plethora of wigs and “lovely vibes” that Latitude exuded. He was right. Even the young girl next to me (let’s call her Saffron; a toddler from the White Lies club) was bedecked in pheasant feathers that jabbed me in my left nostril every few minutes.

Around ‘10:03′, things changed. It’s clear the boys enjoy playing this belter of a song; and as a Doves aficionado, I’m prone to a bit of freaking out myself. But poor ‘ickle’ Saffron couldn’t handle the intensity of it all and desperately sought some protection from an obliging security guard. I could only assume it was because of my incessant whooping and not Andy Williams’ rumbling beat.

Luckily for me, help was at hand in the form of a mature, sensibly-dressed female who suddenly appeared out of the blue to ruffle Saffron’s feathers. She proceeded to pogo her way through ‘Kingdom of Rust’, ‘Black and White Town’ and ‘The Outsiders’, using Saffron’s shoulder as leverage. That’s more like it, I thought; a kindred spirit.

I was very happy now, despite ‘The Cedar Room’ almost reducing me to tears (I half-blubbed as I lovingly mouthed “you could be sitting next to me and I wouldn’t know it” in the sensibly-dressed lady’s ear). Mercifully, she understood precisely where I was coming from and didn’t request any protection. She just looked at me in an ‘ah bless’ kind-of-way.

And that was it. During ‘There Goes the Fear’ we occasionally glanced across with a nod and a wink and swayed in rhythm to Jez’s looping chords. Then we launched into pogo-mode at the end. Like you do. Everytime.

So, Latitude? I may not have enjoyed every minute of you (dropping my £4 half-eaten hotdog whilst being bothered by a wasp was a particular low point). But for one hour, it was all good. Thanks to Doves.

Thanks Paul! We hope to have another comp soon for some signed goodies.

Latitude Festival Fan Review #1

Here is a review of doves Latituide Festival set, as sent to us by Si.

For those that don’t know it, Latitude has a very different feel to the other UK festivals. Nothing is ever too crowded, but everything draws a great crowd, no-one is ever that wasted, but plenty of ale is sunk, and everyone is polite and happy, even when it rained. It brings to mind an extremely well organised village fete, and I loved it.

It is hard to imagine a more perfect place and time to watch Doves than a summer’s evening in 2009 at the friendly and chilled Latitude festival.
Cheated out of a headline space by Grace Jones, Doves set out to show this welcoming Suffolk crowd how it’s done. As expected, Jetstream is the opener, and with the limited 40 minutes or so for the set, it is based primarily around the newer material from ‘Kingdom of Rust’, with the classics ‘Pounding’ and a predictable, but great closeout from ‘There Goes the Fear’.

Throughout, Jimi seemed charmed by one of the biggest crowds of the weekend, acknowledging with some pride the number of kids in attendance, and gently joking about the proliferation of wigs and the petite wasps flitting around the arena.
This was very much a ‘best of’ set for Doves, which meets the first rule for a festival crowd (remember you have come to their festival, they are rarely there just to see you). Fortunately for Doves, ‘best of’ brings such a quality and range of songs that any absence of hidden gems to satisfy the more informed Doves fans does not weaken the performance.

Doves finish as the sun goes down and leave the stage politely for Grace Jones. She was late, and was eventually cut short by the curphew. Somehow, you know that Doves wouldn’t disrespect the audience like that.
At a festival you always have a choice, and at Latitude the wise chose Doves (oh, and Spiritualized instead of Gracie).

Simon Lay July 2009.

Thanks Si!

Fan Photo Competition

The doves.net fan photo competition deadline has been extended until doves.net is back online. So you have a wee while to get your entry in! Have a go, you wont get a better chance to be able to photograph doves from the press pit and backstage. How cool would that be? All the details you need are below.

From The Front Row | Exclusive Fan Photo Competition

We’re not necessarily looking for photos of the band playing live (although those would be great too!) more of photos that sum up the essence of going to a Doves gig. If that’s a picture of you and your mates waiting with anticipation (and beer) for the gig to begin or of the crowd around you pogoing along to ‘Pounding’ then that’s absolutely spot-on. What we’re planning to do is put together a gallery of images that best sum up the touring experience of ‘Kingdom of Rust’ so far.

But that’s not all. Oh, no. For Jimi, Jez & Andy will then pick one single image which they like the best and that lucky photographer will win the chance to photograph the band from the press pit and backstage on one of the band’s forthcoming UK tour dates. How’s that for a competition prize? Pretty nifty, huh?!

To enter the competition all you need to do is send your photos (maximum of 5 photos per person) to the following email address (dovesphotocomp@googlemail.com). Doves.net is not looking for the most professional shots. As long as it fills the oh-so-simple criteria of summing up the spirit of a Doves gig then it’s good for us!