Elbow heading near me for a gig – always seemed as though they would be good live. Quite like a few of their tunes. Are they worth the 1.5 hour e/w drive and €50 ticket?

Been to see them several times and would go again given the chance. They do out on a good show if you like their music. I do.

IMO, yes

Not a fan, and wouldn’t chose to listen to their music at home…but I went with a free ticket a few years back to Wolves Civic. He is a great frontman, and the band are tight. It was a good gig, a bit mellow for my liking.

Not sure about a big venue though…

You might need some mogodon to cheer yourself up a bit afterwards 😉

Saw them in a smaller venue doing Seldom Seen Kid and on this tour in a Leeds Arena, I’m biased as I’m a big fan but I’d say yes. Big or small venue won’t matter & I reckon that a lot of people who aren’t too sure would be blown away live.

I was wondering the same thing. They are in Vienna this summer.

I’ve seen them six times so far, from the O2 Academy in Bristol up to three times at the O2 in That London.
They really do put on a superb gig, even in a small venue like the Academy they perform like they’re playing a stadium, but the stadium gigs have the intimacy of the small venues.
Neat trick, all down to Garvey’s charisma.
The last two times I’ve been close enough to shake Guy’s hand!

Very tight, nice to watch and listen to live. Good banter.

[/url] image by CountZero1, on Flickr[/img]
[/url] image by CountZero1, on Flickr[/img]

Not if they sound like they do on their recordings, just repetitive depressing durge & that Garvey chap loves himself doesn’t he?

I’m a big fan. They’re not always the most energetic sounding but they’re tight, friendly and put on a good gig.

In smaller venues (seen them on LotFW and pre SSK tours) they were intimate and heartbreakingly beautiful. They lost a lot in their big arena tour (BaRB!).

@ rOcKeTdOg – I don’t normally respond to dull, obvious trolls, but wouldn’t you if you’d won the Mercury Music Prize, have your own radio show and thousands of fans?

p.s. it’s spelt “dirge”

Fat middle aged man music? Go for it.

@ rOcKeTdOg – I don’t normally respond to dull, obvious trolls, but wouldn’t you if you’d won the Mercury Music Prize, have your own radio show and thousands of fans?

the mercury prize is why I bought seldom seen kid, I’ll never make the mistake of taking the advice of music “experts” again without listening to the tracks first. Utter drivel.

as for the troll accusation the OP asked “Are they worth the 1.5 hour e/w drive and €50 ticket?” and in my opinion even if it was free and in my next door neighbour’s garden I wouldn’t think it was worth it. If having a contrary opinion is now trolling then you are correct. I suspect you are just being precious because someone has contrary views to yours.

£50? (can’t find the Euro key) €50, that’s it. Too much for ANY band. Go see something new and fresh.

50 of whichever currency is a lot to pay for 2 hours entertainment but RD is plain wrong about them. I respect that someone is going to have different taste in music and someone has to dislike Elbow so that’s fair enough.

If you like any of their music it’ll be a great gig. One of the best gigs of my life was in the stalls at the Paradiso in Amsterdam a few years ago before they started playing stadiums and it was flat out incredible.

I’d go for it.

should have gone seeing them a looooong time ago, been a fan since Newborn. Would have liked to see them play somewhere small. Really like some of their newer tracks but prefer the older albums as a whole.

I saw em a while back at a festival, it’s not exactly my bag musically but it was a damn good show.

With a number of people above, I was invited to see them at Wembley about 4 years ago, not really being a fan and knowing about 4 tracks, but they are very good live, he is a very charismatic front man and has a great voice, and they are very tight as a band and you can tell they actually enjoy what they are doing.

Got to admit, I love Elbow. I’ve seen them five times over different tours, starting with Cast Of Thousands, but not since they became huge and started playing massive venues.
That’s nothing to do with losing interest in the band, but I don’t like stadium type gigs (plus suddenly having to pay three times the price to see a band you’ve followed for years!)and the band were so brilliant in a more intimate setting. Guy is a top front man and makes you feel like he personally and genuinely grateful for you being there.
The missus and I got to chat to Guy Garvey at the CD / DVD launch of the Leaders Of The Free World album in Brum – can’t see that happening nowadays!!!

Do it, I reckon! On two occasions, their performance of Newborn was as good as anything I’ve ever seen at a gig or festival. Just awesome! 😀
There’s a tendency for new listeners to think they’re a well-laid back act, going on later albums, but some of the earlier stuff was much more edgy and powerful.

Edgy and powerful you say?

Like turding out a sticklebrick after last night’s chicken bhuna?

😆

If having a contrary opinion is now trolling then you are correct. I suspect you are just being precious because someone has contrary views to yours.

More the fact that you clicked on a thread about a band you don’t like, he asked for an informed opinion about their gigs, which you haven’t been to… but you still felt the need to reply. If that’s not trolling you must be really bored to keep coming back to this thread.

Decent troll Jon Taylor, 7/10 for effort. 😆

i’m with rocketdog…

@ rOcKeTdOg – I don’t normally respond to dull, obvious trolls, but wouldn’t you if you’d won the Mercury Music Prize, have your own radio show and thousands of fans?

i mean…iggy pop probably has more reason to feel smug about what he means to the progression of modern popular music, yet he comes across as the sweetest and most down-to-earth cat on that six radio.

if i’m unfortunate enough to hear “im guy garvey, lead singer of elbow”, i risk puking blood.

ymmv.

DezB – Member
£50? (can’t find the Euro key) €50, that’s it. Too much for ANY band. Go see something new and fresh.

For some, Elbow would be. And I payed £33 for tickets to see them at the O2, which isn’t far off the £25 I’ve payed to see ‘new and fresh’ bands at very much smaller venues in Bristol, although Howling Bells only cost me £9 at the Thekla on Sunday, but after ten years, and four albums, are they ‘new and fresh’?
How much would you pay to see a band who’s music you really love? How much is too much for tickets for any event that you’re passionate about? Anyone looked at the price of theatre tickets? Football? Motor racing?
Elbow were £33 for the O2; Billy Bragg cost me £21 at the Cheese and Grain, Frome; Aimee Mann £25 at the Union Chapel, Islington; Goldfrapp £22.50 at the Trinity Centre, Bristol, and £27.50 at Somerset House a month later, The Unthanks £19.50 at Bath Pavilion; and Emmylou Harris with Daniel Lanois £38.50 at the Colston Hall, Bristol.
However, I ‘only’ paid £18.50 to see Dinosaur Jr at Fiddlers Club, Bristol, and £14.50 for Metric at the O2 Academy, Oxford.
Prices are relative, tickets for the likes of Leonard Cohen, Dolly Parton, Tom Waits, and many others go north of £75, but they’ll sell out in minutes, because they rarely tour the UK, or rarely tour at all, like Kate Bush.
Was £150/ticket for Kate excessive? Possibly, but she hasn’t played live in 35 years, an entire generation has grown up knowing her music, loving it, and never had a chance to see her perform, as in the case of my friend Abigail, who is 30, and a mum of two, and been a fan most of her life. Thanks to me, she will get to see Kate, five rows back from the front, and I think the price is worth it.
Elbow never put on a mediocre show, and I’m pretty sure the OP will enjoy every second of the show.
Arcade Fire put on one of the most spectacular shows I’ve seen at Earls Court on Friday, but I’m sure there are one or two here would dismiss them as ‘not new or fresh’, or too ‘arty’, or something; anyone who gets to see them at Glastonbury will be thoroughly entertained, however.