Sweet And Tender Hooligans

[WestDerby-Tim]

Anybody seen them on this UK tour? Off to see them tomorrow just wanted to know what they were like

[moztoon]

Seen them last night in Newcastle , great night ,if you get the chance go and see them . The lead singer Maldondra I think really nice guy full of energy and passion for the songs . came on at 9.50 dragged off at 11.30 mint

[tomsidg]

my band are supporting them tomorrow night. think we're on fairly early (around 8) but if there are enough moz fans around for us we may do a small cover of the loop. i'll only do it if theres enough of you about to sing with me as my voice aint too good. :)

www.myspace.com/themanyanas

[mspendl828]

No need to turn up till half nine, excellent. Plenty of extra drinking time in somewhere infinity cheaper than the Dry Bar, which would be pretty much everywhere else in Manchester ;)

[Wild Oscar]

The Sweet & Tender Hooligans were excellent in Manchester on Friday gone.

With only a couple of gigs left on their current UK tour, I'd recommend Smiths/Moz fans to come out in their droves (yes, I know we probably don't have droves) to see the band here.

Jose Maldonado is an excellent front-man, and (with the possible exception of Graham from The Smyths) turns in a better performance than other Smiths tribs also-rans, Other Smiths and Smiths Indeed. His 14 years of doing this shows and he's great to watch.

I felt disappointed for the band though, as the venue (downstairs at Dry Bar) was a red-hot cauldron of a basement more suited to a teenage garage-band knocking out crap in front of friends and family. If, as Jose said, the band are used to playing before 1,500 in the US, then this must have been an anti-climax for them. A couple of the band did look somewhat underwhelmed.

I don't know how it's gone down elsewhere in the UK (gigs in London, Leicester and Glasgow, i think) but I wonder if the promotion of the tour left anything to be desired. After all, I only learned of it myself a week before the gig - what chance of getting non-enthusiasts to the gig with that kind of marketing.

Or am i wrong here? Jose's passion for Smiths/Moz meant he simply had to be in Manchester on Friday 16/6, no matter what; but, playing before a bigger crowd would have been much more gratifying. And, if the Other Smiths can get 900 into the Manchester Academy (as I've been told), then I'm sure that SATH could have, with the appropriate PR.

MC

[bored]

He didn't play to a crowd anywhere near 1500 in Cambridge, MA (near Boston).

I'd guess the crowd that night to have been 250 to 300.

There was no publicity for it at all. It really should have done better.
Lez Zeppelin played the same venue and sold it out. SATH's crowd was so sparse I was able to go to the bar and buy a drink and come back to my spot around 10 feet from the stage.

[tomsidg]

I felt disappointed for the band though, as the venue (downstairs at Dry Bar) was a red-hot cauldron of a basement more suited to a teenage garage-band knocking out crap in front of friends and family.
MC

cheeky sod!

[Wild Oscar]

He didn't play to a crowd anywhere near 1500 in Cambridge, MA (near Boston).

I'd guess the crowd that night to have been 250 to 300.

There was no publicity for it at all. It really should have done better.
Lez Zeppelin played the same venue and sold it out. SATH's crowd was so sparse I was able to go to the bar and buy a drink and come back to my spot around 10 feet from the stage.

Still, 250-300 - in the city that spawned the band - would have been a damn site better than the 60-70 of us in Manchester on the 16th. Your comment supports my point about the lack of promotion.

Come on Jose - get a better agent/manager!

[Dupree]

I saw them in Southampton...I wrote what I thought about them in the other Sweet and Tender Hooligans thread, to summarise my views though: they were excellent!

What I want to know is, did anyone else here go and see them in Southampton last night? The crowd was tiny but I definitely spotted a few Smiths/Moz fans about...in particular a guy in a Smiths denim jacket dancing away! He just looked like he belonged here...was it you, perhaps?

[Wild Oscar]

Was I the one in the denim? No, not me - if only I was as cool as that...

Saw your other thread too - glad to see I'm not alone in my views after the other comments.

As far as travelling to Smiths/Moz nites and trib bands are concerned, I do the M62 corridor/Leeds-Manchester nites (I live nr Leeds) and have been to the midlands (Nuneaton) to see The Smyths.

As I said re the SATH agent/manager thing - I know it's a 'niche market' we are in, but nevertheless, travelling from the US for these audiences must be disappointing.

MC

[Wild Oscar]

cheeky sod!

Sorry tomsidg - no offence meant about your particular show - I didn't arrive until shortly before SATH.

I just meant the venue is not the best in the world - surely black walls, floors,ceilings, etc is fine for goths, but not necessarily for the rets of us.

I am 45, though - perhaps I should have been at home with my slippers and horlicks!

[tomsidg]

was only joking mate - its actually got a lot better in the last year - last year there was a shite pa, no stage and it was a million times hotter (if thats possible)

[swiss]

They were superb in manchester. What a great setlist too. This Charming man was the highlight for me. Best £6 spent ever!

[Gin N Tonic Jil]

They were superb in manchester. What a great setlist too. This Charming man was the highlight for me. Best £6 spent ever!
yeah, theyre pretty good. I have a good time at the gigs they do out here in L.A. theyre doing the Moz/Smiths convention in L.A. tonight.
Some fans out here though are starting to "hate" on them, well on Jose, the singer. I saw them when they had no drummer and had a crap ass drum machine in 93.
Any snaps of the UK gigs?