Megaphon Studios, St Peters, Sept 6 2008

Before my memory fades completely I'd better write down some notes about the gig at Megaphon Studio.

I'd never been there before but Shane has had the place going for years. It's on the top floor of a set of old industrial buildings at the railway line end of St Peters. You can get out onto a large roof space area next to the studio and it was glamourly industrial in the slight haze of rain:



These pics are all from Mr Peter Nelson, esq - dear friend of the ages.



They remind me a lot of the shots of Cleveland in Pere Ubu's Datapanik box set.



I've always been drawn to images like these of half decayed industry - all the shots for the album cover came from old factories at Sydenham, just down the road.

I'll admit it now that getting all the gear up those tiny sets of stairs was a chore and Ian was a little tired after helping to lift in the PA. The Dead Sea were set up when I arrived and, due to the amount of gear they had, really couldn't be moved in and out so we set up in the smaller area next to them.



Rob somehow managed to leave his specially prepared little box of tricks at home and was crammed into a corner right next to the lights (for the video recording) but he played well in spite of these handicaps.



Peter didn't manage to get any shots of Rob unfortunately so here's 2 of me!



And an atmospheric one of Ian and me.



As much as I could see, the audience were interested and intruiged and gave us good applause after the 40 mins:



Rob was a bit dissappointed (mainly because of the missing gear) and Ian didn't think it was as good as Music Farmers but I felt it was a cohesive performance with some lovely nuances. Tegan and Shane agreed and both thought it was better than last time! Shane was mixing the recordings this week in preparation for the video pieces (which will probably appear at MySpace and Endgame in due course).



Tom's show was a bit hampered by the column in the middle of the studio but it was as clever as last time.



The Dead Sea were terrific this time - much quieter and all the better for it. I didn't stay for Modern Gong Ritual but, apparently, they were better than at Music Farmer's as well.

Thanks once again to Aaron, Tegan, Shane and all who helped tomake these two gigs so splendid.

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