Liverpool Gig 15/12/07

[saharalass]

Hi everyone...I'm new here but have been following Carina for a long time!
Just wanted to say a few words about how brilliant she was in Liverpool...I normally go to the Wolverhampton and Birmingham gigs but couldn't make them so decided to go to Liverpool instead, there was hardly anyone there, 12 at most, although I guess her profile here is next to nothing but you would think people would check new things out on a Saturday night in a big city, ho hum...anyway, solo acoustic, a mixture of songs off all 3 albums, it was good to hear the Slow Motion Addict songs stripped down...she told a couple of people off for talking which was pretty cool, the new songs sounded amazing, a wonderful intense performance! This woman is a star, she has an amazing image, incredible voice and is a superb songwriter! She told me she was off back to the States in the New Year so that's it again I guess
Mandy

[manta_ray]

saharalass said:

Hi everyone...I'm new here but have been following Carina for a long time!
Just wanted to say a few words about how brilliant she was in Liverpool...I normally go to the Wolverhampton and Birmingham gigs but couldn't make them so decided to go to Liverpool instead, there was hardly anyone there, 12 at most, although I guess her profile here is next to nothing but you would think people would check new things out on a Saturday night in a big city, ho hum...anyway, solo acoustic, a mixture of songs off all 3 albums, it was good to hear the Slow Motion Addict songs stripped down...she told a couple of people off for talking which was pretty cool, the new songs sounded amazing, a wonderful intense performance! This woman is a star, she has an amazing image, incredible voice and is a superb songwriter! She told me she was off back to the States in the New Year so that's it again I guess
Mandy

And I thought a crowd of 50-60 was small at Sheffield! Being out of the country for so long, and Interscope doing next to nothing to promote her in the UK, I suppose it's not so unexpected. Must have felt quite an intimate gig.

I hope she's going back to the US to drag the band back here for another tour. It was about 4 years (Jan 04) since the previous time I'd seen her live. I don't think I could stand another 4 years between gigs

Does anyone know what size audience she attracts in the States?

[manta_ray]

p.s. Welcome Mandy. Nice to have another fan on board.

[Itsyou]

Yes I would have said about the same size crowd, Andy, at Monto, but I'm sure someone will correct me if I'm wrong! Oh and I liked Lupen Crook the support band, they hail from my neck of the woods.

Oh and by the way, I also like Heather Nova, introduced to me by someone who occasionally posts here!

[grip58]

12 at most! That's even less than Cambridge and we had Sunday night as a (poor) excuse. I find it incredible that so few people turn out. I would like to see Carina with her band, but I've got a feeling I might have to go to the US of A unless there's an upturn in interest in the UK.

[manta_ray]

itsyou said:

Oh and by the way, I also like Heather Nova, introduced to me by someone who occasionally posts here!

Was that me and my avatar?

[Itsyou]

Yup, now tell me you loath her!

[manta_ray]

Actually I adore her and her music. She went comparatively bland on "South" and "Storm", but her earlier stuff is great and she came back with a cracker for her last album "Redbird".

She's semi-retired into motherhood at the moment (only doing one gig in Bermuda in 2007), but has written a lot of songs for a new album, and there are plans for a live and b-sides album next year. I hope she tours the UK with a full band to support them.

[Itsyou]

I only have Oyster and a few odd tracks, but I like her very much. Thanks for the info on her life, that's interesting.

[philround]

saharalass said:

Hi everyone...I'm new here but have been following Carina for a long time!
Just wanted to say a few words about how brilliant she was in Liverpool...I normally go to the Wolverhampton and Birmingham gigs but couldn't make them so decided to go to Liverpool instead, there was hardly anyone there, 12 at most, although I guess her profile here is next to nothing but you would think people would check new things out on a Saturday night in a big city, ho hum...anyway, solo acoustic, a mixture of songs off all 3 albums, it was good to hear the Slow Motion Addict songs stripped down...she told a couple of people off for talking which was pretty cool, the new songs sounded amazing, a wonderful intense performance! This woman is a star, she has an amazing image, incredible voice and is a superb songwriter! She told me she was off back to the States in the New Year so that's it again I guess
Mandy

[philround]

I was one of the 12 at this gig !!!!

Brilliant gig, but strangest one I've ever been to tho!
Don't get me wrong.....Carina was brilliant
but a few days before I'd seen the sex pistols at the MEN arena, a complete contrast on both scale and genre .!!!

BTW....I think some of the twelve people at this gig were with the support band

Was impressed with the way the people talking were told to keep it quite by Carina. Performance was also plagued during quite bits with sound bleeding from the act on the stage in the adjacent hall .

Brilliant performance by by Carina, an experience I wont forget.

[manta_ray]

philround said:

Was impressed with the way the people talking were told to keep it quite by Carina.

I wish she had done that at Leicester - there were quite a few idiots there who obviously hadn't come to see Carina, but seemed to be regulars at the pub/club and chatted noisily throughout the gig. It wasn't until near the end one brave bloke told them to "shut the f*ck up". Maybe if she wasn't so nervous being the first gig of the tour, she might have.

[chazz]

philround said:

I was one of the 12 at this gig !!!!

BTW....I think some of the twelve people at this gig were with the support band

I've been reading a lot about low attendence at the recent UK gigs. From an audience perspective that would be nice (i.e. very intimate) but I also like the energy from a moderately large crowd. However, what impact does the low attendence have on Carina? I kind of feel bad for her. She obviously loves to perform and I've read quotes that she's used to all kinds of audiences but I hope she doesn't get discouraged.

Is this typical for UK gigs? I would think she would be more popular in the UK but I've also read quotes where she says she gets better receptions in the US. I find that odd.

In fact, in September of last year (at one of the last gigs on her stint with The Cinematics in the US), I asked her how the receptions and audiences had been for the tour. She expressed what appeared to be genuine pleasure about the audiences. That everyone seemed to really enjoy her shows and bought a lot of CDs.

[jce]

andy said:

philround said:

Was impressed with the way the people talking were told to keep it quite by Carina.

I wish she had done that at Leicester - there were quite a few idiots there who obviously hadn't come to see Carina, but seemed to be regulars at the pub/club and chatted noisily throughout the gig. It wasn't until near the end one brave bloke told them to "shut the f*ck up". Maybe if she wasn't so nervous being the first gig of the tour, she might have.

The main reason for this was that the gig was originally headlined by a local guy but they added Carina as the headline almost at the last minute, so most of the audience were there to see him, and after he'd finished they started to talk.

[jce]

chazz said:

philround said:

I was one of the 12 at this gig !!!!

BTW....I think some of the twelve people at this gig were with the support band

I've been reading a lot about low attendence at the recent UK gigs. From an audience perspective that would be nice (i.e. very intimate) but I also like the energy from a moderately large crowd. However, what impact does the low attendence have on Carina? I kind of feel bad for her. She obviously loves to perform and I've read quotes that she's used to all kinds of audiences but I hope she doesn't get discouraged.

Is this typical for UK gigs? I would think she would be more popular in the UK but I've also read quotes where she says she gets better receptions in the US. I find that odd.

In fact, in September of last year (at one of the last gigs on her stint with The Cinematics in the US), I asked her how the receptions and audiences had been for the tour. She expressed what appeared to be genuine pleasure about the audiences. That everyone seemed to really enjoy her shows and bought a lot of CDs.

I spoke at length with her about this in the UK last month, especially after the first gig in Leicester where she was somewhat stunned at the quietness of the crowd and the post gig reactions. I reminded her that they were always thus - just thats shes been in LA for long enough thats shes forgotten. UK fans also seem more reticent about approaching her whereas in the US fans are more likely to approach her - i think thats a cultural thing about the nature of celebrity and seeking to attach yourself to it?

Theres a couple of reasons for the low turnouts (1) and different crowd reactions (2);
1. Lower turnouts is cause essentially she moved to LA and her UK fanbase has fallen off - no gigs and a two year wait for the release of SMA didnt help, plus a lot of the early fans were very disappointed with the SMA tracks and stopped going to see her.
2. This is more a cultural difference between the UK and US in that UK corwds tend to be quieter (generally) and listen wheeras US crowds are more boisterous and just generally more noisy and spend a lot of time talking - i know this from seeing quite a few gigs in the US of a few bands. To me they are the worst audiences in the world if you actually want to hear the band especially where there are quiet bits, but if you want a party then they are better. If you listen to bootlegs of shows, as i do a lot, whatever the band - the US shows always have the noisest crowds. In fact as soon as i put a gig on i can tell if it was recorded in the US - even Carina shows!