First time you saw spz/how listening makes you feel

[Hofstadter]

Hey doods --

I only really started listening to Spiritualized in September, but since then I've been listening non-stop. Something about the sound I think I can just incredibly identify with at where I am at right now, being your typical angsty 17 year old. Just sort of drowning yourself out in it. And even though it seems like for a lot of Spiritualized fans, the lyrics aren't incredibly important, and even if they are not the most complicated ever or anything, for some reason (particularly on Ladies and Gentleman) they just complete the experience for me. Just sort of the feeling of being a little lost and helpless and having somebody you really care about that you wish you could just sort of lose yourself in/drift away with, but maybe they don't feel the same way... I dunno. Sometimes I just drive somewhere random on the other side of the city and sit in my car and play the music really really loud. I even cried once or twice but I think that was me just being a stupid teenager more than anything.

Anyways I am really excited to get to go see 'em at the Wiltern in a month or two. I think I might go with that girl that I really like (I don't really know just as friends I guess she also likes 'em) and of course all I have been able to think about is May 22nd. It's stupid -- I know I shouldn't be building this whole night up in my mind like this, whether just for the excitement to see spz or thinking about this girl, but anyways, I hope it will be a great experience.

Long story short -- do any of you remember the first time you saw Spiritualized? What it was like, how you felt, whatever? Maybe I shouldn't ask, don't want to ruin anything, but in some ways I will already ahve a very different experience just by virtue of the fact that I am on these boards now -- I only stumbled across here a week or two ago. You all probably liked Spiritualized long before these boards existed. But yeah. How does listening to Spiritualized make you feel? More than many other bands, I feel like I have very specific feelings/emotions associated with Spiritualized. How about you guys.

-szw

Also sorry if you think this should go in one of the other categories on the forum. I'm still new here. Also sorry if this got a little weirdly personal. I guess it's sort of just the 'stranger on a plane' type thing. Yall seem like cool people on here.

[Laz69]

Howdy and welcome. Fresh Spiritualized blood is always very welcome around these parts. Pull up a chair and delve into the memories, knowledge and overall appreciation that this forum offers, not just on Spiritualized, but also in a wealth of other music that WILL shape your life!

First time i saw Spiritualized was on the Greenpeace tour many years ago ('93?). he evening was billed with Dr Phibes & The House Of Wax Equations, Spiritualized and Mercury Rev. I had spent the day in Glasgow and had just finished a tour of the vinyl shops with a big bag of Spiritualized and Spacemen 3 records and a group of us headed along to Glasgow Uni's QMU venue. Place wasn't overly busy and we planted our ass right at the front of the upper balcony. Perfect viewing position.

Dr Phibes were really rather good, but Spiritualized were ASTOUNDING. Between the wall of noise and the lightshow, they just tore our minda apart. I remember Electric Mainline being particularly good as it built and built until its climax. They were all i had imagined them to be and so much more. Unfortunately for them, Mercury Rev, with Dave Barker, stepped things up another level and they not only blew our minds, but our ears and eyes and every other part of my body.

One of only a few shows that i felt every band were in tune with each other ambitions and ideas so that, as each band appeared on stage, they knew exactly what had been on before and just upped the stakes.

I was completely hooked on the live Spiritualized shows for about 15 years after that night... great memories! Saw them a few months later on the Pure Phase tour in The Arches in Glasgow and they were breathtakingly good. I may have been trippin', but they really, REALLY nailed that show.

[runcible]

Coming from the Spacemen 3 period I knew there was a band Jason had formed during Spacemen downtime. I heard they'd played a gig at The Camden Falcon which I missed but the first official gig was at the Marquee in July 1990 and I went along. Chapterhouse were the support band and really good. To my surprise Spiritualized were very laid back and even quite quiet - to the point where you could talk at a normal volume and be heard. It felt intimate and personal and the music had charm, warmth and a really delicate edge. It was absolutely brilliant although not the brain-bending assault I expected.

The next gig - at LSE - was even more laid back and had a cello player. Again very laid back and gentle. So for the one after that - at ULU - I took a friend along, telling him it would be a lovely and tranquil evening. Except Jason had changed the set up and instead half of it was insane sonic wah-wah overload that almost took your head off. They were just astonishing and a golden era began. And on it went for a few years - every gig beyond almost any band I'd ever seen. The turning point was the Astoria show for the LAGWAFIS tour in 1997 which I thought was truly appalling. I couldn't explain it as I just knew they would be amazing, but they were far from it. I stood with my face in my hands during These Blues which was a bloated mess. 6 months later reality returned at Leeds Met (same venue as my hellish Mark Lanegan experience!) where they shredded my brain into small pieces several times during the set - just glorious.

I'll stop there. Easy to get carried away...

[BzaInSpace]

The first time I saw them was in Aberdeen Music Hall in 1997. I think the show after this was the Albert Hall gig. I remember wondering if there was gonna be a choir and orchestra there - there wasn't. Just the LAG band. Being a teenage punk rocker who also liked techno madness I was just beginning to branch out musically and I had only heard Pure Phase and Ladies and Gentlemen... itself, which I was still trying to process, it was like a whole new universe of music and directions in music.

This gig... blew my fucking head off! I don't think I've ever been the same... It changed everything in the way I percieve music and what I kinda look for in music. I just remember sheer white light, white heat electric intensity and by the time 'Cop Shoot Cop...' was played it was almost too much. Insane. I can't remember any other tunes apart from 'Walking With Jesus' (I had recently purchased The Perfect Prescription) but I remember them instantly switching into a mellow tune following this crazy sonic overload... guess that would have been 'Shine A Light'. I was completely gob-smacked by that.

It was amazing and life-changing and I still carry that around with me. It occurs to me that this was perfectly timed for me, as in some way they bridged that gap between guitar based music (sonically speaking) and the mad end of techno with the repetition and noise and stuff. Dunno.

The funny thing was there was a lot of people I knew who went that night, and it was just too much. Some people won last minute tickets through a competition at the local students union (inspired...) and possibly thought they were in for a quiet night of mellow indie-rock. Wrong... some people I knew left early and some were just terrified. When the lights finally came on it was like something out of Apocalypse Now... I remember a local reviewer bemoaned the "excessive noise"

Good times

Hofstadter, your post makes me feel old (but not as old as Mr Runcible hahaha!!! ) but y'know what, thanks to the likes of Spiritualized I'm still that teenage punk rocker at heart and I thoroughly recommend you take your pal and bliss out and kick out the jams. I'm seeing them the night after tomorrow and just thinking about it makes my stomach go all weird There's nothing like them live on Earth and you're gonna have a good time. Enjoy it and be sure to report back after... cheers!

[PopeJez]

For me it was the Hackney Empire gig in '93. I was blown away. The music slowly built into a sonic assult. The lights were terrific. I think the NME reviewed the gig as "as clsoe as you can get to tripping without doing anything illegal". I was won over. FUI captures the style of the gig if you turn it up loads.

I saw loads of the '97 gigs and also lost faith a bit. I think I we left early at the Guildford Civic Hall gig. The songs weren't mutating which is why I loved seeing them live in the first place.

Saw the Koko A&E gig and fell right back in love with them again. Also loving the current line up and the new songs. It's great stuff.

[spaced]

Mine was the nme awards show jan 21st 1998 at Astoria (rip). I remember as it was my first ever gig and my 18th birthday I had quite a strict upbringing and wanted.to see them for years, this was the first time i was "allowed out" . Seem then about 20 times since but will never forget that show for the version of electricity and when they did Rocket USA with Suicide .

[Hofstadter]

Man these are some really cool stories. Thanks for sharing. I love that you all have such vivid memories of those nights/such long histories with the band. Well I guess that's probably why you ended up on here, because it did impact you so much that first time you saw them, but still. I can't imagine the look on yer friend's face Runcible/the random students at your school Bza. And not to make yall feel old or anything but... sounds like many of you were lovin' 'em since before I was born (I'm 17, so beginning of 95). That's sorta weird ha.

Laz69 -- all I really know about Mercury Rev is that one of the doods produces most of the Flaming Lips' albums I think. Sounds like when I have some time I should actually try to check 'em out. Any suggestions on where to start?

Also more stories/experiences/answers to the first part of the question/whatever -- keep 'em coming I love hearing them.

-- szw

[Laz69]

Laz69 -- all I really know about Mercury Rev is that one of the doods produces most of the Flaming Lips' albums I think. Sounds like when I have some time I should actually try to check 'em out. Any suggestions on where to start?

-- szw

The first 3 albums and the Lego My Ego EP would be my suggestion... their debut is stunningly shambiolic. Not sure what the CD is like, but the vinyl was not a good pressing but this, to me, just added to its chaotic charm! Boces was probably the best of their earlier work. Brilliant songs that retain the madness of the debut. The Lego My Ego EP is a must purely for the live version of Very Sleepy River and its EPIC climax! See You On The Other Side was the first album without their original frontman but its still a great album and has lots of fabulous freakouts, especially the opening track. They lost a bit of their edge after that, but Deserter's Songs is still a good album; bit more melodic and user friendly. Everything after that has all been rather self-indugent and i went off them after that. Everything became rather dull and samey.

[toomilk]

After being a big fan since around the time LICD came out, the first time I actually saw them was their first of the two Acoustic Mainlines nights at the Vista in LA. This was 2007. I don't know why, but I just never went to their LA shows for LICD or Amazing Grace. So I basically waited 7 years to finally see them, but in the past four and a half years, I think the number has jumped up to 14.

My first show was pretty underwhelming. After years of listening and watching bootlegs of live gigs, my standards were set pretty high. The third Acoustic Mainlines though, a gig in Santa Barbara, was fucking great. A Beautiful venue with incredible acoustics and a perfect performance. My first electric show with Spiritualized was the following year in Chicago at the Pitchfork Festival. Now that was a scorcher (literally). That day was hotter than hell and I just remember Spiritualized going on and playing louder than any other acts that weekend. Their songs seemed a little faster and angrier than usual. I was near the front being the typical fan-boy: "Wow! They just blew out the PA!" "He's throwing his guitar into the amps! OMG!!!" etc. The best show for me still has to be the Myspace (remember them?) Secret Show at the Echo in LA. A free show in the tiniest of venues. Everything was right that night. I remember looking at Doggen to my left and Jason to my right at the end of Take Me to the Other Side and thinking how I will probably never see anything quite like this for the rest of my life. I had goosebumps for days. The car ride home with my two friends consisted only of "Oh man..."s and "*sigh* Wowww..."s. Like Bza said, you kinda carry that stuff around with you afterwards. It changes the way you hear music, what you expect from live shows, what you want in a band. It really isn't a bad thing, though.

Hofstadter- I think this upcoming tour is going to be fantastic and you'll have a great time. I'll be there too, sending you good vibes!

[jack white]

i'm finding it hard to remember how i felt(!)

should prob search this msgboard & recollect..

guess it's kinda part of the deal.

i'm sure i thought it was exhilarating & more. it soon became more if it wasn't already after seeing them live for the first time.
it was love @ first sight! then it became an obsession.

lately tho interest had waned & been tested.
excited still for the new tour. trying to avoid spoilers. but anticipating a reaffirmation. a just when-i-thought-i-was-out kinda deal. they almost always bring it live. & i have missed it, i gotta say. i got spoiled these recent yrs (say '04-'10) where even w/the illness(es) they've played lots & i've been able to travel to see them. & it's been a bit too long since the last blast after so many in quick succession. y'know how it goes..

fingers crossed it's loud n heavy. & not wimpy & quiet...

[spzretent]

I would say its not so much the first time I saw them. They were opening for Siouxsie & The Banshees. They were great but it was short. Its what happened after the show that I will never forget.
They were supposed to come into my record shop to sign records and meet fans at 4pm that day. Someone booked their tour to play Chicago then Grand Rapids Michigan, then Milwaukee then Detroit. Ass backwards. Their manager called me at 3:30pm to tell me they wouldn't make it. I was gutted and really upset with their manager who acted like it was a nuisance anyway.
Then we asked if they would sign after the show. My employees and myself flyered down at the front while they were playing.
They showed up around 10pm and stayed until after 3am. A great night. About 150 came thru.
Every tour after that has been amazing. Particularly when they seemed to be playing in the US pre LAG a lot. Those were amazing shows including two in one night.

[TheIndividual]

This seemed like as good a time as any to register. I was about your age when I first got into them, right around when Amazing Grace first leaked to the internet and it seemed many people were convinced it was a well done hoax, considering how underproduced it sounded. Was just heading off to college at the University of Michigan, and got tickets to see them in 2003 in Detroit on the AG tour.

Similar to your situation, my mind was completely linking the band and a girl I liked at the time, and it just made the show such a heart wrenching and cathartic experience, it was truly incredible. The culmination of all those thoughts, and then hearing Rated X, which is already such a trip of a song, really broke me down. My memory of the night got super fuzzy without any drugs or alcohol, but I remember all sorts of things about that night that couldn't have possibly been true. Felt like I was floating during Cop Shoot Cop, and Shine A Light just about killed me. It's wound up as my favorite show ever in my head, and I've made sure to see them multiple times every time they tour now. Nothing ever hits like that first show, but it's always so much fun anyway. I'll be seeing them twice this year, once in Detroit and once in North Carolina, and I cannot wait.

Enjoy your show!

[angelsighs]

I first became aware of the band in 1998. I bought a music magazine which had a free CD with it called 'Best of the Festival Season' and it had Broken Heart on it. which I thought was beautiful- very sad and almost ambient even though it was string-based. I also saw the band do Come Together at Glastonbury on TV which blew me away with its energy and huge sound. I remember being impressed that the band could do two different things so well. (weirdly I remember the song being played in daylight, so was surprised years later to see the footage and it was at night. weird how your memory can play tricks)

I bought Ladies and gentlemen from my local music store, and strangely it was the CD pill case thing- just shoved in the shelf, didn't seem particularly rare or anything. I was amazed by the packaging and the whole concept (especially as I read a bit more about the band) but the album as a whole didn't click me with for a long time. years actually. must have been 2000 or so when my music tastes had matured a bit and I 'got it'

got LICD for xmas 2001 and still associate it with Christmas in a weird way. all those choirs and strings I have always loved the huge ambition of that album even though it has its flaws.

by now they were on their way to becoming my favourite band as I worked my way back through the catalogue. I can still remember the first time I heard Lazer Guided Melodies. I was extremely knackered, lying on my bed after my shitty summer job. I put it on and it was almost like having an out of body experience (no drugs were involved )

my first show was one which I've never heard anyone else mention- Leeds Festival 2002. they headlined the second stage in a big tent. kind of a strange festival for them with a young and boisterous crowd. I remember some shouts of "cmon play something from Playing With Fire" and some twat shouting out "just cause Ashcrofts shagging your missus". lovely hey?
the show was incredible. again, could be my memory playing tricks but I'm sure Jason took a toke from a massive spliff as he walked on stage. I had only heard that one song from Glastonbury, and the RAH album so live I expected something quite arranged and maybe with extra musicians. but this was the stripped down version of the LICD band and they had a big, rocky, bombastic sound.
I also remember that this was at the time that Kev Bales had been taken ill by leukemia. they had the drummer from Six by Seven (who had played earlier that day) filling in and I remember Jason giving him cues with little nods n stuff.

they opened with Electricity and I was struck by the sheer size of their sound. also remember being impressed by the rocked up Out of Sight without horns. but the real abiding memory of that show for me is when Come Together morphed into Take Me To The Other Side. it was the first time at a gig I had ever really had goosebumps and the hairs on the back of my neck standing up. that's the feeling I still search for from gigs. it was like a huge juggernaut, like they were starting up a gigantic pulverising machine.
working out the title of that song made me go and investigate Spacemen 3, as this was before internet shopping (or at least before I had starting doing it) I remember finding some Sp3 albums at a record fair.


phew that was a long post, sorry!

[Hofstadter]

http://www.ideensynthese.de/spiritualiz ... 61#p105261

Like I said there... Incredible...

[spunder]

Derby University, i think it was Spring 1995....or was it '94. was a bit like seeing some aliens land in a spaceship (lightshow) playing some otherworldy futuristic trance blues.....i got 'take good care' into 'clear light clear rush' into 'thingsll never be the same'...had been smoking vast amounts of grass through a hose from a washing maching prior to the gig tho...almost as good as my first Verve gig

10/10

[jadams501]

I only saw Spiritualized live in 2008, years after I had first started listening. I guess what strongly appealed to me about the band, as I've said before, is that unlike so many "spacey" acts they didn't use the psychedelic reverb to hide from providing strong melodies, memorable lyrics, etc. and that the music was plainly very intelligent in its influences and composition.

[shalloboi]

first time i saw them was in 2003 in portland. they played at the roseland and the show was pitifully undersold. when i showed up the soledad brothers were playing and there couldn't have been more than 30 people watching them- the place held about 2000 including the balcony, i believe. it didn't get much more packed as the night went on, which ended up being nice because i was right up front (which i never do at shows) but still had tons of personal space. i thought they might hold back a bit since the place was so empty, but they certainly did not. i'd heard plenty of live bootlegs at that point and had an idea of what to expect, but while they were playing 'this little life of mine' they stopped in the middle and this cycle of strobes behind them started blinking and they started making little noises that built and built and built as the strobes flashed more and more intensely and they stretched this out for quite a while- it had one of the most visceral, terrifying effects i've ever experienced and it was AWESOME. it was the perfect way to get me out of my head for the rest of the night. they played for around two and a half hours and ended with that massive medley of 'take your time'/'smiles' and 'things'll never be the same.' it was pretty amazing and they were really LOUD.

[Dreamweapon]

September 1992 - Derby Wherehouse with support from Miranda Sex Garden.

Next was July 1994 at the Tivoli in Buckley (support from Radial Spangle)

Next was Feb 1995 at Manchester Uni MDH (support from Seefeel)

[simonkeeping]

I first saw them at the Hammersmith Apollo back in 2001 I think? It was the LICD tour. I'd first heard them on a free cd given away with Select just prior to LAGWAFIS coming out. I still have the cd as I can't bear to part with it such was the impact it had on me. Hearing Electricity for the first time was immense, It was quite unlike anything I'd ever heard. Pure adrenalin rush but with some many textures and layers of sound. It was quite simply the best thing I'd ever heard. I've always loved big sounding records so this really had me hook line and sinker. It sounded so free and out of control but still with so much focus.

Anyway, back to the story - we turned up at the Hammersmith Apollo and took our seats. The stage was packed with mic's, all the amps were covered in white sheets and every two minutes prior to the band coming on someone came out to tune Jasons guitar. The warm up music was otherworldly, all clanging chains and roaring free jazz horns. They took to the stage and kicked off with Cop Shoot Cop. From that moment since they have been the undisputed best live band in the world. It was ferocious - the strobes during the noise section were so bright you could see them with you eyes shut. The diversions into free Jazz seemed like a perfect extension of this otherworldly music. The last tune before the encore (Don't Just Do Something) ended in a kind of country, big band, dixieland fest of horns and slide guitar. So many moments still flash through my head from that night, the blood red lights during the scorching intro to 'On Fire', Let it Flow was just transformed into a kind of David Axelrod tune with a huge breakdown into noise in the middle, the choir, the brass. All just too beautiful. I kind of envy people who haven't seen the band before as it's such an experience seeing them for the first time. I know we're all biased but live music after just is never the same. You perception and expectations are altered because its such a powerful experience.

[angelsighs]

the band definitely had a 'big' sound around the LICD time, with or without orchestra.
I think there might be a bootleg of that Hammersmith show around?

[Dreamweapon]

Will try and upload it in the next couple of days if I can....

[mc]

No need - perfectrx is sharing it over in the gigs section! My first Spz show was the Barrowlands date on the LICD tour, so this show provides some great memories of that massive sound

http://forum.spiritualized.me/viewtopic.php?f=2&t=11958

[sunray]

Copied verbatim from the "Single Greatest Gig You Ever Saw" thread:

I've been asked this many times over the years and the answer to escape my lips, without hesistation, has always been "Spirirtualized's two gigs in the Rock Garden". Luckily for the parameters set by Runci the second gig edges the first.
The band made their debut Irish appearance in December 1991 in the Rock Garden in Dublin ( I actually think it was the first ever gig held in that venue ). Anyone familiar with The Temple Bar area of the city would probably know the venue better as Eamonn Doran's, which it later became. So, yep, a tiny place to witness the sonic and visual onslaught the band provided at that time.

Anyways, in early May 1992 they returned. The first gig was mindblowing but this one raised the bar again. I basically was in the 'Now' for most of the show. There was no past, no future, my whole existence had always been just me and the band in that moment. It was all I had ever known. I wasn't even aware of any audience for most of it. I was also stone cold straight and sober. Occasionally you could make out three silhouettes through the strobes, projections and dry ice but heading towards the end it was complete whiteout. You knew there had to be someone on stage but there was no sight of them. Complete sensory bombardment with the visuals and the most amazing noise coming out of the speakers, all totally controlled. I remember when the keyboard kicked in during Smiles and me and my mate turned to each other at the same time and uttered "Sister Ray". It was a head fuck of epic proportions.
My mate got backstage for a moment afterwards and was talking to Will. They discussed the fact of Spiritualized playing the Trinity Ball ( ! ) the following night and how most people there wouldn't know, or care, who they were. Will's response was that they might play a 20 minute version of Smiles then!

The rest of the night was spent trying to find a space to crash as there was about 10 of us and we'd missed the last bus home. After being refused from a couple of different gaffs that someone knew we ended up spending a few hours in a bush in Fairview! We walked back into town at dawn and got the first bus home.

I saw a few more Spiritualized head crunching gigs in '93 but I was spoiled and expected all of their gigs to be like that. From '94 onwards I was always chasing an experience that wasn't forthcoming. It wasn't until the A&E tour that I reconciled myself with the fact that I would never witness Spiritualized shows like that again. It took a long time to get there but i'm alright now!
I do feel privileged to have attended those early shows though, with May 1992 being the most intense of them all.

[runcible]

I saw a few more Spiritualized head crunching gigs in '93 but I was spoiled and expected all of their gigs to be like that. From '94 onwards I was always chasing an experience that wasn't forthcoming. It wasn't until the A&E tour that I reconciled myself with the fact that I would never witness Spiritualized shows like that again. It took a long time to get there but i'm alright now!

I am familiar with that feeling of 'chasing an experience'. But I got it again in Holmfirth, so it shows you should never give up!

[WillK]

Coming from the Spacemen 3 period I knew there was a band Jason had formed during Spacemen downtime. I heard they'd played a gig at The Camden Falcon which I missed but the first official gig was at the Marquee in July 1990 and I went along. Chapterhouse were the support band and really good. To my surprise Spiritualized were very laid back and even quite quiet - to the point where you could talk at a normal volume and be heard. It felt intimate and personal and the music had charm, warmth and a really delicate edge. It was absolutely brilliant although not the brain-bending assault I expected.

The next gig - at LSE - was even more laid back and had a cello player. Again very laid back and gentle. So for the one after that - at ULU - I took a friend along, telling him it would be a lovely and tranquil evening. Except Jason had changed the set up and instead half of it was insane sonic wah-wah overload that almost took your head off. They were just astonishing and a golden era began. And on it went for a few years - every gig beyond almost any band I'd ever seen. The turning point was the Astoria show for the LAGWAFIS tour in 1997 which I thought was truly appalling. I couldn't explain it as I just knew they would be amazing, but they were far from it. I stood with my face in my hands during These Blues which was a bloated mess. 6 months later reality returned at Leeds Met (same venue as my hellish Mark Lanegan experience!) where they shredded my brain into small pieces several times during the set - just glorious.

I'll stop there. Easy to get carried away...

Ah, those were the days.................................

Saying that, I'm past the 50 times mark and I'd still say they were still sounding awesome! very seldom am I disappointed.
Will they ever match SP3 at Dingwalls (you will remember that one Mark), possibly not.

[runcible]

Ah, those were the days.................................

Saying that, I'm past the 50 times mark and I'd still say they were still sounding awesome! very seldom am I disappointed.
Will they ever match SP3 at Dingwalls (you will remember that one Mark), possibly not.

Actually the greatest Spacemen show I saw was at Hammersmith Riverside in August 1988. A guy I knew was handing out tabs of acid to anyone who wanted it which added a warped dimension to the audience as quite a few accepted his offer - although many looked at him suspiciously.

Dingwalls was where they placed Ecstasy Symphony for about half an hour at the end and everyone stood there expecting more music. Then the sound stopped and the lights went on and we all shuffled off.

But you know what? The greatest gig I ever saw - as detailed in another thread - was Spiritualized over Spacemen 3. At the Mean Fiddler in November 1991.

[Dreamweapon]

Are there any really good quality recordings of the early Spz shows around at all? I rate both LGM and Pure Phase really highly. I know that some of the very early shows had material from both Spacemen 3 and Jason's new early Spz tracks and would love to hear a good quality recording.

[nickh]

First time I saw Spiritualized was at The Marquee Spring/Summer 1990 (I think, can’t be certain of the dates) and I thought they were good but not a patch on the Spacemen live who I had seen a few times including the above mentioned Dingwalls show. I saw a very quiet gig at the LSE (and was entertained by Runcible’s heckling mates!) and then within a few short months an absolute stormer at ULU when they were starting to get close to an intensity that the Spacemen had live. Fantastic night.

When they hit a certain point, often (although not exclusively) during a louder song like Cop Shoot Cop, Take Your Time, Smiles, Born Never Asked/Electric Mainline and with a good dose of strobes, someone could drive a fucking bus into the middle of the theatre and I don’t think I would notice. I like an eyeball searing, teeth rattling, ear damaging headfuck!

If we are doing times seen, including Spacemen 3 I’m on 24.

[spzretent]

I remember eagerly awaiting LGM in my shop. We were already well into Spacemen 3 thanks to my employees. But they never played over here.
My first Spiritualized gig was the Rollercaoster tour which they opened and then we left. I'm not sure if this was the tour with ther Balanescu Quartet but I do remember being blown away with the 40 or 50 other Spiritualized fans who stood up front. However they opened the show. It was later on during the post PP and pre LAG shows that they continually blew me away.

[The Dr]

i first saw them during the acoustic mainlines tour. i managed to get one of about two/three seats in the room which was small and beautifully decorated. they played lots of songs that i didn't know- new songs of A&E (i guess you have all heard the bootlegs) and spent most of the show on the verge of tears. then they played a song i had never really liked before 'anything more' and it morphed into 'ladies and gents...' and there were tears on my cheeks. my soul had indeed been spiritualized. the next time i saw them was with the full band and i was up on the balcony looking down at the them thinking 'how can a band be like this'. my socks were well and truely knocked off. so first two expereinces- polar differences- but both amazing

[TheWarmth]

Man, I barely remember my first Spiritualized show. They played at the Riv in Chicago opening for Souxie & The Banshees and touring in support of Pure Phase. The one that really sticks in my mind, probably because it was more recent, was the 2008 Pitchfork show, which absolutely tore my head off. I definitely got teary during that one, I was so happy. The whole show was phenomenal and J. was really going for it, bashing his Fender Thinline into his Marshall at the end of the set in full-on Jimi Hendrix fashion. I wish J. would bring back some of the A&E songs to the live set. I find it weird that he has abandoned that whole album, yet still regularly plays tracks from Amazing Grace.

[ro]

my first was in september of '95.
i only knew pure phase, liked it fine, felt it was unusual, was especially struck by 'let it flow' but kind of left it at that.
and the night of the gig, standing in one spot for an hour after the opening band, tired, waiting for them to finally come on i was thinking, "this better be good". . .

then this happened, right around 'electric mainline':

It was amazing and life-changing and I still carry that around with me. It occurs to me that this was perfectly timed for me, as in some way they bridged that gap between guitar based music (sonically speaking) and the mad end of techno with the repetition and noise and stuff. Dunno.

bza, what you said really pinpoints that show for me.
halfway into that gig (and the light show!) i realized i'd been missing something, and this was it.

[jwilder]

My 1st Spz show was 4/2501 in Rochester, NY for LICD. Still had a bit of the flu but went anyways. Chugged a couple pitchers of beer while listening to the BRMC open.

Flu was gone the next day. Cured.

[runcible]

First time I saw Spiritualized was at The Marquee Spring/Summer 1990 (I think, can’t be certain of the dates) and I thought they were good but not a patch on the Spacemen live who I had seen a few times including the above mentioned Dingwalls show. I saw a very quiet gig at the LSE (and was entertained by Runcible’s heckling mates!) and then within a few short months an absolute stormer at ULU when they were starting to get close to an intensity that the Spacemen had live. Fantastic night.

Sorry about those guys - wasn't me I promise! One was my Runcible Records colleague Pete who I'm sure you remember...

You have listed the exact same first 3 Spiritualized gigs I saw too. But then I think we're sort of worked out that you were at almost every quality gig I attended at that time! Some incredible shows back then - Spiritualized and otherwise (Mercury Rev at Clapham Grand...? )

[spzretent]

(Mercury Rev at Clapham Grand...? )

I was there. Incredible!
And in Quad!