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May 4: Mark has pulled the plug on the remainder of the US tour (Tucson onwards), and the band is heading home. Very distressing - sorry all...

May 5: Ed Blaney is the Fall Broker (not manager); he says Mark will issue a statement later today. There was a brief hope that some of the California dates might be salvaged, but that hope has now been quashed.

May 6: The statement follows [fanfare]:

I'm sure the ticket holders will be happy now....

To save what's left of my inbox, it says:

"The Group / New
York Agency
+ Tour
Manager
are too
lazy to
play.
50% refund
to all ticket
holders. M.E. Smith"

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The Fall (were scheduled to) play ...

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Claus Castenskiold is selling signed copies of this PBL poster (30" x 24" on thick, glossy paper). Each signed poster is $20 plus $5 shipping for the USA and $20 plus $10 certified mail for the rest of the world. Posters will be shipped in sturdy tubes. You can order via Paypal using Claus's email address: clauscastenskiold@yahoo.com. Feel free to write to him with any questions as well. He promises to ship the posters the next business day after your Paypal order has been verified. He'll be offering the poster at a fixed price on Ebay presently.

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Conway:

Tracklisting
1. Theme from Sparta FC #2
2. My Ex-Classmates' Kids (live Cologne 2001) - 23 October 2001 Kantine, Cologne to be precise
+ on CD single:
3. Theme from Sparta FC video - mpeg file 352x288 pixels 103MB (uses original Sparta FC audio mix)

Sparta #2 is rerecorded at a much pacier tempo with the guitar line way up front and no audible keyboards. More backing vocals than previous versions, especially from Eleni (nice photo on the cover!). This will especially appeal to fans of the Peel session version.

Track 2 - well, what can I safely say.... an extremely disappointing selection. But safer than the potentially defamatory Portugal/Debacle track.

Video - fabulous, absolutely superb. Buy it just for this. I defy anyone not to like it! Gordon has agreed to a 30-second preview being made available - it's now on Steven Bending's site.

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The Fall are on the BBC 6FM Dream Ticket this Wednesday (May 19) - I believe it'll be yet another repeat of the Manchester Roadhouse 1995 gig.

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The Narnack site suggests that the Fall will return to the USA in June to play the cancelled California dates. I've now heard from the Fall Broker, who says he's working on booking gigs in New York and Los Angeles (2 gigs in LA during the first week of June). More info as soon as I receive it.

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The Woog Riots website is accepting orders for the Perverted By Mark E. Fall tribute - 15 euros plus postage, and well worth the money. Action Records is selling the import now, but if you want to wait until late June the set will be in the shops in the UK, courtesy Shellshock Distribution.

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Impact Merchandising are now selling the Fall T-shirts and badges that were available at the early dates of the US tour.

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From the May 7-13 LA Weekly:

We Are The Fall by Brendan Mullen

He’s lost count. There’ve been around 30 different lineups of his band, the Fall. His discography includes some 30 studio albums, 50 singles, 50 live and compilation albums. (He once accidentally made it onto the British pop charts.) He can’t remember the number of times he’s played L.A. over the past 25 years.

Before there was an Ian Brown or a Liam Gallagher, Mark E. Smith was “Northern white crap that talks back.” He’s fought, fussed and cussed his way around the Western world several times, all the while cranking out astounding amounts of narrative poetry set to dense guitars and drum-driven semi-improv jams. Proving quite jolly, with a surprisingly infectious laugh, the first poet laureate of underground Manchester (the Fall predates both Joy Division and the Smiths) spared a fellow Northerner a few minutes from a hotel back East as he started his latest U.S. tour.

L.A. WEEKLY: Okay, first things first. Which side are you on? Red or blue?

MARK E. SMITH: I’m for Man City, me. [That’s blue.]

The beautiful underdog. What’s the most painful thing you can think of that you’d like to do to Man United? [Smith bursts out laughing.] I’ve heard City fans saying, “Make ’em die slowly and painfully.”

That’s what they’re like, yeah. I dunno, inside the stadium it’s gone all middle-class since I was a lad.

All the hooligans have gone.

That’s why I don’t go anymore.

Mike Watt and the late D. Boon of the Minutemen — two of your biggest fans — used to torture me at Fall gigs in L.A. during the early ’80s with these relentless interrogations. “What does this mean, what does that mean? This Manchester accent — we can’t make out a fucking word he’s saying!”

Really? So what did ya say?

They’d zero in on some reference you’d made about the Peterloo Massacre, and I’m trying to explain what it meant to the working classes after the Industrial Rev...

Oh, man . . . you didn’t . . .?

Did I read into it something that just wasn’t there?

That’s the biggest common misconception about me — that I’m some kind of working-class hero.

“The North Will Rise Again” — that wasn’t political, about angry prole uprisings?

That was a long time ago . . . [He laughs.]

Was 24 Hour Party People a good film about the Manchester scene, or a Tony Wilson “wank” — his word?

Well . . . it’s okay. Tony’s not a bad lad, really . . . you know, I was in it for about 10 secs.

Why didn’t you have a bigger role, you being the elder statesman of “post-punk” Manchester?

I originally had about 50 lines. By the time I read the script and cut it all up . . . [laughs] . . . I sort of edited meself out of the film. The first script ’ad me kickin’ somebody’s ’ead in at the ’acienda and all this exaggerated shit . . . so it just ended up with me going [menacingly polite], “Hello, Tony!”

Did you get into brawls at the Hacienda when all the E-ravers were getting into born-again ’60s peace-and-love vibes?

Are you kidding? Me? Never! [He laughs.]

Did you go to the Pistols gig at Manchester’s Free Trade Hall in ’76?

Yeah, I went to the first one. They say you can fill Old Trafford [Park] with wankers who said they went . . . I only went because I’d heard that one of the groups — I think it was the Pistols — might be doing some ’60s L.A. cover versions, y’know . . . [laughter] . . . of garage groups like the Seeds.

You’ve been called “the grumpiest man in pop” by the British rock press. Your own Web site refers to you as “the miserable old git.”

Well, you know, there’s nowt more miserable than being on the Internet all the fookin’ time.

Do you sometimes get cranky on the road?

Very much, yeah. But don’t worry, generally speaking, I’m a lamb . . . a luvly easygoin’ pushover of a fella. Everybody should come down and see me band, we’re great live. I have to get going now. See ya.

The Fall play Spaceland on Friday, May 7, and the Echo on Friday, May 14, and Saturday, May 15. Mark E. Smith reads at Tangier on Thursday, May 13.

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Preview by Gene Armstrong of the May 5 Tucson show from the Tucson Weekly (April 29, 2004)

Nostalgic Vitriol

Mark E. Smith and the latest group of musicians known as The Fall keep rockin' past the usual expiration date

How many bands born in the crucible that was the 1970s English punk/post-punk rock scene are still playing and making relevant music today? Barring those who indulge in shameless reunions, there's pretty much only The Fall, which formed almost 30 years ago in Manchester.

Part of the reason The Fall has remained a viable, working entity all that time is that it long ago ceased being a democratic band and simply became a collection of side musicians supporting the irascible, sardonic genius of singer-songwriter and perpetually inebriated philosopher Mark E. Smith.

Smith will bring his glass-shards music and verbal vitriol to Tucson to play a gig at Plush Wednesday, May 5. The droning psychedelic Northern California band Low Flying Owls will open the show, marking its third Tucson performance this year.

The Fall was one of the few original and truly creative forces to emerge from that time and place, along with acts such as The Clash, Joy Division, Buzzcocks and Public Image Ltd. It once consisted of a real band, with petty squabbles and shared decision-making and attempts to twine divergent concerns into a unified voice.

During its formative years (the band started in 1976), The Fall played what was described by critics as "ramshacklebilly," an aggressive form of pub rock built from a rickety combination of art-school angles, yowling vocal tirades, a DIY punk spirit and a gravel-spitting guitar sound based on Smith's almost-religious dedication to Link Wray.

Smith's sardonic snarl seemed to communicate ennui and enervation at the same time. His performance style was one of intellectual self-abasement, no doubt a product of the same Catholic upbringing that likely inspired the band's name lo those many years ago.

With the 1983 addition of Smith's then-wife Brix Smith on keyboards, illusion of an all-for-one, one-for-all band began to fade. For all intents and purposes, it became the Mark E. Smith Show, and it worked. You don't see great movies directed by five equal members; likewise, The Fall succeeded beyond the usual band expiration date because it was ruled by a benevolent dictator. Smith maintained the band after his marriage's breakup and runs it to this day, stocking it with a rotating lineup of earnest, uninhibited musicians 20 years his junior. According to The Fall's official Web site, it has featured more than 30 separate lineups.

Regularly has Smith released albums, from the 1979 classic Live at the Witch Trials through '80s collaborations with Brix such as This Nation's Saving Grace, The Frenz Experiment and I Am Curious, Oranj; from semi-forgettable experiments in dance music in the early '90s to the rejuvenated primordial rock fury of 1996's The Light User Syndrome and 1999's The Marshall Suite. Word has it that the 2000 album The Unutterable is worthy, and the same is said of The Real New Fall LP, released this past October. Even for the hardiest of Fall fans, though, it's tough to keep up with Smith's output, which includes the 1998 solo record The Post Nearly Man , a mostly spoken-word collection of short stories, lyrics, poetry, keyboard and sound effects.

In all, Smith and Co. have recorded more than 25 studio albums, as well as a couple dozen live records and "best-of" compilations.

The Fall's most recent release is probably the two-CD compilation Rebellious Jukebox, one of many so-called retrospective collections. Due to complicated limitations on the rights to Fall songs, it doesn't adequately cover the band's entire career. It has great tunes such as "Hip Priest," "Muzoweri's Daughter," "Who Makes the Nazis?" and the memorable title track, but those are available on other collections.

Rebellious Jukebox, though, is useful for the extra 43-minute DVD that contains a 2002 interview with Smith.

In the digital flesh, Smith comes off as a weary, aging proletariat artist in his typical costume of rumpled dress shirt and pleated pants, sipping from an ever-present pint with pinky finger extended, as if at afternoon tea, igniting a seemingly constant stream of Marlboros and laughing at his own, mostly unintelligible, jokes.

The carved-by-wind facial features hint at the boyish good looks Smith once possessed, the same way we used to be able to see the 1950s beauty of Chet Baker beneath the leathery hide he developed late in life during the '80s. With his shock of reddish-blonde hair, watery blue-green eyes, a mouth like a slash across the neck and a pale complexion ruddied up by too many nights in the pub, Mark E. Smith is the epitome of wasted cool--the post-modern cynic, cast out of paradise, and not simply wiser but wary.

In the DVD interview, Smith mumbles through a thick Mancunian accent, showing very little of the antagonism and irascibility for which he is known. Smith says he never listened to popular music until he was 14 or 15 years old, having grown up in a strict religious family with parents who played military marches on the hi-fi. When he discovered rock 'n' roll, his first purchase was the single "Paranoid" by Black Sabbath.

He says he always has disavowed politics, poetry and chart ambitions, saying the goal of The Fall from the beginning was to be "something like, you know, a good-looking group that played alternative, intelligent music."

He shrugs off comparisons to other seminal punk rock bands. "It was like there was punk, and then there was like new wave. We were just separate from all that. We just went our own way.

"I think that's one good thing about The Fall, is that there's no great influence there. One thing that irritates me about music is you can really tell what they've pinched from. I mean, everybody steals, in music, so I find very much that I have heard this all before."

Smith knows full well that many people who listen to his music in the 21st century do so for purely nostalgic reasons, according to the Rebellious Jukebox interview. Which rather explains how Smith's songs are showing up in TV commercials and on BBC sports broadcasts. Or at least that's his theory.

"All the people who were into that shit in them days became people of power. As you can tell, right? Any program you watch plays Smiths' songs, it's what they liked in the '80s. It's like some fellows can't grow up," he said.

Smith continues to do what he does without heed to what other people think, without knowledge of or care for musical trends, he says.

"If you look at what people say about you, and what people think about you, and what's going on, I think function becomes pointless. I mean, it goes back to ... every three years you get somebody trying to be the Rolling Stones. Every three years, you get somebody trying to be the Beatles. And they feed this sort of generation that haven't heard it before. Or, which is worse, they're listening to the same music their mothers and fathers were listening to, which I find really frightening." The Fall with Low Flying Owls
9 p.m., Wednesday, May 5
plush, 340 E. Sixth St.
$11 advance, $13 at the door
798-1302

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Narnack has added details about the US release of TRNFLPFCOTC (retitled TRNFAFCOTC, according to the cover) to their website. It's scheduled for release on June 15.

Track Listing: Green Eyed Locoman Mountain Energy Sparta 2 Contraflow Last Commands Janet vs Johnny Boxoctosis The Past (Alternative Version)* Mad Mock Goth (Shorter)** Protein Protection Mike's Love Hexagon Houston Portugal Tour** Recovery Kit 2 (Alternative Version)* * Alternate mix of a previously released track ** Previously unreleased track [track listing is from their site - I didn't fix any errors]

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Please help save the Witchwood in Ashton-u-Lyne, Greater Manchester.

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Martin:

Peel has just started played the Jeffrey Lewis "Story of the Fall" track from the covers compilation [Perverted by Mark E. - see last issue for details] and says he intends to play a lot more tracks in forthcoming shows. There could be some demand for copies!

Speaking of the Fall tribute, The Creeping Nobodies played a tiny gig in the dank basement of a house in Brighton, Massachusetts last Saturday night (April 24). It was great to finally meet Derek Westerholm, singer/guitarist/Fallnetter and the rest of the band, who played an inspired set. Jon and my requests for Wings went unheeded, although the terrific drummer and bassist played an instrumental Jawbone and the Air Rifle while one of the band members fixed a broken guitar string. A great night out.

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The first part of the US tour is covered at length in the previous Fall News.

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April 24 - Metro, Chicago, IL

James:

I love this band. I hated this show. It's 4:30a.m. and we just got home. With an 11:30p.m. start time, this was not unexpected. Nevermind they made us wait forever before taking the stage (I swear we heard most of "Panzer" before the lights went down) but fuck it, I can deal with that. But it was obvious from their expressions that whatever went on backstage to cause the delay had not set well. Okay, so give us some fireworks, let the emotional debris hit the fan .... but no such luck. We were to be "treated" to The Fall by numbers. But that was not the worst of it. The sound mix was atrocious. What was the setlist? Who the hell knows! It was a wall of noise. It could have been a Fall tribute band up there. The set was short. No surprise there. We left. There may have been an encore, but it no longer mattered. MES and company have rarely been sighted in the midwest of late, which made tonight a bitterly disappointing outing. I was all set to take in tomorrow night's MES reading at the Empty Bottle and head to St. Louis for Monday's show. Forget it. I'll stay home and watch the rain fall.

Steve:

Here is my review of the band in Chicago.

Three of us drove from Winnipeg, Manitoba Canada to see The Fall in Chicago. On our way we passed through Minneapolis to pick our friend.

We all are long-time Fall fans ( I started with Live at the Witch Trials and have never looked back) and for two us it was our second time and for the other two, the first time. We ended spending only 15 hours in Chicago and the trip took 15 hours to drive each way. The drive was 900 miles one way and worth every mile. 620 Fall songs on my iPod also helped pass the time.

Yes, the show started really late. I liked the Ponys much more than Shesus, who bored me, and I was impatient for The Fall to start. The Band was in top form. As mentioned, the bass player is quite good and compared to last year, I was able to hear the keyboards. Ben and the drummer were very good as well.

MES graduated to three microphones and was using them all to his advantage. He twiddled with Ben's dials, who promptly reset them and dropped one of the microphones in the bass drum a couple of songs after he had pulled the bass drum microphone out. He might have a broken leg, but his vitriolic vocals were as sharp as I ever heard them. If you've never seen MES live, it is quite powerful, Highlights for me were Contraflow, Boxtosis, and Mountain. I even liked Middle Mass, although it was almost unrecognizable. The club was cool, but almost nobody danced compared to last year in Minneapolis and dancing was actively discouraged due to "New Insurance regulations".

Most of the first encore was sung off stage, but Mark did come out for the last part of the second encore.

After the show, I raced downstairs and convinced one of the roadies to take my Rowche Rumble / In My Area single (which I had carried in my pocket the whole night) to get autographed by Mark. I actually had brought two others (Fiery Jack / 2nd Dark Age / Psykick Dancehall 2 and How I Wrote 'Elastic Man' / City Hobgoblins), but was forced to choose only one. Ben also signed it as I saw him do it. A little later we went down to the dance club and my friend saw Ben and we stopped him and chatted with him for about 15 minutes. He was very approachable and it was quite interesting. He told us that this was the latest show they had ever played and were quite tired as they had left from Detroit at 9.00 AM saturday morning. He told me that he had known Mark since he was a boy, but never listened to The Fall until he joined the band. I asked him if he liked the music he was playing and he said that it was the best part of the gig. That he and the other band members had a lot of creative input into the music. Sometimes they could write most of the songs and then turn it over to Mark who would write the lyrics. However, he essentially he said that it wasn't a Fall song until Mark had touched it. He did say that sometime Mark would come up with a riff and say to the band , "It goes like this duh, duh duh. Duh-duh-duh" or something like it. Ben also commented on the fact that he has been in the band for four years and if I knew the history of the band...that was a very long time.

We asked if they were going to play Canada and he said that everyone thought that they had skipped Canada last year because of the SARS scare which wasn't true. The truth was that the Canadian government was charging too much for the visas and they would have lost money coming. The main reason they were touring the US now without the new album being released yet was that the visas were for one year and they wanted to come back before they expired. He did expect the album to be out domestically in the US in a couple of weeks. It was great to get an insight into MES and a little of how the creative works between Mark and the band.

All in all, it was fantastic and in addition to my memories, I now have an autographed single and a Lie Dream of Casino soul t-shirt to boot.

Long live MES!

Zack:

setlist, not in exact order:

Boxoctosis / Mr. Bloe > Green Eyed Loco Man / Protein Protection / Mere / Pseud Mag Ed / Sparta FC / I Can Hear The Grass Grow / Janet, Johnny + James / Mountain Energei / 15 Ways / Mod Mock Goth / Mr. Pharmacist / Contraflow // Middle Mass / White Lightning (sung by MES and Cuz'n Roy) / Dr. Bucks' Letter (sung by MES, Cuz'n Roy, and fans)

tapes-
intro: Recovery Kit 2, then the first several minutes of PPP
pre-encore: Loop 41

"Not used to playing above eye level-ah," Mark commented early in the set, and made a valiant effort to compensate for the impersonal design of the Metro (high stage, crowd barrier, drum riser, etc.) by spending a great deal more of the show standing on his own two feet than he did the night before. Other than that, and the addition of two "oldies" to the setlist, the Detroit and Chicago shows were almost identical. ("Mere Pseud" was crap; they played it too fast and Mark sang without any regard for where the band was in the song. "Middle Mass" was great though! Mark sang almost all of the original lyrics!)

I know by now that the 21st century Fall are fairly consistent and don't mix things up too much from night to night, so I chose to mix things up for myself by standing in front of the right side of the stage for a change, and studied the musicians a bit more closely than before. Elenor's keyboards were audible for the first time ever, and she actually did some really cool stuff with them, especially on "Protein" -- the version that they're playing on this tour is actually sort of a mash-up of "Protein Protection" and "Protein Christmas", with lyrics from "The Past" and that "over the long, long, long, long days" lyric thrown in for good measure. It would have been absolutely godlike, too, were it not for the horribly compromised bassline. "Sparta" was similarly dumbed-down as well. Come back, Dingo!

I really like this drummer Dave. I'll not hear a word against him. Any other drummer would abuse the kick drum during the chorus of "Green Eyed" in addition to the toms, but Dave exercises admirable restrainst and leaves plenty of room for the other musicians to be heard. Likewise, I'm not certain he used the kick drum at all during "Mountain Energei"; it's all toms and snare. Less is more! Plus, it makes it possible for Dave to handle the lion's share of backing vocals.

This review is turning into a fucking book! I think that's enough for now.

Graw:

Yes I know it's over a week late but I'll plead academia and a side-trip to the minneapolis EN show which I'll reveiew next. Anyway, in the words of some whiny brit popular band - knives out...

The Fall/Shesus/The Ponys - Chicago Metro, April 24th.

It was a dark and stormy night.. Well it was and having to hang around for an extra 3/4 hour so in the ran after the doors were supposed to open didnt help enhance the mood either. This was a late show, the venue having held an earlier all-ages punk show so there was no leisurely setting up of gear for the band. As we arrived, you could hear strains of Sparta FC and green-eyed loco man wafting from the venue. Alas, things were running late and it was about 45 minutes after the scheduled doors time that we were finally allowed in from the rain. The vibe outside was odd, several people waiting in line seemed to have no idea who the Fall were, I guess that one of the two openers must have had a devoted following...

Anyway, inside and crusty old bastard that I am, I elect for a seat upstairs overlooking the stage. Earlier that day, during the usual pilgrimage to Reckless records, I had heard Shesus doing an in-store and not paid too much attention to them. It was only at the end of their set that they announed who they were and that they were playing tonight and what I had heard then combined with the precedent from the last tour of having TV on the Radio open did not bode well in terms of opener quality. The first band up were The Pony's, a four piece alternating between either a 2 guitar sound or swapping 1 out for keyboards. To pull a Chase for a moment, the prevailing theme of the night would be each band had one "hot" member and their bassist was not sore on the eyes. The sound was in the sort of angular post-punk with some well written pop hooks in several of the tracks. In another recuring theme, the vocals were awful an in hindsight having picked up a copy of the bands CD, this was partially due to the awful venue sound. Musically, the potential came through and I found myself reminded in bits of acts like magazine and very much the Clean. Not horribly bad live and like the last tour's opener TV on the Radio, a hell of a lot better on CD though you don't get the bass-chick to ogle (damn, another Chase moment)

2nd band on the bill Shesus were just bad - even the cute guitarist could not redeem them. Sound was bit more shouty female punk, reminded me of stuff like the X-rays and such and didnt impress me at all. A lot of the trendeir mags in the last few years have touted a lot of bands, female fronted such as the Yeah Yeah Yeahs and the distillers and having not heard them, I have no idea if this band is part of that movement, Vocals were awful and most songs were simply the singer shouting over a run of the mill sound. The other major strike against them was the singers distracting habit of having to continually pull up here pants else they end up at ankles. If she had been a bit fit, this wouldn't have been a problem but she looked very much like gravity had been unkind to her. The band looked very young overall and very much gave the vibe of the high-school friends playing and somehow making it big. I doubt I'll ever muster the enthusiasm to give them another chance no matter how many times the record store clerk recommends them (cf TV on the Radio.

And then onto the main event - The fall. t the time, I thoght tghis a great show but the inevitable post-show analysis downgrades it to merely a good show =- It is of course the Fall, it's only my second gig of the year thanks to my Fargo exile and I guess at the time I was very much psyched for it having altered plans to lurk around the lower midwest a few extra days just to see this band.

The stage is set with his long white table and what matches descriptions of the MES throne from other gigs. Opening tape goes on too long and I still have heard no real reason to pick up Pander Panda whatever yet. Band except MES comes on and launches into Boxoctosis though it takes the song a few minutes after MES arrives to hit it's peak. The vibe of the show starts out sloppy and gets better as does the sound with the exception of the vocals - I guess the crew and band were hit hard by a very much shorter than usual set-up time. MES ambles on, no crutches but still not his usual spry gumby self. He takes his seat before as the band plays on before launching intothe lyrics - As a whole, the song losesa lot of ita power from the record as the band seem to only get the call and response down on the last chorus. A shame as this is one of my favourite tracks on the new album and people in my lab have only just connected the horrible shouty music to the fact that everytime we get a delivery, it's accompanied by Open the Box...

The set is heavy in Real New Fall... numbers. Given that it's still not out yet here, this would have left the audience cold but the majority of the crowd seemed to recognise none of the songs played with the sole exception of Mr Pharm which got the biggest cheer late in the set. After the first few numbers, the band wre tight and focussed although the vocal sound remained pretty awful. I know he'll never win any awards for singing but even for a Fall show, this was bad. Some highlight included the MOve cover I can hear the grass grow - very much better than I expected, Grooving w/ Mr Bloe led into Green Eyed loco and Sparta FC remains one of the best new numbers.

In terms of knobfucking not too much and most of it on drums and guitars - the bassdrum mic was pulled out a few times and one of MES's mics dropped in the drum at other times. Compared to the last tour, Ben seemes to have developed a healthy paranoia in terms of constantly looking over his shoulderespecially during solos just in case. New bass player was good, I liked Dingo last time as he just looked the part more than anything else, the new guy is tight but innocuous. As was mentioned elsewhere, the encores were sung primarily off stage with MES coming back just at the close of the songs. The last song, Dr Buck's letter was one of the strongest tracks of the night and then it was over. The played probably about an hour all in, I can dig up a setlist at some point if people arec really anally interested but it's pretty much the same as the rest of the tour.

As I said earlier, a good show but in hindsight not great. The venue was not packed, bigger than most of the rest of the tour at 1,200 capacity it seemed maybe 3/4 full which is good but mutterings afterward make me doubt they'll play this scale next time. No stalking of band members, just picked up a couple of shirts - Lie Dream and Dragnet then back to the hotel.

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April 26 - Creepy Crawl, St. Louis, MO

Thanks to Mike B. for the poster (this is the poster available on the tour for a dollar).

A preview of the show by Randall Roberts of the Riverfront Times:

You could always dance to The Fall, always bang your head and shake your ass as one, always shout along to the choruses, some of which were as simply beautiful as a man and a woman screaming, "C-R-E-E-P" into the microphone over and over again as two or sometimes three guitars wound barbed wire around vocalist Mark E. Smith.

Springing from the same late-'70s Manchester scene that sproinged Joy Division, the Fall is one of the great post-punk bands -- if not the greatest -- a rolling mess of guitarists, bassists and drummers who swarm around the king bee, one Mark E. Smith. In his prime Smith was as grim as Ian Curtis, but instead of killing himself, he's devoted his life to wallowing and roaring about how fucked up life is. As the Fall's founder and only consistent member, he has been making records nonstop -- about 30 studio recordings and a handful of live records -- for 25 years, each as messy and abrasive and thrilling as the last. The template: lots of guitars, one of which is usually scribbling some sort of melody around a dancy drum beat; a monotonous bass line; and Smith's flat, conversational ranting.

Smith took the British punk movement's philosophy -- here are three chords; run with it -- and juggled it all up until the three had morphed into a dozen really fucked-up quasi-chords. The result: crooked melodies that are immediately hummable but never saccharine. Sonic Youth's Evol , Sister and Daydream Nation owe a hefty debt -- and they're the first to admit it -- and it's safe to say that Pavement's Slanted and Enchanted would never have arrived without the Fall's sensibility. So many bands swiped riffs and ideas from the Fall that Smith should be enjoying quiet days at a retirement pub somewhere. You can hear the Fall in Sleater-Kinney, the Rapture and the Faint, and the band's quintessential records from the mid-'80s -- This Nation's Saving Grace, The Wonderful and Frightening World of the Fall and Bend Sinister -- are ripe for legacy reissues (if only Smith would get his shit together). They're uncompromising, odd and stunning, almost as stunning as the fact that, 25 years after its inception, the Fall is finally playing St. Louis, and at the Creepy Crawl no less. Don't miss this show.

Mike B:

Here is the set list from st. louis (one song I could not figure out)

First "set"

The Past #2 / Protein Protection / Middle Mass / Green Eyed Loco Man / Theme From Sparta F.C. / Open The Boxtosis #2 / Janet Johnny & James / ??? (very uptempo rocker) / Mountain Energi

second "set" unknown jam with guest vocalist [Cuz'n Roy] / Mr. Pharmacist

this was one of the weirdest shows I have ever attended. Drove up and back from Memphis for this; about 4 hours each way, immediately before and after the show; around 500 miles total in around 12 hours with the show in-between! The web site for the club claimed that weekday shows ended by 11pm; but with three (!) support acts I approached the situation warily. They were all ok I guess, the last finishing up around 11:05pm; then the waiting began.

The club is like a lot of others I've been in; "modeled" after CBGB; black walls, cramped, tiny stage, remote restrooms. While we were waiting, I guess the cd of This Nations Saving Grace was playing over the sound system. I say cd because period era tracks like "Couldn't Get Ahead"; "Rollin' Dany"; and "Petty Thief Lout" were included. An okay way to pass the time, but I've seldom ever heard a headlining act's music being played before the headliner appears live, but what the heck.

For 45 minutes after this there is sporadic activity on the stage as equipment is removed, leaving only the microphones in place; and eventually a red drum kit, which was already assembled and at the rear of the stage is put into place. Then a small keyboard set is placed stage left, with bass gear almost directly behind. Guitar is stage right. A table and armchair are placed at center stage, the chair being reminiscent of the kind MES is sitting in on the cover of the "Users Guide to The Fall" book. But then shortly after that the chair and table are removed, and in their place are a barstool and a taller, smaller table accompanying it.

Around 11:50pm there is action by the rear door which we can see from the stage, and the band members are ushered into the dressing room; MES going in last, and on his feet walking. I'd known about him breaking his hip and doing recent shows in a wheelchair, and it's good to see he's healing. At about 12:05am the band members take the stage. From seeing some of the previous acts I know the stage is quite dark. There are several spotlights with colored gels on them but they are curiously all pointed everywhere but on the stage itself. There are two regular light fixtures directly over the stage with those pointy, long lasting light bulbs in them that were on, but the previous band's singer asked that they be turned off and they were, and they stayed off the rest of the night, reducing visibility severely.

So the band start playing "The Past #2" and sounding real good. MES is helped up the rear steps of the stage and walks slowly to the front around the drummer, getting a big hand from the crowd, which was nice. He had a manila folder and several loose sheets with him. It is hard to see him as there is no direct light on the band but I am very close to the front so it isn't a problem for me. In front of Mark there is one microphone on a stand, and one laying on the table, with the barstool behind him. Great song, crisp performance, nice hand at the end. They go into next number, "Protein Protection". Another solid performance. Mark is alternating microphones, having slight problem with one of them. Third track it took me a minute to recognize as "Middle Mass", from the classic Slates EP. Nice to hear, but the keyboard is too loud and intrusive. Luckily it was so only for this number. There was no sound check of any kind I don't think, so this being the only real glaring mix problem is fortunate.

Band seems to have better luck with newer material, but I guess it's natural that the more familiar material is to you the better you will perform. Also, set list followed pattern of last time I saw The Fall in NYC in 1989 [1988, I believe - pedantic ed], which was mostly new material with a chestnut or two thrown in (in that case it was "Pay Your Rates"). Next up was "Green Eyed Loco-Man", solid performance, but more vocal mike problems, and after giving up on one, MES stays with second microphone. During "Theme From Sparta F.C." Mark starts fiddling with guitar players' amplifier (which was directly behind him stage right, lucky there wasn't more feedback!), twisting knobs and then shutting it off. The guitar player would then realize this, and turn around to reset it. This happened several times. MES also messed with the bass player a little too.

"Open The Boxtosis #2" was next up. Another nice performance musically, but unfortunately MES's second microphone is cutting out, and toward the end of the song he throws it down on the ground back by the drummer, turns around and motions to the guitar player to give him his mike. Next up was "Janet Johnny & James", again a very good performance; unfortunately towards the end of the song the new mike starts to cut out, but only a little bit.

Next up was a song I didn't recognize so maybe it is new. It was very uptempo and quite enjoyable; about four minutes long. Maybe it will be on next studio LP? After this song comes "Mountain Energi". About halfway through the song MES mike cuts out again and already agitated, he appears to have had enough and quits singing, and instead assists the drummer with percussion by using the microphone to smash one of the crash cymbals over and over. An interesting picture; wish I'd remembered my camera! At any rate, the song kind of fizzles to an end. MES then announces that the band was taking a 10 minute break to 'get the fucking equipment right'. So, he is helped off stage and the band members file out.

Guitar and bass player do not go back to dressing room. Microphones are plugged in and set back in place but it doesn't seem as if anyone is testing them out. Ten or so minutes go by. I am standing at the rear of the stage; the band members minus MES assume their places and start playing some song I am not sure what. Just a rocking jam perhaps; but one of the people the band has with them a large gentleman with a red beard [Cuz'n Roy - ed], climbs on the stage. He has the papers and folders MES was holding up to now. Figured he was just setting them up there, but instead grabs one of the microphones and starts screaming into it. It seems he was screaming some of the lyrics or whatever was written on one of the sheets of paper. Very strange! This jam goes on for several minutes and is kind of cool. After that; I watch MES come out and get lifted up the stairs back onto the stage; so I move back around to the front to see what happens next! After a minute or two he screams "MR. PHARMACIST!" and the band start in behind him. Got a good reaction from the crowd, but after a few lines the microphone starts cutting in and out. Uh-oh. MES changed one of the lines mid-song to "Mr. Pharmacist, give me some microphones that work!" band finished the song, MES disgustedly left stage again, and that was that. End time of show - 12:43am. A unique experience to say the least. mike b. memphis, tn

p.s.- there were no posters or any other Fall related items for sale. I asked and received permission to take the poster I scanned and sent in after removing about ten staples! Keep up the good work on this web site!

Tim (from this web page):

We caught half of one of the opening bands, Low Flying Owls. They were good, sort of smashing pumpkins meet doors kind of thing. I guess. The venue is a pretty small and crappy bar downtown. I suppose somewhat too small, it was hot and crowded and annoying. When The Fall first came out they were doing fairly well. I might say that the band was tight as hell. But there was something wrong. First it sounded like the sound was a bit fucked up. Who knows who was running the soundboard but who ever it was wasn't able to fix the shit when they should have. Then Mark E. Smith seemed to be having a little fit with the guitarist, turning his amp off a few times in the middle of the songs. I am not sure why, it seemed ok to me... anyway, another problem they seemed to be having was that Mark E. Smith was either really sick or really drunk, I have no idea, but the man couldn't even walk up steps by himself. People had to lift him up onto the stage. They played around 5 or 6 songs and took a break. When they came back a roadie (?) sang a song for them. Then Mark came back out. He finished about half a song and left again. The band continued to play for about 5 minutes. Then the drummer quit, threw his drumsticks onto the floor (pissed off like) and screamed "GOOD NIGHT!" I am not sure if they came back because I was tired and left.

Funny thing, I was taking a piss during the "intermission" and some guy told the story of why they were a bit late. Appears that the band wanted some "soulfood" of which saint louis is "famous" for and asked the guys where to go. The guys told them quite honestly that they probably shouldn't go looking for "soulfood" in Saint Louis at that late of an hour. So the Fall decided his advice was bunk and went anyway. They asked a black dude on the street where to go and he certainly gave them swell directions. He sent them about 20 miles back out toward lambert field (the airport). I can see it now, sort of replace Mark E. Smith and crew with the Chevy Chase and family in that one scene out of National Lampoons Vacation. No wonder they were pissed.

Anyway, I have a few fond memories, Don Perry screaming, "I can kick that English Grandpa's ass! Encore, you English pussy!"
And so on.

But don't get me wrong, I had a good time and they did sound pretty damn good through most of it.

Finally, the keyboardist for The Fall is possibly one of the most beautiful women I have ever seen. So, there is also some eye candy for those of you that like that kind of thing. I know I do.

And of course the update from MAC regarding possible MES behavior:

had some sorta accident. fell on ice or something. has a fucked up hip. in chicago he played in some wheely chair thing. then sang a couple songs from backstage! of course, he may have been drunk as well. but he did have a fucked up hip. i think he(they) have cancelled so many U.S dates in the recent past that he feels he's GOTTA play, hip or no.

HIP PRIEST!!!

___________________

April 28 - Mojo's, Columbia, MO - gig cancelled at last minute

Ben Pritchard (posted to the message board the evening of April 28)

Apologies on behalf of mark and the rest of the group but tonights gig in columbus [he means Columbia - ed] has been cancelled. A member of the group has serious food poisoning and needs medical attention leaving the show tonight an impossibility. Once again, apologies for all inconvenience.

___________________

April 29 - Creepy Crawl, Oklahoma City, OK - also cancelled

___________________

April 30 - Trees, Dallas, TX:

Thanks to Michael for the setlist and Rod for the ticket

Michael:

Set: Contraflow / Green Eyed / Middlemass / Sparta / Box / Grass Grow / Telephone / Mountain / Protein / Pharmacist / Mad Mock / Dr. Bucks

(one note up front: I don't have the Fall's last three albums, so this won't necessarily be the most informed review) This was my first Fall show. I drove 3 hours from Oklahoma, but that was a small inconvenience to see the best band on earth, especialy since the OKC show had been cancelled. I arrived at Tree's, where a crowd of teenagers were looking decidedly hip, and one of them tried to sell me a "Blonde Redhead" ticket. But inside, there was a clear reminder who the headliners were, the big Italian comic banner. I tried to pull out 3 semesters' worth of Italian classes to decipher it, but to little avail. I had come alone (as no one I know likes or cares enough about the band to make the trip), so as I scanned the club, I noticed some relatively out-of-place looking guys and figured they were there for the Fall. I met a guy from Shreveport, and we talked the Fall and music in general and made fun of the opening acts. I was rather misguidedly somewhat looking forward to BR, but they and the Secret Machines may as well have been playing droning indie-rock lullabies, as I had been awake since 6 that morning and spent much of their sets yawning. Just as well that I didn't expend my energy before the Fall, though. And besides, the high school kids seemed pleased. After they stopped, most of that crowd left and the void at the front of the stage was filled by middle-aged guys, people in Slayer t-shirts (worn irony-free!), and the distinguishedly unhip in general.

After the stage was set up, they closed the curtains and started playing spoken word over the PA. After some rustling behind the curtain, Ben's guitar started playing over the recording, which soon thereafter stopped. The curtains opened and the band, minus Mark, were into the opening of Contraflow, which was unusual, but magnificent, as the opener (maybe the part of the geography of the area had something to do with that). Mark came down the stairs onto the stage with some assistance to much applause and promptly sat down at his chair and table. I don't have any previous experiences to reference, but he seemed in fine form. After GELM, the band started the unmistakeable Middlemass, and I nearly died. It was an amazing version, with Mark singing the lyrics to a slightly different rhythm, which made it sound slower without actually changing the tempo. Eleanor acquitted herself nicely by switching from the Korg (which seemed to be there to add a more ambient noise to the mix) to the keyboard, and made her presence known for the first time that night (on the other hand, "if you do things right, no one will even be sure you've done anything at all," right?). I was impressed by the rest of the new material, recognizing titles by deciphering lyrics. Boxoctosis was a little weak, but I enjoyed shouting "open the goddamn box." I was particularly blown away by Protein, which I had never heard in any version previously. Otherwise, there was the funky Telephone Thing, and the stomping Mr. Pharmacist, which seemed to be the biggest crowd-pleaser, as there were some younger kids in the audience who probably only knew the Beggars stuff (as evidenced by baffling requests for Rollin' Danny and Ghost in my House shouted in between songs). At the end of Dr. Bucks, Mark left the stage while the band continued, and a roadie, presumably, a guy in a mesh trucker cap who had helped Mark down the stairs, started singing. Afterwards, the rest of the band left, and the spoken word tape came back on. The crowd cheered and clapped, and sure enough, the band (again, minus Mark), came back onstage and started playing a song I was unfamiliar with, which Mark sang from offstage until the end. They then went into White Lightning, where Eleanor once again called attention to her existence by yelling the title at the appropriate moments. The band left, and again the crowd called for more, and there was a second encore, which consisted of Big New Prinz and another unfamiliar one. Then Ben waved to the audience, and they left. The tape started playing again, which got my hopes up, but it faded away, and the roadie came out and handed a kid in the front row a sheet of paper, I'm assuming Mark's notes. I managed to jump onstage afterwards and grab a setlist (I'll send a scan asap). Actually, my sequence of events for the encores may be out of order, as I can't make up my mind whether BNP was part of the first or second.

Like I said, I was a first-timer, and I loved every second of it. I'm glad I got to make up for missing the Dallas show last year (which wasn't their finest hour, I hear). The only disappointment were the absences of Mere Pseud. and Damo, but Middlemass more than made up for it. There was much double-mic action and no knob-twiddling, but mark did throw one of the vocal mics into the bass drum, which changed it up a bit. Again, I don't have any live refernces, but this band was fantastic. The complaints I've read againstt the drummer seem completely baseless now; his minimal set up and economical playing were perfect for this material. Even Telephone Thing was strong. Hopefully, I'll get to see them in the future with material and a band this good, but as it is, I'm content knowing I got to see them at one of their many peaks.

Lee:

Yep, they must have gotten over the food poisoning; they made it to Dallas!

Here's the setlist:
intro tape was some untelligible spoken word stuff
Contraflow
Green Eyed Loco Man
Middle Mass
Sparta F.C.
Boxoctosis
I Can Hear the Grass Grow (title?)
Telephone Thing
Mountain Energei
Protein Protection
Mr. Pharmacist
- didn't recognize this one -
Dr. Buck's Letter (MES walks off, some other big guy comes on and finishes ranting - not bad, actually)

Encore 1:
Janet, Johnny and James
New Big Prinz
White Lightning

Encore 2:
Bourgeois Town

A guy I was talking to got to snag Mark's written list, which stopped at Dr. Buck.

I believe they started around 12:15 - I wasn't paying attention to the time as I was almost put to sleep by the two opening acts and long delay after the second one (Special Machines, Blonde Redhead). They finished at 1:20. It was a short (to me), but very good show - I drove three hours from Louisiana to see them and am very happy!

After Blonde Redhead finished, a ton of teeny-boppers left the club leaving a small but very enthusiastic crowd. The Fall were in fine form and all of them generally seemed to be enjoying themselves. After the first couple of tracks, MES actually did a little stage banter - not that I could understand much - something like, "Welcome to Trees. Where are the Trees, where are the Trees?" was all I caught. Later he admonished the crowd to hush during a spoken word tape segue between songs, but he did so in a good natured way.

Mark initially came out on crutches and sat at his table during most of the set, but got up and walked around a bit here and there, doing only a small amount of knob-twiddling. For each of the encores, he sang hidden offstage for a bit before coming back out. That large fella from Dr. Buck's Letter came out again and also some other skinny guy during one or two of the encore songs... they helped fill out New Big Prinz if I remember correctly.

My only disappointment was Boxoctosis, one of my favorite new tracks. The drummer only did a few "Open the goddamn box"'s, and the band just didn't seem to be as together on that one. All in all, though, it was a great show.

And dang, I didn't know Elini (sp?) was so cute!

___________________

May 1 - Emo's, Austin, TX:

Many thanks to Brandon for the photos and Rob for this piece from the April 30 Austin Chronicle.

Sean:

I have to keep this show report brief as I'm late for church...ah, screw it --- here goes:

1) Green Eyed Loco Man - the band played the intro for a very long time before MES walked out and sat at his table. The band was tight, although Elena's keyboards were out of tune with the guitars. This song, both recorded and live, suffers without the addition of background harmonies. I dislike most Fall covers because they tend to be of songs that are too melodic for MES to sing, therefore they end up sounding like bad karaoke. This song, however, narrowly makes the cut. [GELM is not a cover... ed.]

2) Middle Mass - AMAZING. The drummer barely used his kick drum for the first half of the song --- a trend that would continue for the remainder of the set, demonstrating some very tasteful minimalism. The middle section was totally hypnotic.

3) Sparta FC - excellent!

4) I Watched the Green Grass Grow - once again, another cover of a song that MES couldn't possibly sing if he tried. Until I paid attention to the words, I thought it sounded like a GBV song!

5) Boxoctosis - YES!!! I love this song, and Ben's guitar playing was much bluesier and florid than on either of the recorded versions.

6) Mountain Energei - once again, the drummer eschewed the usage of his kick drum. In a hilarious move, MES name-checked the show "Friends" in the lyrics.

6) Janet/Johnny/James - great, but punctuated by a series of loud and abrupt coughing noises from MES. I'm not sure if they were intentional or not.

8) Mod/Mock/Goth - GODLIKE. If you still needed proof that the Fall can do more than three notes than most bands can do with a whole scale, this was it. A masterpiece of repetition and slowly building tension, with the angriest and most animated vocal performance I've ever heard from MES.

9) Mr. Pharmacist - The band came in too late for the intro, but otherwise this rendition was good.

10) Dr. Bucks Letter - Decent rendition of the song, with the tour manager (as usual) stepping out to play air guitar on his broom...however, the song took on a whole 'nother level of RAWK when MES handed the mic *directly* to SEAN O'NEAL, WHO PROCEEDED TO DO THE ENTIRE SONG FROM SCRATCH BETTER THAN MES (to the band's visible shock). This section of the song was better than 60% of the rest of the set. O'Neal is now one of my rock heroes.

---

encore - White Lightning - MES sung this from off stage, which had a nice theatrical effect. It seemed as if the band wanted to play more, but one of the club employees told them that they had to stop.

Overall, it was a great (if brief) set. The band was in top form, and the new bassist did a fantastic job. I couldn't hear Elena's keyboards much, which may or may not be a good thing. It goes without saying, though, that she is FINE AS HELL. MES must have game like Parker Brothers to pull dames like that. He seemed in very good spirits, even smiling and making a joke or two in between songs. He fiddled with his microphones, as per usual, and futilely tried to adjust the kick drum mic (he could barely reach it from his chair, though). I think that's all I have to say about the show for now.

Rob:

I can't add much more to what you've already posted from Sean but Saturday's show in Austin was better than last year's, despite the fact that the band played a short set due to a late (1:10am) start.

They seemed much tighter than before, even with new bass player. Smith was focused throughout and did a great job on all songs, sitting through the set and rising only for 'Dr. Buck's Letter' at the end.

'Middle Mass' was indeed amazing, I thought I'd never live to see this played live. 'Walk Like a Man' is missing from Sean's setlist. 'White Lightning' was played very fast.

Whoever was handed the mic when Smith left at the end did an fantastic job singing the song while the band played on. This was indeed the highpoint of the whole set--I salute you, Sir!

'Lick My Decals Off Baby' by Captain Beefheart was played in its entirity before The Fall came on.

___________________

Steven Bending's wonderful The Fall Multimedia Project website has part two of Grant Showbiz's Falling Through Time and a preview of the Sparta FC promo video.

___________________

May 19, 2004

This is the latest news and gossip off FallNet for those with weak stomachs. If you have anything to say, you can mail Stefan, but you can't mail the FallNet mailing list direct anymore. To subscribe to FallNet, send mail to:
fallnet-subscribe@
yahoogroups.com.

27apr04 Daniel Trent Dickson, RIP, US tour, part 1 (NYC - Detroit), Perverted by Mark E, WFMU interview, Stomp and Stammer interview, Mojo MES picks, Franz Ferdinand, G/TT review
07apr04 Birmingham & Liverpool gigs, Steven Trafford - new bassist, J. Neo Marvin interview, Stewart Lee article, 39 Golden Greats, Perverted by Mark E. tribute, Great God Pan comic strip, misc. reviews, MES & Stevie
09mar04 UK gigs, Mark's fractured hip, Bridgewater Hall, Blackburn DVD, University Challenge, Fall fan film, Brix Smith - Fashion Junkie, Lovers UK gig schedule
10feb04 London gigs, loads of music press scans (mostly NME), I'm into CB cartoon, Smash Hits trading card, Michael Pollard photos, Cider with Roadies, Guardian int. w/ Ben, Pascal Le Gras exhibition, Blackburn DVD, Sanctuary update.
24dec03 lots of UK gig reviews, Birmingham Post MES interview, details on expanded LATWT and Dragnet CDs, recent NME Fall snippets.
24nov03 TRNFLPFCOTC reviews, HMV gig, Unpeeled interview (w/ Ben) details, Smash Hits '87, Michael Bracewell's most embarrasing moment (and Pseud's Corner finalist), Durutti Column vs. The Fall photo exhibition, Permanent Years / Rebellious Jukebox comp CDs, Fall badges, Reuben's Paintwork title page.
20oct03 Portugal, Manchester, Leeds gigs, book reviews, 1997 MES interview, new LP and single details.
19sep03 Uncut interview, book reviews, "No Place Like It" transcript, a few old press clippings, Bingo Master's 25th anniversary, War Against Intelligence cd, Bootleg Box Set review, book launch party, Masked and Anonymous, Jack magazine, The Lovers on tour, Johnny Cash
18aug03 Prindle int. w/Ben, Hip Priest reviews, Live at Phoenix cd, War Against Intelligence cd, Brix int. 1994, Lovers single, web-enabled MES filter
22jul03 US tour reports (second half: Cambridge Dallas), New Yorker cartoon, Simon Spencer RIP, "Idiot Joy Show," Words of Expectation review
01jul03 US tour reports (first leg, thru Cleveland), PBL dvd & User Guide reviews, Jim Watts interviews John French, 1999 MES int., Voiceprint clearance sale
19jun03 Canada, ATP cancelled, the fall uk, Fall books, Damo vs. USA, MCR's greatest frontman, Meltzer, Bad Man Wagon, Adult Net debacle, comp reviews, Brix '87int., MES '82 int., "Idiot Joy Show"
27may03 PBL/Leeds DVD reviews, Aarhus gig, great 1981 MES interview, Smiths Week, Woog Riots tribute, Sanctuary CDs, Rubber Banana Fall radio show
29apr03 ATP, PoSR review, Peel Session & Step Forward CDs, Made in the NW, Jeremy Vine show, bits
28mar03 Jim Watts sacked, Country on the Click details, Peel Session, Turkey gig, 85 & 88 gig photos, Luz's "The Joke" comic, Pascal LeGras new work, MES T-shirt, Fall on emusic, Fall Tattooing rip
24feb03 news about books, Mojo top 50, Claus Fall guitar, Beggars vids, Corsa ad link, 9feb83 + 88oct8 photos, '78 So It Goes clip, Hanley bros interview, several early music press scans, other bits
9jan03 Independent interview, Early Singles, Listening In, UK chart placing history, Razor Cuts, Pascal LeGras video, Record Collector, ring tones, Blue Orchids CDs, Peel's Fabriclive
4dec02 Electric Ballroom gig, Virgin Radio, Fall vs. 2003, MES death row picks, Conway's wallpaper
8nov02 PPP review and lyrics, Dave Harrop, Manchester Online soap opera
15oct02 UK gig reports, 1983 photos, Fall press kit
20sept02 loads of upcoming releases, jigsaws, Vauxhall advert, Mark Prindle int., couple of music press scans, Slates movie clip, Fall Tattooing
23aug02 singles box and Totally Wired reviews, Rocking Vicar, lots of old music press scans
3july02 2G+2 reviews, 6FM mp3, Bourgeois Blues, bits
13jun02 2G+2, Wire 25th anniversay piece, custom Fall gig, PDFs of four old articles
16may02 Blackburn, London, ATP gig reviews, BBC 6FM, Sydney 1990 int., French cartoon
19apr02 US tour cancelled, Mojo article, Select (June 91), bits & pieces
19mar02 Euro tour reviews, Record Collector interview., Wire review, new Fall discog., misc.
13feb02 comp results, Athens review, Bournemouth Runner, Pan
13jan02 Timekode, Pan, bad German translations, NME 2/25/89 interview
02jan02 album reviews, ancient Usenet refs
12dec01 MCR gig reviews, album reviews, Pan
28nov01 mammoth US tour edition
13nov01 first batch of AYAMW reviews, London Forum gig reports
5nov01 Euro gig reports, Knitting Factory Knotes interview
19oct01 UK gig reports, studybees interview
30sep01 tour / booking details, 1979 fanzine interview
9sep01 not much
28aug01 Flitwick single, 82/83 gig pics
27jun01 Faustus
31may01 Dublin pics, Cash for Questions, Guardian interview
29apr01 IR, UK gig reviews
9apr01 NL gig reviews
3mar01 Dublin gig, Invisible Jukebox
28jan01 World Bewitched details
1jan01 some ace Castlefield pics
19dec00 more reviews
1dec00 tour reviews, crap interviews
10nov00 Unutterable reviews
21oct00 Stanza festival, HighSmith Teeth, comedy dogs
11oct00 RFH reviews, new Cog Sinister releases
12sep00 DOSE interview, Fall calendar
22aug00 Portugal, Manchester gigs 
9aug00 bits & pieces
23jul00 Psykick Dance Hall, Pure As Oranj details, Triple Gang reviews
9jul00 few bits
20jun00 Ashton, Hull, Middlesbrough, Glasgow, Edinburgh reviews, old Volume piece
30may00 LA2 reviews
22may00 few old LP reviews
2may00 bits & pieces
24apr00 TBLY #19 details, Prop details
8apr00 more Leeds reviews. WSC interview, other interview snippets
26mar00 Doncaster, York, Leeds reviews, BravEar interview (plus others)
14mar00 various reviews, old Liz Kershaw i/view
24feb00 Past Gone Mad details
13feb00 few bits & pieces
30jan00 tour details, Tommy Blake stuff
20jan00 TBLY #18 details, Hanley in Mojo
10jan00 Dragnet doylum, New Year message, etc

older news: Nov 1997 - Dec 1999