Pay-TV
in Hamburg, Downtown Bluesclub
supporting Lee Rocker
And again I'm entering a whole new world. It starts right in the morning when I look outside, see the grey sky and the first SNOW! But until the evening it's gone again. The Bluesclub is full of people wearing leather jackets and quiffs. So today you can't recognize Joe and James as easy as normal because nearly every man is wearing this hairstyle. But in their hearts all these Rockabillies are teenage girls. I will explain that later.
It's quite clear that I'm nearly the only person who really wants to hear Pay-TV. Some mention: "Perhaps they could change the plan? Let Lee Rocker play first and then Pay-TV." Well, in the afternoon I had decided not to write a report but suddenly I change my mind. So I find my special way to write down the setlist. The sound is less brilliant than during other gigs but I really love the thundering bass drum and dare to sing along for a few minutes. The faces around me make me stop it because I don't want to attract too much attention. But you can feel the crowd thinking: "Watch this stupid girl, she LIKES that shit!" Even though Pay-TV play just six songs, Jamie nearly needs his whole equipment and all three show great performances. Unfortunately hardly anyone is interested in that, some of the Lee Rocker fans even start to shout: "Ihr seid Sch****!" But Joe, James and Wolff all put a good face on the matter and carry on. To take a nice picture of Joe is quite difficult from my point of view because either you've got some heads in it you don't want to have or he's moving around all the time. He never stays at Jamie's side of the stage long enough for a good shot. So I manage to take lots of unfocused photographs, but with a flash they all look like taken through fog.
When the Roadies bring in Lee Rocker's sparkling double bass, the audience suddenly pays more attention to what's happening on stage. Well, that won't become my favourite band. Okay, Lee himself is a really brilliant slap bass player and the guitarists are good, too. They often play their melodies in perfect unison and the guitarist who's not playing a Gretsch plays some really nice solos using a bottleneck. The drummer also isn't bad, but I don't watch that much what he's doing behind his borrowed drum set. The cymbals sound rather cheap and much to gentle for what's happening in front of them. Last time I heard people shouting "F***!" that much it ended in a brawl, this time it's part of Lee Rocker's presentation. So I try out some features of my camera and take pictures of the bass in different coloured lights. I even find myself thinking: "What would this song sound like when Joe sings it?" The conclusion: In my opinion it would sound better... Luckily it's not forbidden to watch a gig critically.
Do you remember the idea of writing a review from a gumball's point of view? I'm quite sure the gumballs could tell a lot of interesting stories because they are the only foreigners allowed on stage during Lee Rocker's gig. But the most extraordinary things happen afterwards. A lot of fans want to get autographs of Lee Rocker and his band. They wait next to the stage where Jamie is packing his things. Now guess what happens? I can witness them asking Jamie if there is a forgotten plectrum anywhere on the stage. When one of the guitarists comes out and gives his last two plectrums to them, you suddenly look into the shining eyes of some teenage girls in front of Robbie William's stage. THESE are the real Groupies. I still can't believe it.
Pay-TV setlist:
A little more time
Long time coming
Ordinary Girl
Days are oceans
Happy days
Monkey Boy
The first five songs will be published on the new Pay-TV album "Everything is happening" which will be released in January 2006. "Monkey Boy" is from the first Pay-TV album "Spicy No. 11".