The Pictures - no R.E.S.P.E.C.T
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» The Pictures - no R.E.S.P.E.C.T - Swan Basement, WA - June 24, 2005
I had great expectations for The Pictures gig at the Swan Basement and was looking forward to it.
After reading that the gig would not start till 8 pm I decided to get there for around 8:30 pm, which I thought would get me there just in time for the first support without having to endure the filler music that is played at most gigs while they wait for the venue to fill up.
As I walk in I see people leisurely leaned up against the bar and playing pool so I think I’ve made it in time to still catch the support until I suddenly recognise the song the band is playing in the background, it’s I Don’t Care by The Pictures. The opening time I read must have been wrong so I quickly to the stage. Thankfully a person next to me tells me I have only missed one song.
The most noticeable thing about the band is that The Pictures definitely are better live than on recording. The album Pieces of Eight lacks the same sort of punch and raw rock sound as that delivered by the boys live.
Davey seems to stumble drunkenly around the stage but his lead guitar work on the night is flawless and the band offers a solid performance.
Davey however does seem somewhat agitated and I can’t help but feel that it is due to the lack of audience participation.
While The Pictures continue to rock out in front of me I notice that the crowd just doesn’t seem to be getting into it. The crowd tonight seems to be more like locals who have been stuck with The Pictures playing tonight in their bar. Not many people around me seem to know the words to the songs and there are only two drunk girls jumping around in front of the stage while the rest of the crowd just sort of stand there and nod their heads.
While some songs were met with cheers at the start such as Stupid Me and a well played cover of The Replacements Alex Chilton at other times the band needed to force a reaction out of the crowd
I had managed to sneak a peek at the set list while it was at Davey’s feet and the last songs of the night should have been Pissin’ With the Catman followed by Don’t You Wanna Know?
They single Pissin’ With the Catman which was met with some crowd reaction but during the song Davey ripped his set list off the stage and threw it over his shoulder. The song was finished with a “thank you and goodnight” and Davey dropped his guitar in front of his amp and jumped off the stage and darted off through the crowd.
This is usually the point where the crowd erupts begging for the band to come back onstage for an encore performance but with only a couple of fans in the crowd making a small noise it was never going to happen.
A couple of people tried to coax Johnny who was still hanging around the stage back up to do a drum solo but to no avail.
While the lads put on a solid performance you couldn’t really blame them for being a bit miffed by the poor crowd participation. This was the last stop on their WA tour and it should have gone off with a bang, instead it just sort of fizzled which probably would have put a downer on the whole tour experience.
Hopefully the next time The Pictures come to Perth they get bit more of the respect they deserve.
Set list – Knocked Out; I Don’t Care; Stupid Me; Somethin’ I Don’t Know; How Do You Feel?; What You Want; All My Ties; To the Top; Play You’re Staging; Headley Grange; Alex Chilton; See Ya Home Tonight; Pissin’ With The Catman
