Big Stars In Small Venues..Duff McKagan Is Truly Loaded!
Cheney Anne Markun
October 07, 2008
"No way!" I screached, staring in disbelief as a hot and sweaty Duff Mckagan threw out the opening notes of his infamous cover of Attitude, originally by the Damned, to a loud and excitable crowd inside the Islington Academy. Having missed out on seeing the fabulous bassist play with Guns N Roses, which is where he always played this particular cover (presumably during one of Axl Roses's costume changes?) I'd given up any hope of hearing it live but here I was, jumping around like a demented three year old as Loaded cranked it out to a more than appreciative audience.
Now, I have to admit to being slightly biased here as I have been a Guns N Roses fan (and in particular, a Duff Mckagan fan) for a pretty long time, so maybe I was always going to enjoy this gig a little more than a neutral observer would but, having canvassed a few of these neutrals once the lights went up, I'm not so sure that you had to be a die hard Duff fan to have a great time watching Loaded play. Situated on top of a shopping centre the Islington Academy is a reasonably small venue in North London with a maximum capacity of only 800, which makes it something of a reverse Tardis because once you're inside you would swear that there were no more than 20 other gig goers jumping around beside you. The stage, which crouches in between the walls at one end of the academy is tiny, so no matter who is playing you can just reach on up and touch them (and we did, over and over again). I have seen small bands in big venues, massive bands in stadium venues and big bands in tiny venues and my favourite never changes - there is nothing like seeing a big star in a small venue. Admittedly, there is something stunning about watching a group at the top of their game rocking thousands of people in a mega stadium, the atmosphere is overwhelming and you can't help but get carried away on the wave of enthusiasm that flows through such a tight gathering of excited, like minded people.
The problem for me though is that your connection in these type of shows is with your fellow fans, not with whoever you've paid a fortune to see up on the stage. Generally, you end up watching them on some huge TV screen because the stage itself is over a mile away and that just feels a little second hand to me.
No, having been to all sorts of gigs I have to say that the small, intimate venue is the way to go, every time you can. Some bands are just too big for this to be a viable option (I can't imagine trying to fit Use Your Illusion period Guns N Roses security into the Islington Academy, let alone the army of fans that would have descended on the leafy North London suburb to catch a glimpse of them) so you have to accept that some things have just passed you by. What you can do, however, is catch the super hot side projects as they tour these more modest gig venues. Watching Loaded play was a great, fun experience and had the feeling that we were at some cool house party rather than an organised concert, with Duff chattering away to the audience between songs and inviting a roadie up on stage to play a song with the band. You would have to have been locked in a darkened, sound proofed cupboard not to have seen what a good time the band were having up there, and that sort of enthusiasm is completely infectious. Seeing a band laughing and joking up on stage and so clearly over the moon just with the sheer joy of playing to a receptive crowd is amazing, and you can't help but be sucked in. Some of the loudest cheers of the night came when Duff broke his guitar strings and had to run off the stage to grab a new one, or when the band swapped guitars and took turns at lead vocals. There was no ego on stage here, only a professional band having a great time and sharing that with the audience.
If you get the chance to see Loaded play I would totally recommend that you go as I get the feeling that the small venues might start growing pretty soon, I know that I for one will be encouraging my friends to go next time they play and I don't imagine that I'm the only one. The same goes for the Islington Academy, hidden away in it's standard looking shopping mall you wouldn't imagine for a second what lays inside but it really is worth discovering if you can. Big stars in small venue, you can't beat it.
Now, I have to admit to being slightly biased here as I have been a Guns N Roses fan (and in particular, a Duff Mckagan fan) for a pretty long time, so maybe I was always going to enjoy this gig a little more than a neutral observer would but, having canvassed a few of these neutrals once the lights went up, I'm not so sure that you had to be a die hard Duff fan to have a great time watching Loaded play. Situated on top of a shopping centre the Islington Academy is a reasonably small venue in North London with a maximum capacity of only 800, which makes it something of a reverse Tardis because once you're inside you would swear that there were no more than 20 other gig goers jumping around beside you. The stage, which crouches in between the walls at one end of the academy is tiny, so no matter who is playing you can just reach on up and touch them (and we did, over and over again). I have seen small bands in big venues, massive bands in stadium venues and big bands in tiny venues and my favourite never changes - there is nothing like seeing a big star in a small venue. Admittedly, there is something stunning about watching a group at the top of their game rocking thousands of people in a mega stadium, the atmosphere is overwhelming and you can't help but get carried away on the wave of enthusiasm that flows through such a tight gathering of excited, like minded people.
The problem for me though is that your connection in these type of shows is with your fellow fans, not with whoever you've paid a fortune to see up on the stage. Generally, you end up watching them on some huge TV screen because the stage itself is over a mile away and that just feels a little second hand to me.
No, having been to all sorts of gigs I have to say that the small, intimate venue is the way to go, every time you can. Some bands are just too big for this to be a viable option (I can't imagine trying to fit Use Your Illusion period Guns N Roses security into the Islington Academy, let alone the army of fans that would have descended on the leafy North London suburb to catch a glimpse of them) so you have to accept that some things have just passed you by. What you can do, however, is catch the super hot side projects as they tour these more modest gig venues. Watching Loaded play was a great, fun experience and had the feeling that we were at some cool house party rather than an organised concert, with Duff chattering away to the audience between songs and inviting a roadie up on stage to play a song with the band. You would have to have been locked in a darkened, sound proofed cupboard not to have seen what a good time the band were having up there, and that sort of enthusiasm is completely infectious. Seeing a band laughing and joking up on stage and so clearly over the moon just with the sheer joy of playing to a receptive crowd is amazing, and you can't help but be sucked in. Some of the loudest cheers of the night came when Duff broke his guitar strings and had to run off the stage to grab a new one, or when the band swapped guitars and took turns at lead vocals. There was no ego on stage here, only a professional band having a great time and sharing that with the audience.
If you get the chance to see Loaded play I would totally recommend that you go as I get the feeling that the small venues might start growing pretty soon, I know that I for one will be encouraging my friends to go next time they play and I don't imagine that I'm the only one. The same goes for the Islington Academy, hidden away in it's standard looking shopping mall you wouldn't imagine for a second what lays inside but it really is worth discovering if you can. Big stars in small venue, you can't beat it.
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