A Head Full of Wishes

A Head Full of Wishes is a site for Galaxie 500, Luna, Damon & Naomi, Dean & Britta and Dean Wareham. With news, articles and lists of releases and past and future shows.

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Categories: dean & britta my record collection

My record collection
#055: Dean & Britta live at The Legion

For a while in the early years of the century, my regular gig going partner was a taper. He mostly taped Van Morrison and Dylan shows but he liked to get practice in so I’d have him practicing at slightly smaller venues. This is a DAT of his recording of Dean & Britta’s second ever London show, put on at The Legion by Sonic Cathedral in June 2007.

Dean & Britta and The Clientele DAT
Dean & Britta and The Clientele DAT

This was a taper used to working undercover so it involved smuggling the recorder, in and attaching the mics to his specs. This was all part of the practice.

My pal only taped the last two bands, but the first two were pretty great too:

  • Flowers of Hell opened - made a very lovely noise, eight people and lots and lots of instruments!
  • La Volume Courbe were next up - made a sweet noise, had Mel Draisey (then of The Clientele) play with them, and did a clunky cover of Elizabeth Cotton’s Freight Train.
  • The Clientele played a very short but good set full of Alasdair’s miserable between songs banter - I think he may be taking “curmudgeon” and “sarcastic” evening classes because he’s getting very good at it. I was seeing The Clientele at every opportunity so them supporting Dean & Britta was an absolute treat…

… although, I wasn’t shouting for an encore!

  • Last westbound Central Line from Liverpool St = 00:22
  • Brisk walk from The Legion to Liverpool St = 20 minutes
  • Dean & Britta onstage = 23:00

It was looking like an hour was the most Dean & Britta I was going to get.

It was a fab show, Sonic Boom set up his gadgets on the side of the stage and helped out for a couple of numbers. They encored with Bonnie and Clyde and the lights came up at 00:02, we belted to the station and arrived on the platform with one minute to spare.

Squeezing four bands onto a bill on a Wednesday evening on the wrong side of London was a little inconsiderate IMO!