Alrighty, I just got back from the Puppy fairwell tour in St Petersburg. Lead Into Gold was the opener. Is anyone else getting out to see them? The sound quality and performances were fantastic and we got to hear a number of our favorites that span the decades.
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Affordable tickets and an intimate small venue? Only a couple hours away? What is this madness?
Well, I guess I need to restructure my weekend.
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When I checked tickets here in NYC the day they were released the cheapest was like $150.
Edit: now I see I can get a ticket for $75. Hmm.
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Oh man, you were there? We were as well… we know Matthew Setzer (guitarist) so got the whole stage tour/rig rundown. Plus spent some time with Paul Barker, a total sweetheart… and f*ck that Lead Into Gold set was brutal!
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Not sure if it is of interest but cEvin posted a picture on his patreon of his live rig, he is using the V- Synth, Sub37 and Hydrasynth Explorer on this tour.
Can recommend his patreon if you are in to Puppy or this music in general. The Sunday Session interviews are a who’s who of this scene and they go in to a lot of detail, helped by him having an amazing memory. There is a series of his recollections making each record as well which are fantastic.
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Agreed. Pretty much everything you would want, from deeper cuts like The Choke and Human Disease (S.K.U.M.M.) to Dig it and Smothered Hope. An awesome farewell set.
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Yes, do it. If you’re a fan and there is a show within 3 hours drive or so, it’s an obvious choice in my mind. I can’t imagine you’ll be disappointed.
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Hmmm I really should get out and see them one last time.
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Thanks for the pics!
There’s nothing more inspiring for any home setup than seeing “cheap” gear taken on the road and what they do with the monotrons, SQ1s, etc.
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Yeah, they are very not precious about their live gear. Cheap stuff, DIY video rig, homemade guitars, and only a few more pricey synths. Lead Into Gold’s setup was modest as well.
We were taken over to cEvin’s synth rig but he and his tech were a bit stessed trying to figure out why their Remo drum pads weren’t triggering, so didn’t want to bother with questions and photography. He was submixing everything himself on his own mixer (A&H Mixwizard) and so was everyone else in their respective setups.
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Rad! How do you know Matthew? I’ve been friends with him for a long time too, met him in college
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I’m looking forward to catching them when they play in Boston. I’ve always been a huge fan but never had the opportunity to see them live in the past. Coincidentally the show is two days after I am scheduled to close on a house in New Hampshire, so this night will likely be my last big hurrah in the city.
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Only fairly recently (briefly on the Ohgr tour and hung out a good amount this show)… but my best friend JG has been tight with him for a while, both have a lot of similar interests. Setzer is a great dude.
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I was looking at the set lists out of curiosity in case they decide to come over to europe… but even if they do I’d probably need to get down to London as I can’t imagine them playing anywhere else. And I’m probably in the minority of people who isn’t too impressed by the setlist… I didn’t think the deep cuts were that deep and I really don’t ever need to hear Smothered Hope or Assimilate ever again. Doutbless most folk will lap it up… that’s not a dig at Puppy though. It’s a similar situation when I see any band that have been on the go for years and they play the fan favourites.
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Yeah I was hoping to hear really deep ones like Cage and Punk in Park Zoos, or ones that weren’t on singles but awesome like Solvent, but many peeps wouldn’t know them and SP wanted to give their core fans what they had been requesting online. I know that they started with the premise of one song per album, and then doubled up on a few of them (God’s Gift Maggot and Dig It for example)…
There were a few that I would have really liked to have heard like Blue Serge, Deadlines and Icebreaker, but I was very happy with what they were able to pull off.
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Yeah, I’m acutely aware that this is my problem more than for anyone else. Bottom line is that it must be a nightmare to keep everyone happy when they have such a big discography. Funny you should mention Blue Serge, I was lucky enough that they played that one of times I saw them. Amnesia too. But, there’s loads of lesser known tracks I love that would just never get played. Most of Back & Forth 3, so many of their b-sides and such like…
Ha! You’ve just sent me down a rabbit hole on setlists.fm to remind myself what I have seen them play… 
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ticket prices are crazy high these days. Glad I saw a bunch of bands years ago for dirt cheap.
my favorite album by Skinny Puppy is The Greater Wrong of the Right.
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If I’m honest, I don’t listen to them all that often these days and when I do it’s even rarer I’m in the mood for Ogre’s vocals so I’ll tend to listen more to stuff like the Doubting Thomas album, B&F3 or the mid 90s stuff like Music for Cats or Charlie’s Family.
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Man… I got into Skinny Puppy right after they broke up (when I was about 16) and when the GWotR came out I was so fucking excited because I thought I’d never get to see them live. And it was such a good album, too! (The last of theirs that I could get into, unfortunately) And what a fucking awesome show it was. Otto Von Shirach opened for them and he was amazing!
Funny story: I actually had to piss really bad right before Otto started and I thought I’d go in between their sets but they started almost immediately after. I ended up holding it until after the show. The next day my fucking appendix nearly burst and I had to go to the hospital to have it removed? Related? IDK… But I guess it cost me an appendix for the chance to see Skinny Puppy live. And it was worth it.
A few years back Cevin came to Osaka to do a DJ set and I bought him a beer and got to talk to him a bit. He was so nice and also answered all my dumb drum questions!
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