Cat Stevens at the O2 in November..

Straight off I'd like to say I wasn't at the gig but I don't think that affects the point I'm trying to convey. All the furore over the interlude musical aside, I'd like to declare war on those who take a notion to attend a gig where they only know a few of the artist's greatest hits and then proceed to boo and heckle and disrupt other concert goers' enjoyment when the artist doesn't include those specific songs in the setlist. Especially when you are going to see an established band or artist with 50+ original compositions in their back catalogue, as a casual listener you will be disappointed. Unless of course you are there as a fan of music with an open mind and not just to be able to say 'Yeah I was at that gig' to some girl in a bar afterwards.
Summer 07; Me, my friend and his 2 housemates went on a day trip to London to see Pearl Jam. The show was a fan's dream both setlist and performance wise, me and my friend were in genuine tears by the end. When I asked the two housemates what they thought, their response was a solemn "Ah they didn't play Black or Jeremy", and I understood. But these guys didn't boo or heckle or disrupt anyone around them, in fact I clean forgot they were there!
Anyway I'm rambling here, my point is there are enough resources on this internet contraption these days (setlistsfm.com etc) to get a good idea of what to expect from an upcoming gig. And 'I payed X amount' does not cut it in explaining your right to pretend you have severe Tourettes while the performer is busy pleasing the other 11,999 fans in attendance. I chill at the thoughts that a legendary icon (esp one who hasn't played to such a large crowd in 33 years) no matter what his name is or was, was subjected to the treatment of a paedophiliac holocaust denier on stage on our shores. If Bruce Dickinson can run around a Dublin stage waving a Union Jack (on front of metal fans!) without inciting carnage then Yusuf Islam should be afforded the same kindness by his audience when he chooses to not play Wild World.

refusetolose

MMD wrote: »

thanks a mill mate, but will pop across to shop if I ever get out of work and get it!!

If the article refers to other posts also, it would be good for the other boardies to see it too!

Thanks again

no probs,it was just your post that was quoted........although boards.ie was mentioned also

Johnny Storm

I think ol' Cat was pretty naive to think his audience wouldn't be annoyed at some no-namers performing his very best songs while he was off-stage. Also he could have avoided a lot of trouble by explaining exactly what was going to happen and how long it would take. IMHO he did not redeem himself by continuing to play some of his newer songs after the problems with the musical interlude. As already posted the musical did disrupt the atmosphere. Surely his manager or advisers could have helped him avoid this fairly predictable problem?
Some of the audience behavior was pretty embarrassing but it didn't bother me and a lot of the reports are highly exagerated IMHO.
Anyway, I have to admit that he still has one of the very best voices ever and has written some excellent songs. I, a totally sober (unfortunately), 50 y.o. MAWG was crying my eyes out during his first set.
Overall the gig was a pretty mixed bag at best

Charles Onions

Sonic_exyouth wrote: »

wow, what a great idea.. and not moronic at all. :rolleyes:
You sure proved me wrong!

Spending €100, maybe more, to see a singer, and leaving half way through because you dislike a bonus section.. not moronic at all.

Booing, hissing, swearing at child actors .. not moronic at all.

yeah.. you sure proved me wrong :rolleyes:

I left (after 90 minutes) because the musical was the stupidest thing I have ever seen in many years of gig-going and the show was completely ruined for me - I couldnt have taken the rest of the show seriously. I didnt boo, hiss or swear at anyone and Im not sure why you would assume that I did. Making crass assumptions about people, refusing to accept their quite reasonable point of view and descending into childish name calling and infantile sarcasm are far more likely to be the actions of a moron than someone quietly leaving a concert that had barely excited them and occasionally offended them after 90 minutes of music.

Ash.J.Williams

Are all you angry people sure this musical piece was a "surprise" and wasn't mentioned on his website, or anywhere else, or did you even attempt to do the most basic research before you bought the tickets?
ONLY HAS-BEENS AND THE THE DESPERATE DO GREATEST HITS TOURS....Count your selves lucky he came here at all.I would imagine it will be the last time.

Sonic_exyouth

Charles Onions wrote: »

I left (after 90 minutes) because the musical was the stupidest thing I have ever seen in many years of gig-going and the show was completely ruined for me - I couldnt have taken the rest of the show seriously. I didnt boo, hiss or swear at anyone and Im not sure why you would assume that I did. Making crass assumptions about people, refusing to accept their quite reasonable point of view and descending into childish name calling and infantile sarcasm are far more likely to be the actions of a moron than someone quietly leaving a concert that had barely excited them and occasionally offended them after 90 minutes of music.

You were.. offended by the music?!

Charles Onions wrote: »

if you find the idea of conflicting opinions so distasteful that you feel the need to insult anyone who holds one then might I suggest that maybe you stay off the internet and spend your days on your own in front of a mirror giving yourself the thumbs up for being so completely right all of the time

Charles Onions wrote: »

descending into childish name calling and infantile sarcasm are far more likely to be the actions of a moron

mattyhislop

I was there on sunday and simply couldn't believe it. It would have been great to see Yusuf play at a smaller venue with people who actually appreciate what the man is all about. There was one obnoxious lout at the top of the stairwell right behind me and he had about four or five staff members trying to hold him back. He bumped into the back of a girl in our row as he was wildly swinging his arms (we were the last row in a section so there was a walkway behind) and he really ought to have been arrested.

If this was just an isolated incident well fair enough, that can happen. But it seemed like pockets of violence and aggression were erupting all around the O2. I couldn't believe what was going on and if he had walked off, I wouldn't have blamed him.

I can see how some would be annoyed by songs like (Remember The Days Of The) Old Schoolyard, Moonshadow, Matthew and Son etc being sung by the cast of the musical but to be fair he did play 20+ songs which is pretty good if you ask me. Even if he hadn't played so many songs, there can be no justification for the actions of some people there that night. It was disgusting to see grown men in their fifties shouting obscenities at the kids on stage or the lady who sang Moonshadow.

I felt ashamed to be Irish at one point but thankfully the minority didn’t speak for most of us and hopefully the standing ovation for Yusuf at the end won't leave too sour a taste of Ireland in his mouth.

Charles Onions

Sonic_exyouth wrote: »

Im not quite sure where your sense of smug vindication is coming from but if you start out what should be a civil discussion by labelling anyone who disagrees with you as a moron then dont be too surprised if a little of the same comes back your way. You set the tone and aren't smart enough to realise that you're conducting yourself like an ignorant douchebag. I got nothing more to say on this. Dumb-ass internet warriors like you are two-a-penny and I got better things to do than argue into a black hole with someone who doesn't even have the courtesy to properly read the posts of the people they are allegedly arguing with.

catch--22

Via Jim Carrolls blog:

“If the advertising was in anyway sending out a different message, then I can only apologise for that – but my name, ‘YUSUF’, can’t practically be printed any bigger.”

Ash.J.Williams

catch--22 wrote: »

Via Jim Carrolls blog:

“If the advertising was in anyway sending out a different message, then I can only apologise for that – but my name, ‘YUSUF’, can’t practically be printed any bigger.”

sounds fair enough

Mother Duck

from http://www.yusufislam.com/diary/

Strange how God’s nature has a way of telling you the way things are going to go. Perhaps, if I had understood the message hidden in the stormy weather forecast on Saturday evening, I might have been better prepared for what happened the next night at Dublin’s O2.

It was uncanny in more ways than one – not least given that the leading figure of the Moonshadow part of Sunday’s show (which caused most of the controversy for a small section of the audience) was also called Stormy!

I must admit, it was something I’d never experienced for most of my musical career – apart from Greece perhaps, where I stormed off stage because of the half empty halls back at the end of the 1976 Majikat Tour. They had a right to complain, those fans who had taken the trouble to come undeterred by the football match (against England) that day, or the looming exams which they were about to face.

The fact that another major tournament coincided this time (Ireland vs. Australia rugby match) – and the tendency of some to drown away the blues of a hapless draw with a few more gallons of Guinness – obviously didn’t help either.

But the good thing was that this time, the Hall wasn’t half full – it was full; brimming with excited fans and music lovers from all over the world. In fact, for me that was the most positive aspect of the whole climactic event; the real message was that they missed me being on stage! Well that’s much easier to take than not buying tickets or booing me off.

So I took the complaints overall as a compliment, albeit an unnerving one especially for the cast and creative team who had put their entire bodies and souls into the Moonshadow section, so I can only feel sorry for them. They did a great job and 90% of the audience that night (and some major reviews) recognised that.

Philosophically and educationally I have gained something from the experience, so has the public generally and we can now move on to the next gig a bit more prepared. One thing is clear: many of the fans didn’t know much about the Moonshadow section – and some thought I wasn’t coming back on stage. That can easily be fixed with a free program for the night and me personally informing the audience of what’s going to happen.

Perhaps a shorter segment of the Musical will also help tighten things up, and we’re already working on that.

Nevertheless, for those who believe that 33 years away from stage spotlights doesn’t change anything, it must be a wake up call. I didn’t go through my life, altering my pattern of behaviour, building my faith and getting close to Divine consciousness without making serious changes to the way I do things.

My voice doesn’t seem to have altered, which for many fans is already a Godsend. But to not expect me to sing my favourite new songs, from two carefully and thoughtfully created albums, and demand a ‘Beam me up Scotty’ return to the Cat Stevens persona of yesterday, is more than any amount of imagination can hope for. If the advertising was in anyway sending out a different message, then I can only apologise for that – but my name, ‘YUSUF’, can’t practically be printed any bigger.

Hey, I’m back. And as I said in Dublin, ‘I didn’t leave you.. so don’t leave me.’

Yusuf

Sonic_exyouth

Charles Onions wrote: »

if you find the idea of conflicting opinions so distasteful that you feel the need to insult anyone who holds one then might I suggest that maybe you stay off the internet and spend your days on your own in front of a mirror giving yourself the thumbs up for being so completely right all of the time

Charles Onions wrote: »

you're conducting yourself like an ignorant douchebag. I got nothing more to say on this. Dumb-ass internet warriors like you are two-a-penny

Charles Onions wrote: »

descending into childish name calling and infantile sarcasm are far more likely to be the actions of a moron

hehe..
Indeed!

Anyway, refusing to explain the "occasionally offended" remark?

Ash.J.Williams

It's starting to look like Mr. Islam aimed his show slightly above the head of the "average" Irish audience member. The day an audience dictates what an artist should play is the day that music is over. I'm sure there is a "Cat Stevens" tribute act on in the spa hotel over xmas.

rubadub

Sonic_exyouth wrote: »

:rolleyes:
Keating sang Father and son - Who sang Moonshadow?

Ronan Keating can sing :eek:

I find this the most shocking, anybody I know who likes Cat Stevens despises that horrific boyzone version. I am shocked he was invited to play, surely somebody would have told him that he is a much derided figure to many irish people, a fecking boyband "singer".

The musical should have been on first as somebody else pointed out, this way I imagine people would not have walked out, they also should have announced when he would be on, so people could realise how long it would be on, and could have stayed in the bar until then, or at least would have been sure how long it is going to be on for. This lack of simple knowledge can lead to presumtions, rumours and unrest.

Sonic_exyouth

rubadub wrote: »

Ronan Keating can sing :eek:

I find this the most shocking, anybody I know who likes Cat Stevens despises that horrific boyzone version. I am shocked he was invited to play, surely somebody would have told him that he is a much derided figure to many irish people, a fecking boyband "singer".

The musical should have been on first as somebody else pointed out, this way I imagine people would not have walked out, they also should have announced when he would be on, so people could realise how long it would be on, and could have stayed in the bar until then, or at least would have been sure how long it is going to be on for. This lack of simple knowledge can lead to presumtions, rumours and unrest.

Ronan and Yusuf released this as a charity duet there about
4years ago, or so.
It was the christmas number 2, second to the Band aid re-recording of do they know it's christmas time.

I hated it!
But, it made number 2 so it must've made some people happy!

Jayme101

rubadub wrote: »

Ronan Keating can sing :eek:

I find this the most shocking, anybody I know who likes Cat Stevens despises that horrific boyzone version. I am shocked he was invited to play, surely somebody would have told him that he is a much derided figure to many irish people, a fecking boyband "singer".

.

The funny thing is that one of the reasons Yousef came back to mainstream recording is because of Ronan. He asked him to go into the studio with him when he re-recorded Father & Son in 2004. Yousef was more than happy to add his own vocal to the song, and gave his permission for it to be released as a single. Up untill then Yousef had not done any recording at all, so his fans were more than delighted that they got to hear his voice on the new recording, even if it was part of a duet. He was even appeared with Ronan in the video. After that Yousef went on to do more recording. So for him to ask Ronan to join him on stage in Dublin was not really too surprising at all, they have been friends for years. Ronan even interviewed him for Smooth Radio which was well recieved by Yousef's fans. Just because you hate Ronan, doesn't mean that everyone feels that way, and judging by the cheer he got when he appeared on stage that night, not evey hardcore Cat Stevens fans thinks the same way as you.:rolleyes:

Daysha

FYI, the man himself will be on the Late Late Show tonight, according to rte.ie. I'm sure the controversy regarding the gig will come up, so it should it interesting to hear what he has to say.

BaZmO*

He was on the One Show last night, dunno if he mentioned the now infamous gig.

I think Bill Bailey mentioned it on the Graham Norton Show a few weeks back.