A MOST JOYOUS EVENING OF MUSIC –
Walt Disco Supporting OMD at Cliffs Pavillion, Southend-on-Sea 17/3/24
Whilst most English people were out celebrating St Patrick’s day, I chose to see one of my long-standing favourite bands. I wouldn’t normally see acts at Cliffs Pavilion, Southend (I’ve only been once before about ten years ago to see Little Annie support Marc Almond) but my bestie and her husband were going and offered me a bed for the night, so what better reason did I have?
I’ve seen OMD many times over the years since the late 1980s and have always come away from their shows feeling good, energised, and happy to be alive in a time when OMD exist. I’ve not seen Walt Disco perform live before, but I was fully aware of them having listened to my bestie wax lyrical about the since she saw them at the Bearded Theory Festival in 2022. So, this was a double act that I did not want to miss.
After having met some friends in a local hotel for some pre-show drinks and catch-ups, we meandered over to the Cliffs Pavilion, and joined what looked like a long queue, but which rapidly dissipated with professional ease by the well-practised staff. With my wristband adorning my right wrist, we were in! Mulling around in the bar, we bumped into some more long -standing friends, as we drank, chatted and joked. Always good for the soul!
Walt Disco came on stage, and we stood stage left at the front, whilst my bestie’s hubby was the official photographer for the evening. On stage walked five beautiful looking young men, each with their individual style. Collectively they made equally beautiful music in their own unique genre which had undertones of Sparks meets Associates meets Suede meets Bowie meets Roxy. They completely owned it and enraptured the audience, completely. I was completely hooked! My favourite track wasWeightless.
During the interval I went to buy an OMD tee, but unfortunately, they didn’t have a size Small in the design I desired. (“It serves you right for losing so much weight,” jibed my bestie! LOL). However, the lead guitarist of Walt Disco was there (Jack?), selling their own merch. We had a lovely chat, and he said the rest of the band would be in attendance, at the end of the show. More on that later.
Back in our positions within the main hall, OMD came on stage to rapturous applause. They have been a stalwart band of the electronic scene for more than forty years, and their popularity hasn’t flickered one iota over that time; they’ve been consistently ever-present producing high-quality tunes over the decades. This was show-cased to perfection last night as they effortlessly churned out all the old favourites, Enola Gay, Messages, Electricity as well as some lesser-known singles, Dreaming, Forever Live and Die, If You Leave (from Pretty in Pink) which I’ve not heard them perform in a good while.
Old favourites like Pandora’s Box, Maid of Orleans, sat beautifully alongside tracks from their latest album, Bauhaus Staircase, Don’t Go, Look at you Now including the title track and Kleptocracy accompanied by stunning visuals.
Over all the years that I’ve seen OMD, last night’s gig ranks extremely highly in the pecking order, only trouped by the time I saw them in their hometown of Liverpool in July 1991 when we were all a lot young and had so much more energy. At that particular gig, the crowd went crazy after every single song like it was the encore. By the end of that show, I remember feeling high on energy and didn’t come down from my ‘gig high’ for weeks afterwards.
Back to the here and now at Southend, and at the end of the show we were luck enough to catch more of Walt Disco as they were packing away their merch. I spoke to the lead singer and Jack from earlier came to join us. They feel extremely privileged to be supporting OMD and are looking forward to returning to the American leg of the tour and getting more expose over the pond. I’ve told my American friends to make sure they also catch Walt Disco when they go to see OMD.
All in all, last night was pretty much a perfect evening consisting of very good friends, top quality music from not one but two bands, and good humour all round. I suspect I won’t live this ‘gig high’ down for several weeks too!
OMD are currently on tour supported by Walt Disco in the UK, moving to the USA as follows:
(10) OMD tour dates – search results | Facebook
https://youtu.be/jK6npwVqTkI
Please note that Walt Disco are not supporting for every date, and will be replaced by Howard Jones at some venues.
OMD : (10) Facebook
Walt Disco: (10) Facebook
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