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Feeder / Cay / Subcircus - Southampton, University Wednesday 6th October 1999 Due to Feeder being late, and still soundchecking when the doors were meant to be open, and idiotic security staff, I missed half of Subcircus - I assume they must have gone on as soon as the doors opened, even though the queue to get in was bloody long. Hmmm. Still, I didn't miss much if the latter part of their set was anything to go by. They weren't particularly bad, they just lacked bursts of energy, and to be honest - they just weren't very interesting. However, Cay came to save the day. Judging by the mad rush from the bar, they are quite popular in Southampton. They started with 'Princes and Princesses' which, because of the dullness of Subcircus, sounded particularly noisy and full of energy. A few more songs were performed at a blistering pace and the crowd were becoming more and more excited. Two new songs were played, both of which were excellent. The final song was one of these - it started as a fast, punky tune, then went quiet...almost surreal. It then exploded back into full force. One of Cay's best songs. This was probably the best Cay gig that I have seen, and Feeder would have to try very hard to follow it. Before Feeder came on, we were forced to wait an extra twenty minutes, after their equipment had been set up, to listen to some dance/techno music (yes, ONE track. For 20 minutes.) I assumed that this was the resident DJ being a twat, but no - I've been told this happened at the Brixton gig too... Oh dear. That loses them 1/10 straight away. When the band finally come on stage, they launch in to a few old songs, before playing 'Insomnia' which the crowd actually knew. The newer songs went down a lot better with the crowd (with the exception of 'My Perfect Day' which is possibly the best song that Feeder have ever written). Quieter songs like 'Tinseltown' and 'Yesterday Went Too Soon' are given a harder edge live, and sound excellent. Now for the rant... I saw Feeder three years ago, supporting Terrorvision, and I thought they were shit, because all of their songs sounded the same...well...tonight I thought all of their old songs sounded the same, and this took a lot away from their performance. Overall, the set was reasonable, and final song 'High' was one of the best. They are worth seeing, but only if you ignore the old songs. Ric Melia Subcircus=3 Cay=10 Feeder=6 Cay setlist: Princes and Princesses / Neurons Like Brandy / Reasonable Ease In Chilled Out Conditions / Better Than Myself / Nature Creates Freaks / new / High

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