a present for all Cocteau Twins fans

yay, that Columbus show was on my birthday!

Yay!!!!

But seriously, the black dude in the clip (last part of it) - doesn't his hair look like it's going to start spinning around and lift off like a stereotypical round UFO? I'm serious, man.

Also I tried to dress Cocteau-like back then. I had a satiny green shirt. But never mind.

great footage, really captures the befuddlement of straight media around the post-punk underground. seems like every video I see from back then has the obligatory "we're just like normal people" segment.

So, so great, thanks for posting.

What song are they playing at the 2:15 mark?

"Pale Clouded White" from Echoes In A Shallow Bay.

THAT IS ABSOLUTELY THE CRUCIAL QUESTION DUDE!!!

*HIGH FIVE*

I asked myself that same question, because of course the song was recognizable, but who can match a Cocteaus song to a song title? Anyway, it's the song where you can clearly hear her sing "Aurora Borealis" right? And I found out from flipping through my iPod that it is "PALE CLOUDED WHITE" from the fucking UNBELIEVABLY BRILLIANT "TINY DYNAMINE/ECHOES IN A SHALLOW BAY" DOUBLE EP/CD WHICH IS WHERE MOST OF MY HIGH SCHOOL MEMORIES ARE STILL STORED.

I just want to have a romantic relationship with someone who likes Cocteaus, Joy Division (or early New Order) and The Fall. That's what I want out of a partner. Please email if you fit the description, thanks. I don't care what else you listen to all day, either.

xpost

I just want to have a romantic relationship with someone who likes Cocteaus, Joy Division (or early New Order) and The Fall. That's what I want out of a partner.

Well, Bimble, if you don't mind my having a penis...

Heh, that video was fuckin hilarious. Small town news! So funny.

Well, Bimble, if you don't mind my having a penis...

Haha. Actually, I don't mind at all. :)

But going back to the clip posted above...some guy posted on my blog who remembers that gig and some of those people. He said he dated that girl you see for a sec in the middle of it. What kills me is the part where the news guy says "They say they try to look this way because it's FUN and DIFFERENT, many say they look normal during the day...".

Something about the way that guy says "FUN & DIFFERENT" just kills me.

from cocteautwins.org, here are the tour dates. note that there is a setlist for this gig, there may even be a boot.

September 15, 1985 Los Angeles, USA (Hollywood Palace)
[The Spanglemaker, Dear Heart, Aikea Guinea..........]

September 17, 1985 San Francisco, USA (Wolfgangs)

September 18, 1985 Columbus, Ohio, USA (Newport Music Hall)
[The Spangle Maker, Dear Heart, Aikea Guinea, Pale Clouded White, Lorelei, From The Flagstones, Rococo, Plain Tiger, Pearly Dewdrops' Drops, Pepper Tree, Pink Orange Red, Musette & Drums, Pink Orange Red (encore), Pearly Dewdrops' Drops (encore)]

September 21, 1985 Boston, USA The Paradise

September 23, 1985 New York, USA The Ritz

betting you that a bunch of people who drove "hundreds of miles" were from Chicago.

Duly noted, thanks very much!

Aaahhhh... the 80s... music newsletters, REEL TO REEL TAPE PLAYERS ONSTAGE (what bands did before there were laptops!), the haircuts... newsreader gets skinny leather tie to fit in at Cocteaus show? WTF? Oh dear.

this clip fills me with fuzzy joy

love the cosy vibe of that fanzine's guy flat, the typewriter, etc

REEL TO REEL TAPE PLAYERS ONSTAGE

the last time i saw this was in 2002. it was jason lescalleet and it was AWESOME.

Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark started that, I believe.

aw tape on stage has to be earlier than that.

i do not know however

betting you that a bunch of people who drove "hundreds of miles" were from Chicago.

also: Detroit, Ann Arbor, Toledo, Pittsburgh, Cleveland, Cincinnati, Dayton

I've seen people using reel to reel onstage as late as last year (Napoleon III uses one, I think) - but it's definitely a retro move, rather than the amazing and alternative thing it seemed in 1985.

Truly magnificent video, this.