PW = Glastonbury headliner? Er, NO.

[Zurich80]

As much as I love Patrick Wolf's music, as much as I admire him as a musician, and yes, a somewhat 'left field' style icon, I'm afraid that despite his bitter fuelled proclamations, in my opinion he will never headline Glastonbury - or any other music festival of merit.

I've often wondered why Patrick has never managed a session on a credible music television show, and yes I'm thinking of Jools Holland here. My creeping doubt blamed it on his occasional lack of professionalism. He appears to lack an attention to detail that performers of the highest calibre MUST have. I mean, could you 100% trust Patrick to go onto Jools Holland with a Ukele that is in tune? Really? Would he remember the chords? Sure, it's fine being 'shambolic' at some sweaty university gig, but on national telly? No. Not at all. And a solid credible performance on national telly is a step that ALL Glastonbury headliners will need to take long before they ever reach that exalted postion.

.... This shambolic clip from this years Glastonbury (0.27 in) just adds more fuel to the fire. And don't blame the monitoring. Everyone else used the same system.

Patrick Wolf:- One part Kate Bush, one part Norman Wisdom.

www.youtube.com/watch?v=wE_cR4bZPnk

[jay]

you know, i had the same conversation with my auntie at the relentless garage gig. she was asking why patrick wasn't super-mainstream-successful yet and i just told her to wait and watch the gig. and true to form, patrick was incredibly good but with the occasional adorable hiccup - that's the patrick we know and love, of course. but it's not polished and perfect.

i'm not saying i WANT him to be polished and perfect, hell, the albums are that for me. the live performance SHOULD be human and fumbly and fun, and i'd say 98% of patrick's gigs are like that for me. (the 2% left over would be that time in 2007 where things were a little bit ... errr. you know.) but if he wants to headline glasto and be on telly all the time, he'll have to give up that tiny bit of being human...

i don't think he should. it's a shame that he would have to, to be "commercially successful". sorry, this is rambly and very subjective.

[Zurich80]

Jun 29, 2011 12:57:04 GMT jay said:

i don't think he should. it's a shame that he would have to, to be "commercially successful". sorry, this is rambly and very subjective.

No, all valid points Jay. My concern is the delusion Patrick seems to be under. He will NOT headline Glasto until he applies 100% focus on his live music presentation. That's the key. No-one ever EVER headlines a festival based on the cut of their jib. ;D

[isisra]

I agree with this, Patrick is a good performer but he is simply not good enough, he needs to make better decisions about band members. Terrible drummers are an issue (the newest one being a decent drummer but simply unsuited for Patricks music). I think he needs work on his vocals live, he needs to deliver them better - his voice sounds drained and lifeless at times (just because he has an in-tune voice does not mean he is in anyway a good performance singer).

Also, he needs to stop the pathetic tantrums - they make him look like a huge (thank goodness he has not had anything serious this year) cunt.

[lolli]

Jun 29, 2011 17:01:36 GMT isisra said:

I agree with this, Patrick is a good performer but he is simply not good enough, he needs to make better decisions about band members. Terrible drummers are an issue (the newest one being a decent drummer but simply unsuited for Patricks music). I think he needs work on his vocals live, he needs to deliver them better - his voice sounds drained and lifeless at times (just because he has an in-tune voice does not mean he is in anyway a good performance singer).

Also, he needs to stop the pathetic tantrums - they make him look like a huge (thank goodness he has not had anything serious this year) cunt.

Ah come on, say what you really think

Personally I'd rather have Patrick as he is than some identikit plastic manufactured mime artist. In fact I prefer live performances that aren't flawless and 'studio perfect'.

[newslang]

Patrick's live performances are great - I wish I had more chances to see him live! It's no fun when artists have label-approved setlists and choreography... Part of the reason I'll go see Patrick a few nights in a row - because I know it'll be different every time.

So, I agree that I can't see Patrick being a mainstream headliner, but in this case it's a good thing.

[thehazelwoodfaye]

well as much as I wish for Patrick that his wishes come true aso, I don't think it's likely he'll be on a mainstage on big festivals for the reasons, everyones already mentioned (well in a foreseeable future at least). I like his live performances, the (sometimes ridiculous enough) dance moves and jumping (and occasionally falling lol) and wouldn't want to miss them for the world... I haven't seen the Palladium concert live, but from the videos I've seen I'd say: that's the closest he'll ever reach perfection (at least for the next years or so). And that's absolutely fine for me
I know: a big stage + audience gives you the extra+ adrenaline when you're already starting to get used to smaller stages...whoever's been on stage knows that the more the better's the experience...but it's also more embarrassing when you mess it up and the masses are staring at you...so I don't even think it would serve him so much (see previous tantrums onstage)
I guess that's just Patrick's occasional daydreams for superstardom which make him say these things...

[isisra]

Jun 29, 2011 19:44:45 GMT thehazelwoodfaye said:

I guess that's just Patrick's occasional daydreams for superstardom which make him say these things...

That's one of the major faults in dear Patrick.

[niwo]

lol oh well, part of him is still a boy, so let him have his superstardom dreams
that and his not so perfect shows make us love him so much and i for myself can say that i wouldn't want it any other way. of course i wish him success and that he can make a living from his music but at the same time it wouldn't be the same anymore if he played only 7000+ venues at some point. he wouldn't be able to have the close fan-relation anymore.

and i'm sure he's aware of it and might not even want that himself.
but the impulsive dream-statements belong to patrick like the not so perfect shows, the messing up the song house, the random dance moves, the flipping the hair back in position and the ... lets call them 'interesting' at times outfits. i don't think that one should take everything patrick says all too seriously...

[isisra]

Jun 29, 2011 22:56:29 GMT niwo said:

lol oh well, part of him is still a boy, so let him have his superstardom dreams
that and his not so perfect shows make us love him so much and i for myself can say that i wouldn't want it any other way. of course i wish him success and that he can make a living from his music but at the same time it wouldn't be the same anymore if he played only 7000+ venues at some point. he wouldn't be able to have the close fan-relation anymore.

and i'm sure he's aware of it and might not even want that himself.
but the impulsive dream-statements belong to patrick like the not so perfect shows, the messing up the song house, the random dance moves, the flipping the hair back in position and the ... lets call them 'interesting' at times outfits. i don't think that one should take everything patrick says all too seriously...

I'm sure he makes enough money to survive, unless surviving to Patrick means four houses, a yacht, a personal collection of wolfs...

I get the impression that Patrick believes stardom and fame will bring him a type of happiness, which is delusional, unless you like the paparazzi taking photos of you in absurd situtations (doesn't Patrick have this already? .

[catwolf]

Jun 29, 2011 22:56:29 GMT niwo said:

lol oh well, part of him is still a boy, so let him have his superstardom dreams
that and his not so perfect shows make us love him so much and i for myself can say that i wouldn't want it any other way. of course i wish him success and that he can make a living from his music but at the same time it wouldn't be the same anymore if he played only 7000+ venues at some point. he wouldn't be able to have the close fan-relation anymore.

and i'm sure he's aware of it and might not even want that himself.
but the impulsive dream-statements belong to patrick like the not so perfect shows, the messing up the song house, the random dance moves, the flipping the hair back in position and the ... lets call them 'interesting' at times outfits. i don't think that one should take everything patrick says all too seriously...

I completely agree!
Last time i saw him live, the cable fell out his viola halfway through a song and i found it and passed it back up to him! Things like that and forgetting chords etc might be more unprofessional, but it sort of makes him seem more human/real if that makes sense. I prefer shows like that, and i hope he doesn't ever stop playing small venues.
But i think it would be wonderful if he headlined Glastonbury! ;D

[lunamorgan]

I'm not going to agree, not because I think Patrick is flawless (certainly not, I've seen him flub chords or lyrics enough to know better, he's human like the rest of us) but because I think you all have a slightly skewed idea of what goes on with "headliner" quality acts.

Firstly, I've seen a number of major stars forget lyrics or chords or choregraphy on stage. Youtube almost anyone you've ever heard of and you'll find videos of them making mistakes during big performances. It happens all the time. So there's that.

Second, a lot of the huge acts have professional (read: more expensive than the labels are going to give for Patrick) roadies who do all of the tuning for the artist beforehand. So if Patrick were already making money enough for the label to shell out for a good tour manager and roadies, he'd never end up on stage out of tune. Artists don't actually always remember to set things up for themselves. We all know that musicians in general can be quite spacey and forgetful. It's just that big acts have people who are paid to remember to do everything for them.

Again, I'm not saying our dear boy is without any responsibility here, certainly. But I think we're giving those people who ARE headlining a lot of credit. There are surely some very professional musicians who never forget chords or lyrics and who always have their instruments in tune, etc., etc. but they're quite a rarity. I don't think I've ever seen a show when something wasn't flubbed somehow by the band.

So all I'm saying is: it depends. If he ever hits it big time with an album, he might have the financial support to create the facade of professionality that we expect for performers and then he might be able to headline Glasto or another major festival.

[dapaladi]

i completely agree with lunamorgan

[isisra]

Luna I certainly think you are correct, the one thing I am trying to consider is why would Patrick wish to be a headliner anyway?

Usually, headliners are manufactured trash with very little sense of themselves outside of their PR rep.

[lunamorgan]

I think because Patrick is lovely and idealistic and wants to believe that headliners CAN be artists who work hard to create something unique and beautiful. It isn't that he wants to be manufactured; he wants pop to be accessible to artists. A headliner is just the biggest name or the main billing for a show, it isn't inherently being manufactured.

[catwolf]

I think you're right lunamorgan. But i think the reason Patrick's not a headliner is purely because he's not popular enough. Which could be because most people haven't heard of him or maybe because most people listen to rubbish music (I'm referring to all the manufactured, talentless music that's in the charts, i don't mean to be a snob!) But it's a shame because he is very underappreciated and deserves to be that popular. (Although i don't want him to start playing huge venues and never being able to meet fans for fear of ambushed and everything that goes along with being that famous!)

[Zurich80]

Jul 9, 2011 16:56:55 GMT catwolf said:

i think the reason Patrick's not a headliner is purely because he's not popular enough.

DOH! Ah, yes, of course. THAT'S the reason. Why didn't I think of this before I even started this thread. Silly me.

[catwolf]

^Haha sorry, i was just meaning however professional/expensive the roadies are, and however perfect or otherwise the performance is, none of that matters if there aren't enough people wanting to see him.

[Zurich80]

a

Jul 11, 2011 11:59:44 GMT catwolf said:

^Haha sorry, i was just meaning however professional/expensive the roadies are, and however perfect or otherwise the performance is, none of that matters if there aren't enough people wanting to see him.

Still slightly missing my point though Catty.

Point being that- at least currently - Patrick does not operate on the professional level of a top line (ie Glasto) headliner. Regardless of whether he has a lackie tuning his Ukelele or not.

As some other lunatic on here (that 'Lemon Cola' dude I think) pointed out in a rare moment of clarity some time ago, there was very much a pivotal point in Patrick's career 2 or 3 years ago when it was linear with Ms Florence Welch and her merry band. Both signed to the same label, and both vying for the marketing budget to kick in and progress the career. That budget was only going to go to one band. The fact that it was Flo, not only said a lot about the wavering corporate faith in Patrick, but it also proved to be the correct decision. (I refer you once more to the clip of Patrick and the 'House' fiasco at this years Glasto).

[herrdoktor]

Jul 11, 2011 14:49:50 GMT Zurich80 said:

there was very much a pivotal point in Patrick's career 2 or 3 years ago when it was linear with Ms Florence Welch and her merry band. Both signed to the same label, and both vying for the marketing budget to kick in and progress the career. That budget was only going to go to one band. The fact that it was Flo, not only said a lot about the wavering corporate faith in Patrick, but it also proved to be the correct decision. (I refer you once more to the clip of Patrick and the 'House' fiasco at this years Glasto).

Well, when you refer about PW/Flo and the who's-going-to-get-the-big-budget deal, you must keep in mind how enormously successful "Lungs" was/is, while on the other hand, "The Bachelor" doesn't have half of the commercial appeal "Lungs" has.

All in all, I agree with your main idea on the first post on this thread. But I still can't quite see what's so terrible about the House clip, maybe I'm not paying enough attention. _{And I'm also failing to identify which is the second song he's singing on that video.}