10/26/2000: Mike Peters/Alarm 2000, Club DV8,Temple, UT
Summary
Press Release
Mike Peters: Lead vocals, guitar
plus:
Guitar: James Stevenson(Chelsea,Generation-X, Gene Loves Jezebel)
Bass: Richard Llewellyn (Jess,Cartoon)
Drums: Steve Grantly: (Stiff Little Fingfers)Set List
Band Comments
Fan Comments
It was a year ago this week that Mike Peters was in Salt Lake, where he
opened for The Mission UK with an amazing acoustic set. He said that he
had every intention of returning with a band, and 360 days later, he
made good on the promise. Very good!
My evening started out with a stop by the merchandise table where I
checked out the new Alarm release, a fully remastered back catalogue of
all the Alarm cd’s as well as b-sides, and demos. One extra Peters has added
to the Box Set is a personal dedication to every buyer of the package. Well,
he was overwhelmed by the response, so he has taken to recording every show,
and including live dedications to those who purchase the Box Set at the
show. On this night that would include ten dedications.
The lights went down and I bravely made my way to the front of the
stage. I was still worried about the turnout on a Thursday in Utah, but
forgot it all when the Alarm 2000 band came to the stage. Made up of
Peters, and three new players with resumes including Gene Loves Jezebel,
and Stiff Little Fingers, the show started off with a roar from the
crowd. Peters read his first dedication of the night and launched into a
rousing version of Marching On. Although I didn’t keep track of the
setlist, everything an Alarm fan would want to hear was played. Where
Were You Hiding When the Storm Broke? was supercharged, and 68 Guns had
everyone in the crowd screaming along to the anthem! The last two times
I saw the Alarm, Peters tossed out a deck of cards for the song Deeside,
in reference to the blue collar anthem’s chorus line “To be dealt the
cards, to play your hand, to win or else to lose.” Although I missed the
cards the first two times, I grabbed a six of clubs this time to stick
in my Strength cd case.
Midway through the set Peters asked a question for which Alarm fans
always have the same answer: “Do you want me to sing this next song in
English… Or Welsh?” After the overwhelming response, he launched into
a solo acoustic version of the classic New South Wales in his native
Welsh. After this he introduced what he said was always his favorite
Alarm song (even though he didn’t sing this one originally,) One Step
Closer to Home. He started off with just his acoustic, and the band came
in for the ending to kick start the rest of the set. The breather was
just enough for the now full house to catch it’s collective breath
before rounding out the rest of the set with a non stop barrage of fired
up rockers like Strength, Absolute Reality, Unsafe Building (which he
explained was from the early days of the group, but re-recorded for the
Standards cd,) The Stand, Rescue Me, a wet Rain in the Summertime thanks
to the bottled water onstage (Mike Peters spit on me!) and of course the
crowd favorite Spirit of ’76. The crowd was singing along all night, but
Peters stepped away from the mic to allow us our turn at lead vocals on
’76 and the full house did not disappoint, screaming out “I can hear
them now!” in the appropriate spot!
After only a few seconds the band returned for a couple more, ending the
night with a group sing along on the final strains of Going Out in a
Blaze of Glory. After more than an hour and a half of an unbelievably
rocking show the house lights came on and the crowd dispersed. The
audience was exhausted and so too were the band I’m sure. I had bounced
and sang (screamed) along to every song, and Mike Peters had a huge
smile on his face all night long. Members of the band and crew kept
exchanging smiles during what was hopefully a magical night for the
band, as it was for the fans. All in all I don’t think I’ve ever seen a
show that was such a barrage of energy from beginning to end! I was
beat, but very happy. I grabbed an XL tee-shirt on my way out and
thanked Jules for coming back. I decided to head out rather than wait
around for the inevitable fan meet and greet that would take place
after a few showers. I would easily rank this in my top three best
shows I’ve ever seen! Maybe even higher depending on when you ask me!
(Ron Petersen)
