Squeeze vs. The Police, a steel cage match!

Well, not quite. But a guy at the Huffington Post is very pointed in his assessment of Squeeze vs. The Police. I'm sure you all would guess where I would fall in this category.

My iPod seems to like the Police, despite my own tastes. I only have about one-quarter their greatest hits album on there, and in random shuffle often I have to skip through two of their songs to get to a band that I want to hear. (Why, yes, I do program my own iPod. But if I can't skip through songs occasionally, I don't feel like I'm really listening.)

Also, I gotta wonder about some of those commenters on that site. What was that one guy's point, that he likes Soundgarden? Non sequitur much? Maybe he just likes to drop in conversation that he likes Chris Cornell just kind of randomly. Sheesh.

Squeeze in a Roundup

Not a round up of Squeeze (sorry, this week has been busy preparing for next week's trip to the Bay Area to see Squeeze), but Squeeze got included in the San Jose-area's Metro includes them in a round-up:

Squeeze: BACK IN the '70s, an English band called Squeeze eked out a little niche somewhere between the New Wave pop rock of Elvis Costello and the British synth-pop of the Human League, but ironically scored their biggest with the comparatively earthy and soulful "Tempted." Founding members Chris Difford and Glenn Tilbrook put the show back on the road, employing the help of longtime bassist John Bentley and other members of Tilbrook's touring band. (Mike Connor) Squeeze performs on Tuesday (Aug. 14) at 7:30pm at Mountain Winery, 14831 Pierce Riad, Saratoga. Tickets are $55–$85. (408.998.TIXS)

Is it just the former-academic-publishing-company-worker in me that finds it funny that the marriage of Faith Hill and Tim McGraw, country singers also mentioned in that round-up, means that they are the McGraw-Hills?

Duelling Set Lists

In a comment, Rich of Massachusetts posted a different set list at the Boston show:

Now that I think about it, I'm certain "Cool for Cats" came after "Slap and Tickle." So here's the true setlist:

1. Take Me I'm Yours
2. Slightly Drunk
3. Piccadilly
4. Hourglass
5. Up the Junction
6. I Think I'm Go Go
7. Third Rail
8. Electric Trains
9. Some Fantastic Place
10. Melody Motel
11. Messed Around
12. Walk Away
13. Slaughtered, Gutted and Heartbroken
14. Annie Get Your Gun
15. Another Nail in My Heart
16. Goodbye Girl
17. If I Didn't Love You
18. Pulling Mussels (From the Shell)
19. Slap and Tickle
20. Cool for Cats

Encore

21. Tempted
22. Is That Love
23. Black Coffee in Bed

I don't know which of the Boston set lists is accurate. Can anyone else who went to the Boston show confirm?

New Jersey Praise

The paper that Tony Soprano takes liked the show at the Nokia Theatre, and promote the show that will in Atlantic City tonight. (Or maybe it's just the paper's blog? I can't tell from this.)

Not sure if the reviewer interviewed Glenn or not, or if Glenn said this as part of his stage patter:

"We haven't played any new songs tonight, because, well, there aren't any," said Tilbrook, no doubt a bit sensitive since he declared in 2004 that a tour without new songs is the "kiss of death."

He said that? Maybe I'm just getting old, but I don't remember that!
Anyway, the Star-Ledger continues:

But along with pitch-perfect renditions of such staples as "Pulling Mussels (From the Shell)" and "Hourglass," the band pulled out the more obscure "I Think I'm Go Go," roared through the power-pop of "Trust Me to Open My Mouth" and added a break to the new-wave drollery of "Cool for Cats" that was almost funky.

Setlist from Cape Cod!

It's an exciting time to be a Squeeze fan isn't it?

As I was doing some in-depth research for today's blog (drinking coffee and looking through my inbox), I came across this...

Franny from the squeezefan Yahoo Group, managed to get a copy of the setlist:

Take Me I'm Yours
Slightly Drunk
Hour Glass
Up The Junction
Third Rail
Electric Trains
Some Fantastic Place
Melody motel
Messed Around
Walk Away
Slaughtered, Guttered, Heartbroken
Annie Get Your Gun
Another Nail
Goodbye girl
Piccadilly
If I didn't love you
Pulling Muscles
Slap & Tickle
Cool for cats
---------------
Tempted
Is that love
Black Coffee In Bed

Franny, we salute you :0)


If any squeeze readers out there would like to share their photographs, setlists, reviews or just their sheer joy of going to a Squeeze gig, then please send them to us via the power of email:

thesqueezeREMOVE THIS BIT IN CAPITALSreader@googlemail.com


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Newsday interview

Newsday is a daily paper in New York, and this excellent interview has the best little summary of the life of Squeeze:

Mates in a band can be friends or they can be successful, and sometimes they can be both. Sometimes, they can't. For example, they can be Squeeze.

This is actually a really well-written little advance write-up of the New York shows, with some hearfelt words from Tilbrook, who declines to rule out a real reunion (at least, songwriter-wise). Check the article out.

The Phoenix promos Squeeze

Nice little article in the Phoenix before the shows at the Bank of America Pavilion in Boston and the Melody Tent in Cape Cod.

Heroin addiction, alcoholism, neurosis, friends at each others’ throats . . . all the things you’d expect to encounter in a film about Metallica. But in the story of a generally cheerful pop group like Squeeze?

You gotta respect a writer that read the whole biography (or at least, can fake it well), but cheerful pop group? A quick glance at Singles 45 and Under (OK, I admit, I don't actually own this compilation and I had to fake this one by looking up the track list) has: a con artist, pregnancy and poverty, heartbreak (twice!), temptation and loneliness. Hm, and that's before we get to the second half. Actually, all those things mentioned in the part quoted above eventually become subjects of their songs. Had I time, I'd atually match the trouble with the song....
The Cape Cod Times also weighs in with a long interview, which also features Difford naming who he thinks are the best lyricists of his pop era.