It was my sister who introduced me to Silverchair; there were only a handful of bands she got into before I did when we were younger, but Silverchair was one of them. When I was 14 or 15 I went on holiday to America with my family and my sister bought a handful of cds, benefitting from the good exchange rate. In amongst them was Adrenaline by Deftones and the first three Silverchair albums - Frogstomp, Freak Show and Neon Ballroom. I went on to buy the other two albums they released, but in so many ways those first three are the classics. I loved how different each album was from the one before it (no doubt the huge musical changes were due to the young age they recorded Frogstomp at), but Neon Ballroom struck the perfect combination of the angst of the first two and the pomp of the final two.
The first half of the album is huge, and Emotion Sickness and Anthem for the Year 2000 sound incredible with the volume way up (I have the house to myself and I'm blasting this record). The second half isn't bad, but it doesn't have the huge songs of side 1. Black Tangled Heart and the almost-punk Satin Sheets were also favourites back in the day and still hold up fairly well now.
I picked this LP up in Selectadisc in Soho (before it became Sister-Ray) while I was passing through London on the way to Winchester from Lancaster. I had an hour to make my connection in Waterloo so figured I had time to swing by some record shops, which I did, just about (there's no guilt in rushing around London because everyone does it). I was amazed it was only £6. Even today copies are going for £20-£30 on eBay. It's in practically mint condition too (a slight mark on the sleeve and the inner isn't quite perfect). I'd been a fan for a long time so was pretty pleased to find it on vinyl.
I only saw Silverchair once, but it was incredible. I had tickets to see them in 2002 but Daniel was taken ill and the tour was cancelled. Luckily that meant I got priority booking when they rescheduled the dates for 2003 and got tickets for the first of four shows in Shepherd's Bush Empire. Unfortunately this show was the night before my maths A-level exam, but got away with going by telling my parents the exam was the day before. I passed (only just) and they still don't know to this day. The Live From Faraway Stables cd/dvd is a pretty good representation of the show I saw that night. We had no Frogstomp songs, but Emotion Sickness and Anthem pleased me plenty.
Format: 12", gatefold sleeve, inner
Tracks: 12
Cost: £6 second hand
Bought: Selectadisc, London
When: 06/10/04
Colour: Black
Etching: none
mp3s: no
