- U.S. 80s-90s
- Oswald Defence Lawyer
- Cab It Up
- 2 x 4
- Get a Hotel
- Jerusalem
- Frenz
- Pay Your Rates
- Victoria
- Bremen Nacht
- Yes, O Yes
- Hit the North
- Guest Informant
- Hey! Luciani
- Carry Bag Man
- L.A.
NOTES
70 minutes
Powerful audience recording – very clear and punchy. Some annoying conversation, grunting and screeching from the crowd for a lot of the time which is a little too distracting in parts
It starts with a stunning “US 80s 90s” – the group is tight and Mark is in good order – it concludes with a extemporised extra scratchy guitar screw-up. “Oswald” is just as tight, Mark could be higher in the mix, and the crowd tends to interject in places, but the closing extended repetition is pure Fall. “Cab” loses a bit of the initial venom and suffers from its perky pop sensibility.
“2×4” is workmanlike, in comparison to a brooding “Get a Hotel” which is somewhat ruined by constant subliminal audience chattering. Memorable drumming from Wolstencroft here as he fills every gap with syncopated rhythm, not sure I like Schofield’s keyboard patch on this.
Again Wolstencrofts steady beat, together with Hanleys trademark Fender sound lock a breathless “Jerusalem” into some sort of alien motorik groove.
“Frenz” is dominated by nattering from the audience at the beginning and once started gets into some serious contrapuntal sexiness until whittering Tilburgians destroy the soundscape. No sure the band has got the rhythm down quite right here – it slips and slides.
“Pay Your Rates” features some audience improv – I’ve moaned on about the car crash that is this iteration of the band doing this tune in other reviews of this tour – this is one of the better versions.
The “yee-haaing” audience clearly enjoys the 2:41 football chant of Ray Davies – too me it seems rushed and inconsequential.
“Bremen Nacht” rescues a gig that started with pure excellence and was deteriorating slightly into a greatest hits ramble. Unfortunately there is more intense whittering from a nearby goon. Some good lead line guitar from Brix, and the band has the dynamics down right.
The taper has the next track down as “Kurious Oranj” – its actually “Yes, O Yes” – good reading – lots of intensity. One of the highlights of the gig. Followed by a superior reading of “Hit the North” which loses its pop sensibilities and becomes more Fall-like in its exposition. Some great laminal inter-play here.
That old “Big Dad Stoke Clog Amethyst” makes an appearance and the band are getting back into their spine-tingling best again by this point. Rancurous and vituperative – I had to go and get myself another beer from the fridge in order to calm down after listening to this. Some initial “whup” like tendencies displayed here for those readers who bother to follow the conceptual continuity.
Hanley underpins a great version of “Luciani” – virile and funky in a south Bury stylee – as much tension as a pork scratching burp.
Unfortunately the whitterings of someone near the taper somewhat ruin the opening “CBM” after that its a a glorious ramble. Intense stuff here and somewhat unforgiving.
“LA” apes percognitively “What About Us” from the start and then transcends into a para psychedelic glow – a sensuous tumble through layers of guitars and drums with Smith- albeit at distance – direct an insouciant mind play of intense proportions.
I got confused listening to this. It started off really well and then dipped very badly and then picked up with some degree of excellence towards the end. It is seriously compromised by some annoying audience chatter but getting beyond that, ignoring the TOTP stuff it is a great performance.
Some great photographs from the gig can be found here