Wednesday, 21 December, 1994 – Royal Court Theatre, Liverpool, England

The Aphid
Behind the Counter
M5
Ladybird (Green Grass)
Don’t Call Me Darling
15 Ways
Free Range
The Joke
Middle Class Revolt
Life Just Bounces
Glam Racket
Feeling Numb
Hey! Student
L.A.
Deadbeat Descendant

NOTES

71 Minutes

A clear audience recording apart from MES vocals which are a little low in the mix at the start. A little subliminal audience chatter in places.

MES provides only 30 seconds of vocals to The Aphid.  Clearly something is amiss at the start of Ladybird as it takes a while for the vocals to kick in. By this time MES is a little higher in the mix.

I’m not sure if Brix’s shuffling rhythm guitar works on Free Range – it seems out of place.

The Joke feels oddly constipated and Brix’s guitar seems out of kilter with the rest of the group.

Conversely the Brix “shuffle” makes Middle Class Revolt sound a lot better – she adds the “Star” section usually associated with Glam Racket throughout most of the song. MES is  absent. Probably the highlight of the gig in terms of the group delivery.

Again Brix’s guitar doesn’t seem to fit with Life Just Bounces, whereas  Glam-Racket is spot on. Feeling Numb is very good. It’s almost as if anything post Infotainment she can cope with whereas the earlier material is not a good fit. There are two attempts at Hey! Student as MES struggles to keep up with the pace on the first attempt, matters are slowed down slightly for the second attempt.

Encores are a very fast L.A. with Brix taking the bulk of the vocal duties at the start and MES only contributing L’s and A’s. Deadbeat Descendent is also taken at break-neck speed. Bush’s Hawkwind like synth sweeps seem particularly inappropriate.

Overall a strange gig with the seven piece groups sounding great in places and out of sorts in others.

 

from Manchester District Music Archive