1. O.F.Y.C. Showcase
  2. Strangetown
  3. Chino
  4. Hot Cake
  5. Cowboy George
  6. Bury
  7. Mexico Wax Solvent (instrumental)
  8. I’ve Been Duped
  9. Mr. Pharmacist

NOTES

Last ever performance of Strangetown

Mexico Wax Solvent is an instrumental

Vocals on Mr Pharmacist by Safi Sniper

REVIEW by Chris Goodhead

Two days before the official release of Your Future Our Clutter, expectations for the first date of the tour were high. The album had been reviewed positively, the Bury 7” (with it’s wonderful and overlooked B-Side, Cowboy Gregori) had offered a tantalising sonic glimpse of the wonders therein and the previous show two months ago in Berlin had been very encouraging. Oh… and every Fall fan alive had a pre-release bootleg of the album anyway, most considered it a bit special and most were pretty excited. This stint of the tour would last for just over a month, culminating in the show at Primavera Sound festival in Barcelona. A solid show here, with no high-jinks, weirdness or controversy would be just the ticket then…

Things start promisingly enough, if a bit ragged round the edges, with YFOC Showcase. The song hasn’t quite got into the hypnotic power of the metronomic chug which develops later in the tour. Even so, the crowd sound very appreciative of the “Good Evening We Are The Fall” (from the long long days of Cheddar Cheese, if you’re interested) and a spirited and energetic run-through ensues. Things take a bit of a dip with Strangetown where even Elena’s space noises can’t liven up a pedestrian plod through the song. It gives an indication that perhaps the group are not quite firing on all cylinders or that by this point the song is just a bit too tired and needs to be put to bed. Indeed, Strangetown does not feature in future sets. Over! Over! is substituted instead.

Chino begins an exceptional run of songs from the new album. Dark and brooding it is still yet to evolve its full swagger. With its lyric of “I can’t open the fucking door” it proves a companion piece to the following song, Hot Cake, which really locks into a Fall groove, particularly towards the end. Some lovely dischordant keyboards are most likely played by Mark. His vocals are a little hard to decipher in parts (what, really?) but a theme of human frailty begins to emerge with “I can’t open the door! I can’t… I’m full of crap. Hot Cake came like the wind. In a whirlwind.”

Cowboy George begins with a bit of live mixing as Mark tries to shape the guitar sound over a wriggling bass, settling on very loud and distorted. Mark delivers some basic, straightforward bile with “George. I hate your fucking guts”, providing a counterpoint to the languid poetry delivered over the second part of the song where Pete’s guitar sounds like it’s being played underwater;

There must be something that’s not been seen
Out of the sea
Lapping out of the Indian Summer of your dream
Or the swamp ordure
It is unseen knowledge
Unseen facts
In the alpha something something* we wander
Unseen knowledge from the Castleford crisp
From the Castleford crypt
In a dark dungeon of Pete Greenway’s mind
On 2.15 in August he grasped the facts
Unseen knowledge
Unseen facts
And somewhere in the Gregorian line we’ll make it clear
And the roses somewhere will bloom in lines and find a want
And propate to the Pennines
Unseen knowledge
Unseen facts

*It’s not that what he sings is indecipherable, what he is reading off one of those crumpled pieces of paper is illegible perhaps?

Some between song banter follows (Audience member : “I love the bass!” MES : “Hallelujah. We’re from Bury”) and the blend of high and low culture continues, an appreciation of which is perhaps central to enjoying The Fall. In a similar vein, the first two lines of Bury appear to be, “Don’t mess around. Don’t mess around on my cleavage.” Over an undeniably funky bass line, a theme of overcoming human frailty begins. “Don’t fuck around. I’m Wolverine”, “And the weakness expired. And the weakness expired about 10 o’clock…” The God of Fall Weirdness and / or psychic retribution then decides that these will be among the last words Smith sings tonight as Mark goes offstage and evidently transforms from Wolverine back into a man who can’t get up some very steep stairs as the weakness returns with a vengeance.

The audience and presumably the band don’t know this yet though, and launch into Mexico, being played live here for the second time. The first time it was sung mostly by Ed Blaney but this version is instrumental. Perhaps the song is cursed. Sonically it doesn’t go anywhere because Mark does not return and so it ends up as an extended introduction, eerily reminiscent, in sound as well as context, of some of those mid-90’s shows where it was never certain if Mark would return to the stage.

An audience member shouts, “Where are you, Mark?” and those who think that The Fall are too smart to do irony might be disarmed by the next choice of song, I’ve Been Duped. As has been documented since, Mark was on stage for a total of six songs and it seems during this song the tension on stage and in the audience may have been beginning to set in. Elena really gives it some on vocals, perhaps to compensate. Although Duped is a song that can be done without Mark, it is better with. As someone on the Fall forum noted, in an alternate universe this lull is followed by Mark’s return and a stellar performance. In our universe however, there is still no sign of Mark.

The applause suggests that most of the audience still sound up for it before Elena begins to explain why Wolverine Mark has not returned. “Edinburgh, the stairs are very steep and therefore we have to do without Mark for the moment. Please understand. We’re very sorry. Very sorry. Mark is in the building though!” A few notes are picked out on keyboard to signal the start of Mr Pharmacist and the audience begin to make disgruntled sounds and begin to boo. Elena sounds a little peeved and is possibly baiting the audience when she counters with, “Yeah! You can boo! Boo all you like! Mark loves it!” or perhaps she is just being honest.

Regardless, things then go off the scale of strangeness and no words can possibly explain why they thought it would be a good idea to bring on Safi Sniper for a read along to Mr Pharmacist. Presumably he doesn’t get the medal for bravery which he surely deserved and he improvises, “Why do you hate me, Mr Pharmacist?” Following his vocal demise, Elena throws the words of Strychnnine at the tune of Mr Pharmacist to see if any of them stick. Some of them do, almost. Divorced from the evening’s proceedings it’s an interesting curio, but it’s no show stopper. When it finishes there is applause, but booing begins almost immediately as presumably the lights go up or the band walk off, but (naturally) not before Elena puts some icing on the cake by shouting (obviously) “Get a Doctor, man!”

In retrospect, it’s a curates egg, this one. Although bewilderment, disappointment and a fair bit of bile subsequently found its way onto the Fall Forum, it is likely that latter proceedings overshadowed the excellent quartet of tracks that start with Chino. Indeed, those particular tracks stand up incredibly well thematically and listening to them in sequence offers a clue as to just how good some of the shows on this tour were going to get.