The Subways 7th April - B'ham Academy

Firstly, the support band, The Milk Teeth, were surprisingly good. They were a crossover act of Indie/Rock, which worked well, with the exception of 2 tracks which were in the mould of RATM, and were just a mess. Possibly a name that could get bigger.

There was a buzz around the sell-out crowd as, although The Subways released their album last July, this was their first headline tour, in the Midlands at least. From the opening bars of "Mary" to the final encore of "Rock n roll queen" the predominently student crowd, was lapping up everything given to them. In probably the maddest scenes I've seen at a gig for 3 or 4 years (except for Kasabian Sept. 2004 and PWEI & The Prodigy 2005) there was just no let up from the leaping around. Ona sidenote, I'm not aching too badly for an old 'un. The band also showcased 4 or 5 songs that they've written whilst in America, and each of these went down a storm, without the usual fight for the bar when the dreaded words "here's a new one for you" came out. I do feel that the new tracks, with one exception, were all a bit samey.

The only problem with a band that produce 3 minute pop/rock songs, who only have one album, is the likelihood of a 45 minute set. This too was forgotten, as they played a full hour & a quarter, without too much time for catching breath. They played with an exhuberence which is all too rare. They genuinely seemed to be having a whale of a time. As for the singer climbing the amp stacks, rallying the troops mid song, then stagediving into the audience, he should have done it just the once and the effect would have been fantastic. Being old & cynical, when he does it for the 3rd time, with the rhythm section holding the fort, it smacks of theatrics. These things only work if spontaneous. But hey, I'm being pedantic (& a grumpy old man) to be picking that out from a great gig.

In short, if you want to hear the sound of being 17, buy the album "Young for Eternity". If you want reminding of what it's like to be young & having the time of your life, you will do far worse than to catch them live.

P.S. The bassist (Charlotte ?) is a proper rock chick, which helps.

nobby - you write excellent music reports. Thankyou.

:)

LOL, Nobby that was a funny report! I agree with the 'pedantic' and 'grumpy old man' he he he!

I really like The Subways. Sounds like they deliver a great show.

Primal Scream - Wolverhampton Wulfrun Hall 26/4

Set up as a showcase for their new album, the scream team played a very low key venue, as the Wulfrun only holds 6-700. I should also state that I'll try to be as objective as possible, but Primal Scream are my favourite band, still in existance, so certain aspects may be slightly clouded.

They began with the new single (country girl ?), which I'm still not the biggest fan of, but it could be a grower. The first half of the set contained 8 new songs and various tracks from the back catalogue. The second half cranked up as they played extensively from "Xtrmntr" and "Vanishing Point". The usual highlights came through "Kowalski", "Rocks", "Accelerator", "Swastika Eyes", "Burning Wheel", and were played with a fresh enthusiasm. Due to the small scale show, the usual light show could not be employed, but even with the limitation, they still produced the intensity that is associated with a Primal Scream show. They blast away with a huge wall of sound, teamed with extensive strobe lighting. A special version of 'Screamadelica's' "Slip inside this house", which was done in the style of the original (by The Elevators), rather than the dub version they employed in 1991, was fantastic, but I'm safe in the assumption that a majority of the crowd didn't recognise the track, as it passed unnoticed, whereas anything else from that album had a huge response.

Only small criticisms I could make (I said I'd try to be objective), were that after building the gig to a crescendo, ending with "Moving on up", which had the crowd in the usual state of euphoria (this part of the crowd anyway), they proceeded on an encore which contained 6 break-neck tracks, which I found, detracted from the main set. Each track on their own, eg "City" or "Detroit" are fine tracks (but not their best), but one after the other, just left the crowd slightly punch-drunk. My other criticism (and this is hair-splitting) was that, for me "Kowalski" is their best live track, with its brooding bass, and shocking synth sounds. I just felt last night the bass was low in the mix, and although it was still a bl00dy good version, a lot of the menace of the track was lost.

As for the new stuff, I was really taken by it. A lot of reviews from London 2 weeks ago, stated that the new album was very "70's, Exile, Rolling Stones. So much so it's a pale imitation". This led me to half-dread the new songs, as they went down the same route, post-Screamadelica with the release of "Give out, but don't give up". That album, both critically and commercially, bombed, and although "Vanishing point" won them back medals with the critics, it wasn't until the release of "Xtrmntr" in 2000, that they had anything like commercial success, teamed with huge critical praise. The evidence of last night pointed that "Riot City Blues", will not be the same as "GUBDGO", as there's far more variation in the songs.

It's just good to see them back, after losing their deal following the flop of 2002's "Evil Heat". They are a band who evolve their material and it's a better place for them.

Sounds like you had a good night Nobby :)

I've very little knowledge of Primal Scream, except for their performances at Glastonbury etc which I've managed to catch on TV. What I've seen and heard has always impressed me.

I didn't know that they'd been through hard times though - didn't they have a 'best of' album out a couple of years back?? I've been tempted to buy it - I expect you'll tell me that I should!!

Hi Jan

Their label released their best of "Dirty hits", in 2004 I think, as a parting shot.

As you said I think it's worth the money, especially as HMV usually have it in their sales for much less than a tenner. There is a limited edition version with a seperate remix CD, but unless you're a fan, it's not worth the money, as it doesn't particularly add to the songs. It's also a handy way of seeing where they are now in relation to where they've come from (unless you're after the early pop albums, which are never included on these things).

Thanks Nobby

I'll keep an eye out for 'Dirty Hits' (good title!!) when I'm next having a browse for CDs :)

Aww, Nobs, I LOVE Primal Scream!
It's great that they're still around and makin' music.
I love their dancey/rocky/trippy groove. Will have to check out their noo stuff... :)

The Brian Jonestown Massacre - 29.06.06 - Brum Academy 2

T'was a hot & sweaty night in the small upstairs bar-room in the Academy. The tour had been low key and this gig was only switched from the Bar Academy (with it's 150 capacity) late on, to this room & it's 600 capacity.

The band stumbled on in their usual chaotic manner and the gig just sort of started. I love this band live as there's nothing 'clean cut' about their gigs. They are Californian slackers and exude that attitude. It must be said at this point that Anton was absolutely shitf@ced and during the gig did make certain comments which, his being American & therefore ignorant of our culture (or any culture, it could be argued) accepted, he really should not have made ie using a certain term for Asians and a comedy Hitler impression.

The band lurched into the set and gripped the audience straight off. With 9 albums (+ mini albums) to date, they have a habit of changing the set nightly and playing the same song in different styles, as evidenced by others there who had followed them on the tour. The early part of the gig was spent playing in a shoegazey manner, which was totally different to the recorded tracks and yet suited the tunes. The version of "You look great when I'm fcuked up" was so good, I could have left at that point & gone home happy. "Introesque", "Jennifer" & "Here to go" were also personal highlights of the show, but this band is about more than purely the music.

They play a psychadelia-tinged pop, lurching from the light to the heavy end. They play a multi-layered guitar (3 guitarists + bass), which whilst powerful, is never deafening. In fact, as witnessed tonight, it is often beautiful. As I said earlier, another thing I love about them is that they don't cleanly define the act. Anton will regularly address the crowd whilst they try to work out the next track, often fighting guitar technicians over which guitars are to be used. Following the inspirational version of "YLGWIFU", they left the guitar screaming feedback for a good couple of minutes, and whilst the guitarist sparked up a ciggy, the others dropped off stage to chat to the crowd off mike. Once the bloke had finished his smoke, he started to harness the sound down, gradually to the right key, where he started the next track. At this the others climbed back on and carried on.

All in all a much overlooked band who are worth checking out.

That sounds like the sort of concert I would enjoy. From what you write it has a certain spontaneous feel to it ... all the bickering about the guitars, cigs being lit, discussions about which songs to do. I love it. I hate 'polished' acts.

Great reviews Nobby , must try out Primal Scream n BJM who sound a bit like early Fleetwood Mac but not bluesy(?) as have only heard intermittant trax even though they've both been around for ages.

Cheers Guys.

I always have certain reservations with live shows of 'organised chaos', just to fit a bands image. The BJM however, just ooze the juinkie/slacker mentality and it is an experience to see them live. Thankfully when I've seen them, Anton (who is the BJM) has always been in a good mood. Which is good as it makes the whole gig cool.

I urge you to see the film 'Dig', which is a biopic of the BJM, along with The Dandy Warhols. It only contains bit's of tracks, but it was shot over 7 years, and illustrates the 'live experience' fully. I would also make a point of forcing kids who find the junkie lifestyle cool, to watch it, just to see how fcuked up Anton's life gets when he's using. There ain't nothing glamourous about the paranoia and aggression brought on by the heroin.

As is often quoted in the film, "please just stay alive Anton".

As for listening, the 'Tepid Peppermint Wonderland' best of, is as good a place to start, as any. Of the original albums, 'Tomorrows heroes today', is an accessible start, although i-tunes (if I remember correctly) has 'Strung out in Heaven', which ain't bad.

For the Primals, the 'Dirty Hits' compilation will give an indication of their evolution, although it conveniently avoids any pre-Screamadelica tracks. Don't worry about the limited, remix CD pack, as it adds nothing to the original tracks. For original albums, 'Xtrmntr' is my favourite, but it is space/electro rock. Riot City Blues, ain't bad (When the bomb drops, is my highlight), but it ain't too great. Probably 'Vanishing point' is the middle ground. Their most rock album is still probably 'Give up but don't give out', which was slated upon it's release, and hasn't fared much better since.

For a newish bluesy-rock, have you heard the (sadly demised) 22-20's or The Blueskins? The 22-20's debut (& sadly only) release especially is worth a listen.

Oooh, 'bluesy-rock' is right up my street. Do you know much about this band you've mentioned?

You may have trouble finding that album as I used the colloquial name, used by the fans, instead of the actual title, which is "And this is our music". :rolleyes:

As for the bluesy stuff Dee, On the new Lynx ad (the one with the bloke in the bath towel), that's The Blueskins, and to be honest it's the standout track off their debut "Word of mouth".

As for the 22-20's, they also had a track in the ad's (The devil in me was used for the Vauxhall ad where the Bradley Walsh lookalike falls down the mountain). This however is probably one of the weaker tracks from the album. It is a real shame that they gave up during the 2nd album, citing different influences chaging their outlook, as although they weren't wonderfully original, they were a solid young band.

Anyone got any gigs lined up?

So far I've got Puressence 7/10
The Raconteurs 24/10
Jet 5/11
Flaming Lips 9/11
Primal Scream 13/11.

Still deciding on The Black Keys.

Would love to get to the Puressence gig in London in October or Brian Jonestown Massacre 26/11 at the Astoria, but unless it's a Saturday London is out for me.

I wish I had a a few. But I have a phobia about crowds so I just had to stop going.

Aww Nobby...can I come to the Raconteurs gig wit ya?????? :P :sunny:

Eddy: if you won't come to a gig what about a coffee shop youngman??? It's time we met up!!!!!!!!!!!! :D

A lot of "gigs" in pubs are in fact more enjoyable. You really hear the music and see the band in action. Even watching an unknown local band can be far preferable in a small venue to watching "big names" going through the motions in a bigger arena.

I wouldn't say no to the Rolling Stones tho'!!!!!! Or The Who...or Roger Waters!

Just added Public Enemy & The Brian Jonestown Massacre (both in Wolverhampton) to the list.

Can't wait for either of them, although if you see reports of a thirtysomething white bloke having had the sh!t kicked out of him for being at Public Enemy, you'll now know who it is.

Bring the Noise!!

Nobby, I don't have ANY B.J.M music in my collection at all. Must try n find some trax...I'll ask my trusted friend Peet the Northern Git :D when he returns from his travels oop bonnie Scotland. Public Enemy eh? They put out some good trax back in the 80s...wasn't it? Am sure they had a lotta white fans too? Didn't they????? Oooh, take care at the gig then, Nobs! :unsure:


Oh, I've just noticed...I've attained 'refugee' status!

Congrats on the refugee status Dee :applaud: (and it's not often you can say that).

I know PE have a lot of white fans, but my mate got done over on the Def Jam tour (88/89ish), just before their set and all he can remember during the kicking was his assailants shouting "you're white and you're not f***in' wanted here". I think a lot of that was due to the media at the time, hailing, quite rightfully, PE as a voice of the global black youth. Hopefully certain aspects of their live shows have moved on. Especially since I'm on my own at this one.

Puressence 7th Oct - Birmingham Bar Academy

As with Primal Scream, I will attempt to remain objective, as I'm a huge fan of this band.

Firstly the venue. Upstairs in a smallish bar (tied to the larger Academy, next door) it has the pub feel, but holds approx 400. By no means sold out, but there was a good atmosphere for the bands first gig in ny hometown, since 1998.

Support was provided by a Greek band who's name I did not catch. I've seen worse, but they were firmly entrenched in the school of Franz Ferdinand/Yeah Yeah Yeah's. The female vocalist was very much like Karen O, in both looks and delivery.

Puresssence came on around 9.40 (the delay due to the support having set-up troubles) and had to make up for lost time. They opened with 'Near Distance' followed by 'I suppose', two of the higher tempo tracks off their debut album. Unfortunately, a band that plays these small, pub-type venues will be subject to sound problems, and tonight was no exception. There was no bass in the mix for the first 3 tracks and then they had problems with the overall sound. Jimi Mudriczki's vocal is a huge plus for the band, a high-pitched vocal reminiscent which is Jeff Buckley-esque, as it soars over the melody but tonight it was distorted. Funnily enough, when matched with the lo-fi mixing of the guitars, it actually was quite effective and didn't spoil my enjoyment, but I think others weren't impressed. The bands 4th album is imminent (been saying that since 2002) and there was a fair smattering of new tunes in the set. Although they sounded great and gives hope that the band will not give it up, I can't see it being different enough to break them into the world of stardom. Their first album was 10 years ago, so they were riding the back of Britpop, which is evident in the anthemic nature of a lot of their tracks, but they were always the darker element of Britpop, either in the music or lyrically.

By 11.0pm they'd played most of the crowd favourites, except for 'Turn the lights out when I die', which I'd have paid the ticket price to for that track alone, and had pleased the crowd no end. Unfortunately the usual high provided by the playout track 'India', didn't happen tonight. The bad sound had caught up with them and it was really messy.

I hope they keep the faith and carry on, as 10 years (and 3 albums) in, they must be annoyed with still playing small boozers. Especially as they regularly sell out 2000+ halls in Greece, which hopefully is providing them with enough of a payday to continue. No one has ever worked out why the Greeks have taken to them in such a big way, bet we're happy they have, as it's probably what's kept them going, in the face of such apathy in the UK. Hopefully the release fo the 4th album will get them some exposure, but I'm not counting on it. Thye're still Manchester's best kept secret.

Nobby, thanks for the report.

Did the Greek band sing in Greek?

As for Puressence, I have no idea why they are so popular over there. I am surprised.

Hi Eddy

The support band sang in English. They had a White Stripes thing going on with their uniform (all in black & red) but other than that they weren't particularly noteworthy. The vocalist was decent, but the 'angular' guitars were too derivative, for me.

It was different to the stereotypical continental band, but could they make it over here? Very doubtful IMO, but they were well received, which was good to see.

I've not heard anything by this band Nobby...can you give us some album recommendations? Or stick a music clip on?? cheers, good report btw!

A greek Franz Ferdinand? Nooooooo! STOP IT NOW. I wish Notis Svaganakis would come over...he's a WONDERFUL singer.

Public Enemy 10th October - Wolverhampton Wulfrun

First up, missed the first support band (they must have been on early) but caught Back up, a British band doing a take on the rock/rap thankfully more akin to Michael Franti & Spearhead then Limp Bizkit. They were okay but the genre doesn't so it for me, I'm afraid.

The PE band (with DJ Lord) came on without much fanfare and got down to it. Chuck D & Professor Griff, came leaping onstage with 'Night of the Living Baseheads', soon to be joined by Flavor Flav, then opened into 'Bring the noise'. With these two heavyweights out of the way, they continued rattling out the anthems, 'Welcome to the Terrordome', '911 is a joke' & 'Caught, can we get a witness', delivered seamlessly. Even at this early stage Chuck D's political conscience was to the fore, leading the crowd in condemnation fo the fighting in Iraq & Afghanistan, before using a chorus of "fcuk George Bush, fcuk Tony Blair" in 'Born of a bad man', this anti-war theme was kept up throughout the set. They then briefly dallied with the 1987 material ala 'Public Enemy No. 1' & 'You gonna get yours', before beginning a strange element of the show. There was an overlong introduction of the band members, but in the case of the guitarist it was worth it, as he was a really great exponent. He hails from Memphis and boy can he play. Anyway, the gig then lurched into a dedication section, where they sang old school hip-hop from othe artists, which was rescued by Chuck D's dismissals of todays 'giants', 50 Cent, Eminem, Jay-Z & Ja Rule. He didn't come across as bitter about their riches or the esteem in which they're held, more that they'd moved too far away from hip-hop and were peddling the middle ground between HH & pop.

Then came the 'lowpoint', as Flavor Flav was given 35 minutes to showcase his new solo album, released Oct 30th. I use the word lowpoint, but it wasn't as though the music was rough (a majority of it was actually good stuff, using the Public Enemy trademark big breakbeats). It also wasn't because this wasn't what the crowd had come to see, as most gave this new material a good reception. It was more that the guy seemed to be on his uppers. He's been trawling the reality circuit for a few years now and, whether he's spent everything from the early 90's or not, the impression was that this whole tour was a favour from the rest of the band (who have all gone on to be incredibly successful in their own right), to give Flavor a leg up, as it were. The fact that the guy is embarking on this venture is heartening as he's obviously taking control, but the overwhelming impression I got was that Chuck & the boys had agreed to the tour, to help Flavor get back in the limelight for the music, which if true is laudable, but a shame.

After all of this, the rest of the crew came back onstage & really turned up the heat for the finale. Great run outs of 'Black steel in the hour of chaos' & 'Brothers gonna work it out' were only setting up the 'holy trinity'. In what was probably the strongest finish to a gig I've ever seen, 'Don't believe the Hype', 'Rebel without a pause' & the imperious 'Fight the power' left the crowd drained. 'Fight the power' especially, was one of those moments where you try to detach yourself from the crowd and just attempt to take in the enormity of waht you are witnessing. The crowd was banging, the band were giving it everything and it was a privilege to be there.

All in all, Chuck D reclaimed his slot as the master of his art. The aforementioned 50 Cent's & Eminems have stolen the limelight in his absence, but none of the new pretenders can come close to the orginal. His lyrics still have meaning, although the meanings may have changed since 87. Like Johnny Cash, he represents the underdog and fights their corner. Along with Professor Griff, he spits & snarls his words, his delivery owing more to Johnny Rotten than The Sugarhill gang. These two are more than ably assisted by everyones favourite 'court jester', Flavor Flav, DJ Lord (having assumed the role from Terminator X) who in his own right is still winning DJ contests globally, the SW1's who add the menace to the show, and the musicians, who would grace most bands out there.

A great gig, unfortunately watched by no more than about 500 people.

EXCELLENT STUFF, NOBS!

It's so good to hear about the political content in the show. :thumbsup:

DON'T BELIEVE THE HYPE, and FIGHT THE POWER are brilliant trax. I remember P.E. vividly during their heyday in the 80s. Actually, most of the BEST of hip-hop etc came outta the 80s.

The Raconteurs 24th October - Wolverhampton Civic Hall

Every so often you see a gig that blows you away and reminds you why you bother. This was certainly one.

A capacity 2000 crowd were lying in wait for The Detroit 'supergroup' and The Raconteurs came, saw & conquered.

From the instant they arrived on stage, they thrilled the audience with blistering versions of all of the album standards. 'Intimate secretary', 'Level', 'Yellow Sun' & 'call it a day' were were shot through at a pace and with such variation from the album versions, that you were left breathless at the tightness of the band. These guys can play. The rhythm section is as good as I've heard live, and the partnership of Brendan Benson & Jack White is inspired. 'Store bought bones' bowed out with a jam that was reminiscent of Booker T & the MG's, as Brendan took over the keyboards & cranked them up. This segued into a cover of Nancy Sinatra's 'my baby shot me down', that moved effortlessly from the delicate, with Jack White's vocal complementing BB's guitar, to the demonic with Jack's anger screamed over the full ensemble in a flurry of strobes. Without pause, they then ended the opening set with a fast & furious version of 'broken boy soldier', that slayed the crowd & had them baying for more.

The encore began with an inspired cover of 'Teenage kicks', moved into 'Steady as she goes', both of which fired the crowd again. They then dropped the pace a notch with the bluesy 'blue veins' before finishing on a high with 'Hands'.

In trying to describe the gig, I (being dopey) quickly run out of superlatives. Their album is in my top 3 of fave albums of 2006, but the live show, blows that album apart. In fact the album is quite stodgy compared to the show. Live, the music is so much larger, it takes on another life. These guys are at the top of their game. Although I'd heard the album countless times, I hadn't realised how well BB & JW harmonies complimented each other. The presence of JW also adds an element of punk to proceedings, giving an air of the unpredictable.

As with Pearl Jam, they are recording each gig, & make the double CD (limited to 1000 each night) available to the audience within 10 minutes of the end of the show. It costs £ 15.00, with a limited download of an alternate mix of the new single, and is mixed by ex-BBC engineers. A girl who was at London raved about the quality. I'll know after listening to it tonight.

As I said at the beginning, every so often a whole gig will happen that will knock you sideways, be it from the excitement in the crowd, the musicianship, the intensity of the occassion or whatever. This will rank alongside those, and above most of them. Certainly the best gig I've seen this year.

NO NO NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO! :P
I'M SO FARKIN' JEALOUS! :hello:
I'm gagging to go see The Raconteurs.
I jus so love what Jack White n co are doin'...it's really up my street.
aww...Nobs. I've got to do a duet with jacky boy!!!!!!! :D

Sounds like you had a brilliant night Nobby. I admit that I'm a bit out of touch re The Raconteurs and have only seen a clip of them on TV. Your review is very good and makes me want to find out more... I'll keep an eye - and an ear - out for their stuff from now on :)

Jet - 5th November Brum Academy

Okay, I hold my hands up to the fact that I was dreading this gig. I outgrew the debut album in 2003, after playing it to death. I have played it since, and it doesn't get any better. Added to that, I've found the new album , Shine on, to be a strange mix of Guy Chambers/Robbie Williams, power/pop, anthemic balladry and some pretty formulaic rock.

The support was from the highly rated 747's (and they were good), a band I will certainly be checking out further.

Jet blew onto the stage to Thin Lizzy's 'Rocker' (first band I've seen come onto a tune in ages) and jumped into the new album. To be fair, like The Raconteurs, the live versions gave their songs a new lease of life, and made them 'larger' than the recorded versions. Yeah, they're very formulaic. The riffs are largely 'Let there be rock'/'Highway to hell' AC/DC, but they are a good time Aussie rock band, who belt out the tunes. They did lull into the melodic rock that dominated their debut, in the middle of the gig, which killed it a bit, but they came out of the other side intact & ready to go again.

The encore was a strange affair, as they slowed it all down again, to the melodic anthemic balladry, which to be honest bored the hell out of me, but they did a fantastic 'Rollover DJ' to close the show, which made up for it. Out of place, I know, but I have to give credit to their sound guys, as the sound was spot on for the gig. The vocals were mixed perfectly and it was sharp.

Jet are never going to be groundbreaking. They won't push the boundaries or release anything musically or intellectually challenging, but they are a very tight unit, who play good-time rock, steeped more in the tradition of DC than the modern metal of Speultura & their ilk. They won't figure in many peoples list of favourite bands, but there's far worse out there. Hell, I may even warm ot the new album after this.

I remember liking them when they first came onto the UK music scene some years back...I LOVE their old-fashioned kinda rocknroll. It's formulaic and it's not original...but they have good riffs n melodies.

They did a version of THE ROCKER? WOW. Now, I'd REALLY like to hear that!!!!! Nobs, if you have that version could you post the link or send to me?????????????????????? How great to see a band do a Lizzy number.

I agree with you, Jet won't be faves or darlings of the music press...but who gives a fark? They play good music. Gimme hard-livin' rock over 'metal' any day! :D

Excellent gig report Nobby :thumbsup:

Even I like Jet. That's saying something.

The Flaming Lips - 9th November (Birmingham NIA)

Capt. America, The Thing, Superman, Wonder woman, twenty dancing aliens, twenty dancing santa's, one pair of Kenny Everett 'Brother lee love' hands, 50 large balloons and untold streamers & confetti; The Flaming lips is not your average gig.

More than most, this band polarise people. You either get them or you don't. Those that do, can't understand how anyone is less than enthusiastic about them. Those that don't, just cannot understand the acclaim that this band attracts. Myself, I love their expansive, psychadelic tinged pop.

The erstwhile leader, Wayne Coyne, came onstage in a plastic sphere, which he proceeded to travel over the heads of the crowd in, before landing back onstage between the aliens & santa's and the band kicked in. The material was almost exclusively from the last two albums, 'Yoshimi battles the pink robots' & 'At war with the mystics', which lends itself well to the live treatment. All of the favourites from these were there; 'Yoshimi battle sthe pink robots', 'fight test', 'ego tripping at the gates of hell', 'Yeay yeah yeah song', 'free radicals' and the set finishing, life affirming, 'Do you realize?', which was accompanied by bursts of confetti & streamers.

For encores they covered (and did a great job of one of my most hated tracks) Bohemian Rhapsody, and finished with the beautiful 'spoonful weighs a ton'.

They are (rightly IMO) widely acclamied as one of THE 10 best live bands on the planet. Again to their detractors, a lot of their shows are seen as too gimmicky, but when the 'show' elements are mixed with their lasers and visually stunning backdrops, it is one hell of an experience.

Right, niggles. This hall is second only to the NEC in my most hated concert venues. It is the less cavernous half-brother of the NEC & wlthough the sound here is better, you can never get an atmosphere. The Lips gig at the Brum Academy in April has gone down in folklore (the band still refer to it in interviews, in both european & american publications), and the band have admitted that night changed their set, as they got such strong, spontaneous, feedback from the crowd. Last night they could have been forgiven for thinking that the crowd had fallen out of love with them, as it went eerily wuiet at times.

Secondly, grumpy old man alert. For the 3rd gig in succession, I have found myself stuck by a group of people who insist on talking through the gig. Sorry, bawling their way through the gig, as they need to be heard above the music. Why bother going? You'd find it easier to 'hold court' in the boozer. Last night I heard all about a stag do in Prague, last weekend. Personally I'd have preferred to listen to Wayne Coyne & his take on American politics, but couldn't hear him.

Even these tossers, couldn't make the night end on a downer though.

Great band, great live.

Primal Scream - 13th November (Brum Academy)

Another evening spent in the company of Bobby Gillespie & the scream team, and it must be said, it wasn't the most successful.

Fresh from their appearence on Later, The View were the support and they were ok. Their much touted but, for me, they don't offer much more or different to what's already out there.

The Scream came on and ploughed straight into 'movin' on up', which gave way to 'let's have a good time', during which Bobby was seen with a huge smile as he had the crowd in his hand. That was to change.

'Jailbird' followed as did a much speeded up version of 'shoot, speed, kill, light'. I understand that certain tracks, live, will lend themselves to being speeded up, due to the energy of the song, but PS have a habit of forcing the pace too far, and ending up with an absolute mess, where even the most ardent fan struggles to work out what's being played.

The latest album 'riot city blues', as to be expected, made up the bulk of the set. I'm not a huge fan of the album. It's okay, but it's firmly back in the ground of 'Give out but don't give up', which was 12 years ago. I don't, personally, understand the regression, especially after the huge leaps they made following that album (Vanishing point & Xtrmntr), but overall, it was ok.

The normal showstopper 'Kowalski' was delivered but still did not have the usual menace, then followed a poor version of 'Swastika Eyes', that was just lacking. Even Bobby apologised for the 'shite version'. 'Country Girl', even though I dislike it intensely, was the highlight of the show from a crowd perspective, and then they finished the set with 'rocks', which was back on form.

For the encore they began with 'Sometimes I feel so Lonely' off the new album, which in their live environment should no thave worked (their sound is cranked up to distortion levels by default) but turned out to be superb. However, mid-song Bobby launched into the backing singers, screaming at them to 'shut the fcuk up', which fairly stunned everyone, the band included looking at them. They finished out the song & there was pow-wow onstage, and Bobby was firmly narky over something. A poor cover followed & then the gig was clsoed out by two of my favourite tracks 'Rise' & 'Accelerator'. Both of these were appalling. Again, they were played at 100mph, and the effort put in, seemed to be covering the lack of soul.

All in all, disappointing show. Bobby in a bad mood, is never good for the crowd as the overall suffers. I have no idea what happened but something was eating him. It all started so well, as well.

Hi nobby. Thanks for the excellent reports. You've certainly been busy recently.

How did the backing singers react when they were screamed at & told to shut-up? Did They?

Both took the boll0cking, although I think they were as stunned as everyone else. Whilst Mr Gillespie was working out his next move (ie letting the band play, whilst he hovered over the mic without singing) one of the backers sparked up a ciggy.

They both came back into the gig during Rise and no more was mentioned. They hid any disappointment well, as they both left the stage smiling at the end, but the bassist, Mani, certainly didn't look happy with the situation.

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