Wednesday 27th April 2004,Manchester Carling Apollo
Set List: (Famous Last Words intro), Secret World, Call Me Mellow, Who You Are, Sowing the Seeds of Love, Closest Thing to Heaven, Everybody Loves a Happy Ending, The Devil, Mad World (new version), Quiet Ones, Size of Sorrow, Snow Hill, Who Killed Tangerine, Break it Down Again, Everybody Wants to Rule the World, Pale Shelter, Head Over Heels, Encore: Woman in Chains, Shout.
A gig for those who viewed the eighties and all that came with that decade, not with any sense of irony as is the current vogue, but because it was the formative years of most of tonight’s audience.
The reunited duo of Curt Smith and Roland Orzabal, childhood friends who succumbed to the age-old cliché of musical differences, seemed relatively at ease with each other and the audience, with a smattering of Little Britain impressions! And the relaying of the score from tonight’s Champions League semi-final.
The set drew heavily from the latest album ‘Everybody Loves a Happy Ending’ and fitting it was that the house PA played ‘Famous Last Words’ the last track from the duos last album together ‘Sowing the Seeds’, an album of similar influences the latest release.
The new album is the traditional game of two halves, for every great track there is one that is at best take it or leave it, though tonight in the live arena, some of the those songs seem to come alive, songs such as ‘The Devil’ which on record didn’t appeal. The stand out tracks from the new album - ‘Closest Thing to Heaven’ and ‘Everybody Loves a Happy Ending’ will no doubt become staples of the set for years to come.
The crowd came alive later in the set when the band rattled through the hits. Curt alluded to the Gary Jules version of the song ‘Mad World’ before they put a new slant on the bands eighties classic.
The subdued audience eventually got what they came for, when they launched into the more familiar closing numbers of Break It Down Again, ‘Everybody Wants to Rule the World’, ‘Pale Shelter’ and ‘Head Over Heels’, and for encore ‘Woman in Chains’, ‘Shout’.
A good gig but one highlighting the age-old problem for an act returning to the fold. Do they promote the new material or mine that back catalogue that an audience are baying for?
Showing posts with label Manchester Apollo. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Manchester Apollo. Show all posts
Thursday, April 29, 2004
Tuesday, April 20, 2004
Nora Jones
Manchester Apollo, Tuesday 20th April 2004
When you see a Man with a jumper draped over his shoulders heading for the front row of a gig, you certainly know that you haven’t purchased tickets for Motorhead.
If you were looking for someone to blame for the current crop of jazz-lite artists currently clogging up the charts, non-entities such as Jamie Callum and Katie Melua Nora Jones is an easy target. Her success has brought a deluge of similarly jazz crossover acts.
Though not my artist of choice – I was very much the plus one equation in the purchase of these tickets, an Evening with Nora Jones is not too arduous a task as I thought it might be.
In the quite expansive arena that is the Manchester Apollo the feel of the show, is that of a bar room band playing in a smoky saloon bar.
Nora Jones cuts a somewhat down to earth presence as she kicks off her shoes to open the proceedings with ’Cold Cold Heart’. The set features many of the tracks from her two successful albums, plus the odd other song thrown in for good effect, including a country version of AC/DC’S ‘Ride on me’.
She was equally at home on her own at the piano or backed by her band and she carried the songs though the night. The pace of the set was good, but perhaps a little too similar throughout. One criticism that people level at her is that live she sounds no different than she does on record. Where as on record it makes perfect background music or something relaxing, live it needs to be a bit more panoramic to catch the attention.
It certainly was a pleasant enough experience, but not one that gets me rushing out to buy the records or witness her next gig.
When you see a Man with a jumper draped over his shoulders heading for the front row of a gig, you certainly know that you haven’t purchased tickets for Motorhead.
If you were looking for someone to blame for the current crop of jazz-lite artists currently clogging up the charts, non-entities such as Jamie Callum and Katie Melua Nora Jones is an easy target. Her success has brought a deluge of similarly jazz crossover acts.
Though not my artist of choice – I was very much the plus one equation in the purchase of these tickets, an Evening with Nora Jones is not too arduous a task as I thought it might be.
In the quite expansive arena that is the Manchester Apollo the feel of the show, is that of a bar room band playing in a smoky saloon bar.
Nora Jones cuts a somewhat down to earth presence as she kicks off her shoes to open the proceedings with ’Cold Cold Heart’. The set features many of the tracks from her two successful albums, plus the odd other song thrown in for good effect, including a country version of AC/DC’S ‘Ride on me’.
She was equally at home on her own at the piano or backed by her band and she carried the songs though the night. The pace of the set was good, but perhaps a little too similar throughout. One criticism that people level at her is that live she sounds no different than she does on record. Where as on record it makes perfect background music or something relaxing, live it needs to be a bit more panoramic to catch the attention.
It certainly was a pleasant enough experience, but not one that gets me rushing out to buy the records or witness her next gig.
Sunday, April 27, 2003
Beck
Beck
Manchester Apollo, Sunday 27th April 2003
Set List: Pay No Mind; guess I’m Doing Fine; It’s All In Your Mind; Cancelled Check; Lost Cause; Do You Realise??; Already Dead; The Golden Age; Tropicalia; We Live Again; Little One; Lonesome Tears ; Nicotine & Gravy; Fourteen Rivers Fourteen Floods; hollow Log; Ship In A Bottle; Sunday Sun; Nobody’s Fault But My Own; Round The Bend; Loser; One Foot In The Grave; Sunday Morning.
Edinburgh, London and tonight Manchester were the only places that the UK could see Beck promote his latest album ‘Sea Change’. The album much more introspective than his previous major label releases and the delivery is very stripped down – gone are the samples of ‘Odelay’, gone are the styling’s of Prince on ‘Midnite Vultures’. This is very much a return to his earlier work, with a dash of Nick Drake thrown in.
It was a set reflected the stripped down nature of the album, with no support and no band. Beck took to the stage backed by varying types of guitars, beat boxes and Keyboards.
The set featured heavily the songs from his latest work and was greeted by an almost reverential hush that descended once the first chord was struck and only lifted at the end of the song to applaud the songs. He won the crowd over from the first chord of the night and he rewarded them with almost two hours of music.
Interspersed in between the music was an amusing and engaging banter that was almost as good as the music that everyone had come to see. Fans probably longed to see him with the full set and exploring his full repertoire, but they couldn’t grumble at tonight’s performance.
His choices of covers were interesting to say the least. The Flaming Lips’ – ‘Do You Realise??’ was expertly delivered, Justin Timberlake’s – ‘Cry Me A River’ was started but never finished, but even the intro was greeted by the warmest of applauses.
‘Tropicalia’ the song from a life Less Ordinary was given an airing and stripped down with only the beat box for backing the song sounded right for tonight’s proceedings.
Not even a few technical problems could ruin Beck’s flow - a swift kick to the offending keyboard solved the problem. ‘Loser’ was the last song of the night and the rapturous applause almost shook the roof off.
He came back on to do ‘One Foot In the Grave and finished the set with the Velvet Underground classic ‘Sunday Morning’.
Two hours of fantastic music sent those home that witnessed this event satisfied and looking forward to seeing Beck return in the very near future with or without the band.
Manchester Apollo, Sunday 27th April 2003
Set List: Pay No Mind; guess I’m Doing Fine; It’s All In Your Mind; Cancelled Check; Lost Cause; Do You Realise??; Already Dead; The Golden Age; Tropicalia; We Live Again; Little One; Lonesome Tears ; Nicotine & Gravy; Fourteen Rivers Fourteen Floods; hollow Log; Ship In A Bottle; Sunday Sun; Nobody’s Fault But My Own; Round The Bend; Loser; One Foot In The Grave; Sunday Morning.
Edinburgh, London and tonight Manchester were the only places that the UK could see Beck promote his latest album ‘Sea Change’. The album much more introspective than his previous major label releases and the delivery is very stripped down – gone are the samples of ‘Odelay’, gone are the styling’s of Prince on ‘Midnite Vultures’. This is very much a return to his earlier work, with a dash of Nick Drake thrown in.
It was a set reflected the stripped down nature of the album, with no support and no band. Beck took to the stage backed by varying types of guitars, beat boxes and Keyboards.
The set featured heavily the songs from his latest work and was greeted by an almost reverential hush that descended once the first chord was struck and only lifted at the end of the song to applaud the songs. He won the crowd over from the first chord of the night and he rewarded them with almost two hours of music.
Interspersed in between the music was an amusing and engaging banter that was almost as good as the music that everyone had come to see. Fans probably longed to see him with the full set and exploring his full repertoire, but they couldn’t grumble at tonight’s performance.
His choices of covers were interesting to say the least. The Flaming Lips’ – ‘Do You Realise??’ was expertly delivered, Justin Timberlake’s – ‘Cry Me A River’ was started but never finished, but even the intro was greeted by the warmest of applauses.
‘Tropicalia’ the song from a life Less Ordinary was given an airing and stripped down with only the beat box for backing the song sounded right for tonight’s proceedings.
Not even a few technical problems could ruin Beck’s flow - a swift kick to the offending keyboard solved the problem. ‘Loser’ was the last song of the night and the rapturous applause almost shook the roof off.
He came back on to do ‘One Foot In the Grave and finished the set with the Velvet Underground classic ‘Sunday Morning’.
Two hours of fantastic music sent those home that witnessed this event satisfied and looking forward to seeing Beck return in the very near future with or without the band.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
Posts
