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Date -
27/04/04 |
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| Readers' score - 10/10 |
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| Tonight the Wildhearts reaffirmed my belief in rock and roll with a performance that was pure melodic pop-metal genius in all its rampant glory, touring in support of their new B-sides album, Coupled With. |
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Unfortunately, Therapy? weren't quite as good. Tinyvoices arrived too late to see The Glitterati, because as we discovered later someone decided it was a good idea for them to play for about 15 minutes or so within five minutes of the doors opening. So it was with increasing bemusement that we witnessed Therapy? stroll on in darkness and start playing with about as much fanfare as a bunch of roadies walking onstage. Nevertheless the crowd were soon leaping about like crazed, horns-flashing salmon to a thumping collection of swerving riffs and big choruses, a helluva lot of noise considering Therapy? are a three piece, and a cracking schizophrenic light show.
The band were clearly loving it too, with Andy Cairns begging for noise and Mike Mckeegan informing us politely how much fun he was having. "Screamager" rocked, the sound was as clear as a bell (although the vocals could've been louder), it was a bit loose but the spirit of rock (and the brief cover of Rush's "Spirit of Radio") made up for that, and much fun was had by all during Therapy?'s brief set.
The majority of the crowd were clearly there for The Wildhearts however, and when they opened with "I Wanna Go Where the People Go", well, the foundations of Rock City took a bit of a pounding. There followed a set that was a lesson in big, big riffs, bigger choruses and full on pure rock noise that compares with anything coming out of America in recent times (Ginger himself commented on the quality of the line-up tonight, and he's not wrong).
Tonight The Wildhearts played material from all through their career, and you can't help but marvel at the legacy of monumental tunes this band will leave behind. In a live setting, the newer songs from the much maligned ...Must Be Destroyed album shine just as brightly as anything else, shorn of their flat production job - "Top of the World" proves one of the night's sing along highlights, along with b-side "Girlfriend Clothes" and superb, stomping back-to-back renditions of "Caffeine Bomb" and "Suckerpunch". Stidi is a drumming legend, but I'm still amazed he survived.
Wildhearts fans are a dedicated and heroic bunch - at no other gigs have I witnessed the crowd singing coordinated backing vocals or dedication like the traditional "Don't Worry 'Bout Me" sing along in the pre-encore break. And tonight the fans were rewarded with a 30-minute encore and insanely loud, insanely great versions of "Caprice", "Nita Nitro", "Love You 'Til I Don't" and fan favourite "29 x the Pain".
All in all this was the best gig I've seen in a long time, Ginger is a bona-fide rock star and tunesmith extraordinaire, and this band really should be playing the festivals. Email Mean Fiddler and make it so. Buy Coupled With. Until next time, to quote Ginger: "I'm gonna miss you Nottingham, like 29 x the pain!" |
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| Dan Snowdon |
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