Here is a review I did for Primal Scream....
Watching a band perform a classic album they released 20 years ago against a backdrop that made me feel like I was in the future was a pretty special if contradictory experience. For those of you who haven’t been to the or indeed the before, the setting for tonight’s gig was a natural amphitheatre placed in front of massive bio-domes containing all sorts of tropical vegetation - it’s like nothing else you’ve seen before.
After hastily making my way across Devon to Cornwall for tonight’s gig, I arrived a little into ’ set to be greeted by ‘Who Can Say’. The setting seemed strange and distant for a band far more suited to dark and dingy clubs than the bright sunshine and open space they found themselves in. Nevertheless, there was a sense of them really trying - they offered up a set that included a fair few tracks from their upcoming third album alongside the best from their previous two offerings, the highlight being an excellent version of ‘Sea Within a Sea’. Despite appreciating the effort they went to – necessary to counter the far from ideal, if idyllic surroundings - one couldn’t help but feel that it was lost on a crowd who clapped appreciatively enough, but still seemed slightly unsure what to make of it all.
Of course the atmosphere changed when ascended to the stage, the audience being right on side from the off, despite not being sure what to make of old Robert Gillespie’s metallic silver shirt.
After hastily making my way across Devon to Cornwall for tonight’s gig, I arrived a little into ’ set to be greeted by ‘Who Can Say’. The setting seemed strange and distant for a band far more suited to dark and dingy clubs than the bright sunshine and open space they found themselves in. Nevertheless, there was a sense of them really trying - they offered up a set that included a fair few tracks from their upcoming third album alongside the best from their previous two offerings, the highlight being an excellent version of ‘Sea Within a Sea’. Despite appreciating the effort they went to – necessary to counter the far from ideal, if idyllic surroundings - one couldn’t help but feel that it was lost on a crowd who clapped appreciatively enough, but still seemed slightly unsure what to make of it all.
Of course the atmosphere changed when ascended to the stage, the audience being right on side from the off, despite not being sure what to make of old Robert Gillespie’s metallic silver shirt.
Being able to start with a song like ‘Movin’ On Up’ is a privileged position for a band to be in, and just then it really hits home how special an album Screamadelica really is. The majority of the crowd, unlike me, were old enough to remember the LP the first time around, and reacted as if they had been transported back to the week of release.
The whole shebang was worked through fantastically, with the many altered and extended versions of its classic songs being gratefully received, none more so than the lovingly doctored ‘Higher than the Sun’. Bravely, the ‘Scream even played with the tracklisting to get the most from the crowd, ending on a combination of ‘Loaded’ and ‘Come Together’ which had the audience singing long after they’d left the stage.
Not content with treating us to just one classic record, following ‘Come Together’ the band retook to the stage for an encore of ‘Country Girl’, ‘Jailbird’ and ‘Rocks’ which really topped off a fantastic performance against an amazing backdrop.
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