Setlist: - Re-make/Re-model,
Street Life, Ladytron, While My Heart Is Still Beating, Out Of The Blue,
A Song For Europe, My Only Love, Oh Yeah, Both Ends Burning, Tara, In Every
Dream Home A Heartache, Mother Of Pearl, Jealous Guy, Editions Of You, Virginia
Plain
Encores: Love Is The Drug, Do The Strand, For Your
Pleasure |
Review: I am grateful
to David Bell for this personal review
We
saw Roxy the first time in Newcastle and Glasgow on the Manifesto tour.
Would 2001 disappoint? "I'll hope and pray he won't blow it, we've been
around a long time". The Top of the Pops 2 taster promised good things.
Manchester, so many people. Did they all buy Roxy albums? Remake Remodel
was a great starter, seeing Bryan on the video screen but not on stage
...taking a few seconds to realise he was behind the piano created the
first nice surprise. The start to Street Life was even more wild than
the record then we settled down into Ladytron. A few things were becoming
clear. Paul Thompson's return was crucial to the band recreating the
"early" Roxy sound of rocking on the edge rather than the blander (in
my view) later sound. The synthesiser being allowed full rein in the
mix helped.
Phil and Andy seemed to be enjoying themselves and very tight - last
time I saw them was in an Explorers concert when they were anything
but... BUT we were high up in the Evening News Arena, the sound was
OK but the band were so far away, dancing in the aisles is discouraged,
atmosphere there isn't. Pity that the only way to see a band like Roxy
is in such a rip off slum of a place. Oh Yeah was a surprise, never
one of my favourites it was faster and more of a celebration than the
record version. Amazing. Out of the Blue really rocked.Both Ends Burning
burnt less than on Viva but Chris Spedding's slide guitar gave the song
a new edge. Tara was another revelation, exquisite interplay between
oboe and violin, now when else do you get that at a rock concert? Virginia
Plain was good and the way that For Your Pleasure ended the concert
was the final revelation. A
s soon as Bryan finished he left the stage followed by each band member
until Colin Good left the keyboard reverberating as he left the stage.
Brilliant. A great concert spoiled only by the venue. the week later
the radio 2 broadcast included If There Is Something, not at Manchester
but one of the best versions. The sound quality was excellent on the
whole of the R2 broadcast, it will keep me going until we get the next
fix. |