Okay,
let me share my XTC lament with you. No, not the one where I turned down an
opportunity to see them "live" at Swindon Oasis in 1980, an event
which would have been my first ever gig (I thought I was too young, my 'rents
wouldn't let me, I'd have a chance to see them when I was older... ha!), the other lament... This one predates that
by a year or so, when I was a painfully shy early teenager, slowly coming out
of my shell thanks to a burgeoning interest in the then-current punk and new
wave scene. My Aunt Helen, only 10 years older than I, got wind of this and
suggested I might like her friend's husband's band XTC, subsequently turning up
at my folks' house with the friend, Carol Moulding, in tow, along with a signed
copy of said band's latest single, "Life Begins At The Hop". I
thanked her, played it sporadically, liked it fine but no more, then later sold
it to a schoolmate for a fiver. Yup, I know. Shoot me now.
I
came to regret that in later years, as I revisited and came to revere XTC's
taut, nervous and quirky art-school punk early albums, and, to a lesser extent
(and largely thanks to the enthusiasm of a slew of my Boston friends), their
more cerebral, studied and Beatles-esque melodic later material. Andy
Partridge's decision to stop performing "live" back in 1982 seemingly
put the kibosh on ever hearing that stuff onstage, although I jumped at Dave
Gregory’s fairly recent "live" involvement with Tin Spirits, putting
up with their anodyne prog for a brief smattering of such as "Towers Of
London". That was probably it, though, thought I, until... Scarcely
believable news emerged that a recent collaboration between original XTC
members, drummer Terry Chambers (returning from a 30-year Australian sojourn)
and bassist and co-songwriter Colin Moulding (that'd be Carol's hubby,
then...!), which had resulted in a 4-track EP under the clever pseudonym of
TC&I, would then be followed up by a series of low-key gigs at Swindon Arts
Centre. Incredible! However, the first set of shows coincided with our family holiday
in Turkey, another one with “Shiiine On”, but a final date, the day after my
return from Minehead, afforded me the chance to finally see at least half of
XTC "live", and (thanks to my finding a copy of "Hop" in an
Edinburgh record shop last year) maybe even right an ancient wrong...
A
potentially serious spanner was thrown in the works on the day of the gig, when
my wife's London meeting overran, leaving me biting my nails at home, as the
band’s onstage time of 8.15 loomed ever nearer. Thankfully, she arrived home at
5 to 8, I hared it up the hill to my secret car park, hitting the venue and
taking my seat at 8.11. Result! The anticipation was palpable in the small
sold-out hall, with people having travelled from far and wide (I sat next to a
high-heeled gent from Tintagel!), so it was to a rapturous welcome that Colin
led the 5-piece band onstage, announcing his intention to, "play some
songs from the Jurassic Period again", then quipping, "I've got my
flask of cocoa... rock'n'roll!"
The
early stages were given over to more latter-day XTC material, Colin's
compositions only (of course) and whilst it was all effortlessly melodic,
relaxed and wistfully lovely, played with suitable reverence by Colin and the
band (also featuring his drummer son Lee on percussion, plus guitarist Steve
Tilling, a wide-eyed, stripey-trousered young Wilko Johnson clone), it felt, to
me at least, like the warm up rather than the main event itself. "Ten Feet
Tall" with an almost calypso rhythm, was a gentle early highlight, as was
the McCartney-esque earworm of "Scatter Me" from the TC&I EP, and
the pastoral vibe of "Wonderland". In fact, the poppier Beatle was
clearly a touchstone for the late-period XTC and therefore the early stages of
his set... never been a massive McCartney fan, so that's possibly why the first
part of the set merely meandered pleasantly along for me, but after Colin
announced a break, "so the management can fleece you in the bar," I
have to say I was expecting more from part 2...
And
I pretty much immediately got it; "Wardance", second number in, was
much more upbeat and dynamic, whilst retaining that effortless melody and
quintessentially English feel. "Big Day" saw Colin espouse on the
perils of marriage ("which we know are many... but not in my case,"
he added with a glance to wife Carol in the wings), and "Ball And
Chain" was the highlight thus far, upbeat, joyous and buoyant. However the
best was well and truly saved for last; a great, racey "Generals And
Majors" finally got everyone out of their seats, followed by set closer,
the inevitable and superb angular backbeat of "Making Plans For
Nigel". A first encore of the soaring "Statue Of Liberty"
(introduced as, "for my old bandmate Andy Partridge," and the only
Partridge composition on show tonight) merely set the table for the highlight
of the night, a thrilling second encore of "Life Begins At The Hop",
the taut metronome rhythm bring propelled along by Terry's superb tubthumping,
Colin’s boisterous, bolshy vocal and that brilliantly undulating guitar hook.
Brilliant way to end an overall sublime evening of melodic delights.
And,
after a long wait (during which I chatted with various Mouldings, primarily
Carol, who warmly remembered both my Aunt and my Nan, and Lee's wife Alexandra,
a Level 3 face from those halcyon 90's days), I rather sheepishly got to tell
the "Hop" story to a stern Colin and Terry, who nonetheless signed my
Edinburgh copy and posed for pix. Result! Headed off home late but vindicated,
after an overall splendid night's celebration of Swindon’s finest musical
exports, XTC, and that ancient wrong righted!
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