(Again, not my list - a photo of keyboardist Chris' sole list which he wouldn't give out due to his notes and prompts, but at least let me photograph!)
There’s
always been a synth-pop element to my musical tastes, albeit it normally stays fairly
well submerged under swathes of indie rock guitar…! Tonight was another opportunity
to indulge that part of my musical heritage, though, with a late call trip to Southampton
to see acerbic 80’s synthpop band Blancmange. Initially a duo and now effectively
the solo project of main man Neil Arthur, I’d first come across them in my
early 80’s pre-Level 3 “Solitaire” days thanks to the hypnotically repetitive jagged
rhythm of their early single “Feel Me”, one of the “alternative” songs which DJ
Dave “I don’t take requests, I’m an artist!” Bumford would deign to play. I’d thoroughly
enjoyed the buoyant flippancy of their 1982 debut album “Happy Families” and
stayed with them for their 1984 sophomore “Mange Tout”, but there we parted as
my tastes evolved and their diminishing commercial success prompted a hiatus
until the late 2000’s. However, the sheer brilliance of Heaven 17’s early Human
League album run-through (gig 1,189) gave me the impetus to rediscover them,
and I’d actually booked tix for their Autumn 2021 tour only for the dreaded
Covid to force me to miss out. So here we are, a year late, then...
I’d
“brainwashed” Logan into coming along and booked tix earlier this afternoon,
after checking that their “18+ only” policy doesn’t actually mean no under 18s
allowed! (Confused? Yeah, us too!) So we set off down a drizzly and murky M4/
A34, arriving at 7.30 to a huge queue outside this new-to-us, roughly Fleece-sized
large corner pub venue. However, we still managed to get front and centre, in
front of the venue’s tall and imposing stage, as most other punters had headed
for the tables up on the balcony! Got the drinks in and availed ourselves of opener
Rodney Cromwell, a CND Greenham Common scruff with a high lilting voice and an
OK line in (very heavily) early 80’s-influenced synth groove. Playing “Spot The
Steal” was as much fun as his set itself: a bit of Glove “Like An Animal”-esque
fuzzy rhythm here, a Kraftwerk “Model” verse structure there, and New Order
everywhere… In fact, specific songs sounded like specific New Order numbers (his
“Opus 3” had strong hints of “Bizarre Love Triangle”, “Moving To Paris” copped “Procession’s”
sheet synth opening, etc.) and he admitted as such, dedicating one number to, “my
12 year old self living out my Peter Hook fantasies!” Derivative, sure, but a decent
set overall from Cromwell and his band, the man commenting, “the sound [here]
is so much better than the toilets we usually play!”
Got
another drink for Logan, the barman succeeding in spraying part of it on my Heaven
17 t-shirt thanks to a loose nozzle, then letting me have it on the house! Fair
enough! Back in place as the 2 synth backing players took their places at 9.15,
easing into yearning newie “What’s Your Name” as Neil Arthur took the stage
with a suave flourish. Black suited and with a dusting of grey atop his 60-something
but still impressively rakish frame, the most dapper bloke in the building, he immediately
commanded the stage in a similar style to Heaven 17’s Glenn Gregory, all
expansive of gesture and movement, his sonorous baritone the key feature, driving
the numbers along. “Bloody hell, Southampton! Thanks for appreciating the [opening
duo of] new songs!” he remarked before an early “Feel Me”, as absorbingly
rhythmic as those Level 3 days, Neil also giving a nod to his 80’s contemporaries
M with a “Pop Muzik” reprise at the end.
An
early, lilting and surprisingly emotive “I’ve Seen The Word” was a highlight, Neil
almost crooning the verse break, then, seemingly genuinely taken aback at the
lengthy ovation, deadpanning, “there’s gonna be some fireworks tonight, eh?”
The pulsing “Last Night (I Dreamt I Had A Job”) saw a languid, louche David
Byrne dance from Neil, before a gorgeously affecting “Not A Priority”, easily
the best of the “unfamiliar” (i.e. post 80’s) numbers on display, and a similarly
widescreen and beautifully emotive “Waves” (which Logan likened to White Lies).
And whilst much of the new material, drawn from current album “Private View”,
was generally pretty decent (particularly the slow-burn title track, which mentioned
Joy Division Oven Gloves in the lyric!), the older material won out; “Blind
Vision”’s Eurovision ratatat synth snap ceded to their best-known number, the infectiously
jolly closer “Living On The Ceiling”, Neil conducting the crowd in the sitar
instrumental break singalong, then returning for the toytown keyboard riff of perky,
bouncy encore “Don’t Tell Me”, Neil thanking all and sundry and departing, following
a smart set even a couple of mouthy and clearly over-refreshed women along from
us couldn’t spoil. No lists available, but synth player Chris let us photo his
prompt-covered copy, then we headed off for an equally sodden drive back and a couple
of kebabs before turning in. A good night out, then, indulging my synthpop side!
No comments:
Post a Comment