THE BEAUTIFUL SOUTH + MAGNET.
AT BRIDLINGTON SPA ROYAL HALL. 11/ 11/ 03.
I doubt Magnet could have been more dull and boring if he had tried. After a long wait to get into the venue and then another long wait for the support act to come on, the last thing you need is a support act that sends you to sleep. I didn�t fall asleep but I bet some of the people in the seating area did. I certainly started to drift off even though I was stood up.
Magnet turned out to be one bloke and his guitar. I was expecting some indie band. No such luck. His songs so were slow and boring that even Magnet himself looked bored and miserable. I didn�t see him smile once. The biggest cheer of his set was when he announced he was about to play his last song. His 30 minute set felt like it had lasted 3 hours.
Another long and very boring wait, The Beautiful South wandered on stage at 9pm. As soon as they did, the crowd went mental. Paul was last to walk on. From then on onwards I couldn�t help but smile. I had a smile on my face for the rest of the night. Paul could have stood there in silence and I would have still smiled. Luckily though he didn�t stand there in silence, instead he opened up the show with �Life Vs Lifeless�, taken from new album �Gaze�.
That was followed immediately by the classic �Pretenders To The Throne�. It was at that point I remembered just how good these guys are live. Until this gig I hadn�t seen them since 1999. The 1999 gig was at a massive arena. This gig was in a venue with a capacity of around just 2000 people. I was on the second row from the front, unlike at the arena gig were I was sat somewhere near the back. Needless to say, I enjoyed this gig much, much more than the 1999 one.
�We Are Each Other� was followed by �A Little Time�, the first track of the night to feature some lead vocals by new recruit Lady Alison Wheeler. She is a fantastic singer and seems to have fitted into the band really well. She is really lively and so full of energy. It�s like she has been in the band for a few years, not just a few months.
The next single will be �Let Go With The Flow�, due for release next month. I heard it for the first time at this gig and I�m pleased to say it is fantastic. Let�s hope it does well in the chart.
�Old Red Eyes� still sounds so good, even now after all these years. I�m so glad they performed it. It was followed by another future single, �Pretty�. Paul introduced it and briefly joked with the crowd about the new album. He said he had bought himself a copy.
I really don�t understand why so few people have bought �Gaze�. It�s such a shame. All of the new tracks performed at the gig sounded great. All four of them. It would have been nice if more new material was included in the set but I guess if they played more new stuff, less old stuff would be included. The only way this could have been avoided would be if they extended the set. 90 minutes just isn�t long enough. I saw the Stereophonics the previous night. They played for 2 hours 15 minutes.
Anyway, after the final new track of the night, �101 per cent Man� we were treated to pretty much a greatest hits set. It included tracks such as �Don�t Marry Her�, �Song For Whoever�, �Rotterdam� and �Perfect 10�. No tracks from �Painting It Red� were included within the set.
They concluded with �Good As Gold�. The whole band were on top form, especially the man, the legend, the Paul Heaton. I�ve never seen him that energetic before. He was dancing like there was no tomorrow. It was great to watch. He was clearly enjoying himself.
So were the crowd. Everyone seemed to be singing along with all the big singles. The more dedicated fans were even singing along with the new material. Paul seemed a little overwhelmed at the response from the crowd, as did Alison who earlier admitted she was nervous about playing Bridlington.
The band returned for an encore which began with a cover of the S Club 7 smash �Don�t Stop Movin'. I didn't know what to expect when I heard the band would be performing it. I was very pleasantly suprised. It was one of the best covers I have ever heard by anyone. If only The Beautiful South had recorded the original version.
After �You Keep It All In�, the band again left the stage only to reappear a few moments later with the classic �Woman In The Wall�. It was a chance for the band and crowd to party one last time. It was one of the best gigs I have been to all year. The Beautiful South are back and better than ever before.
BY MR MARTYN. NOVEMBER 2003. |