I too would have to give a slightly mixed report. Sound wise, guitars generally good, but both WAM and CBC suffered a little from an over-emphasised rather muddy bass. WAM was ok, given one or two errors, but I really don’t rate CBC that high as second song, I suppose the one thing it does do is maintain an upbeat momentum, but I’d much rather hear Dance Floor or What It Is in this slot.
Once Upon a Time was terrific, as was Silvertown, as was MfN. These three made up for the loss of Sultans and TR. I don’t think Heart Full of Holes works all that well as a live song, despite a good arrangement. The biggest problem with it is that MK's voice was having an off night, evident from early on when he seemed to have a frog in his throat in WAM. He just can’t carry Heart with his voice in this condition.
There are now so many in the band that I’d have been happy if he’d skipped the intros, they go on interminably.
The show achieved lift-off from Silvertown (superb - how can it have taken him 18 years to realise this would be a good song live), Speedway excellent (I didn’t notice the repeated verse; if I’m honest it’s not a song where I take much notice of the words!); Money great, and the final Going Home pretty bulletproof, and now a bit nostalgic for those of us who heard it in Edinburgh in a different context a couple of months ago.
Before that, I’d been rather hoping for Brothers rather than Piper. Why? Because while Pioer is a very good song, Brothers is a masterpiece. But I’m afraid not so much tonight. I’m no guitar expert, but I felt he was using the wrong guitar (did dmg or someone write about this the other day?) and as a result it seriously lacked the usual romance and emotion. Didn’t come off for me, and I’d rather have had Piper than this Brothers, perhaps the weakest of the dozen or so I’ve heard him play live.
All in all, despite my reservations, a very good show, and the audience left happy. Relative to previous solo tours (I’ve seen them all) I’d say about 7.5 out of 10.
