GIG NUMBER FIFTY
Who
Grandaddy begun with little fanfare to understated (and frankly strange) opener Yeah Is What We Had, followed by a few more quieter songs, before the pace was picked up slightly for Laughing Stock. Despite filling the Academy, the crowd truly were lame and no attempt at moshing was made: it's not like it wasn't possible! The band were also using minimal showmanship: they were playing one song, then another one, and they really seemed to be rushing them and very few tunes were dispatched triumphantly. They were just played one after another in a big blur, almost as if no-one was watching them. Perhaps my standards had risen too high, or maybe the lame crowd meant I was over-analysing it, but it just didn't feel as good as before. The place should have exploded for A.M. 180 but didn't. What the hell was up with everyone?? And surely I wasn't the only one with the sense to be appalled that a song had been dedicated to Elbow? A very strange version of Nonphenomenal Lineage led into So You'll Aim Toward The Sky, surprisingly the first tune from The Sophtware Slump. Things almost started to pick up with The Crystal Lake, where a crystal ball led the first real bit of light show. This was better, and I think was only let down by the crowd. Good things continued for the gloriously silly Stray Dog And The Chocolate Shake, which got everyone smiling and singing along. It was the first brilliant moment. Then FINALLY the more energetic amongst us decided we'd had enough and got a moshpit going for Now It's On. At last I escaped the annoying big head in front of me and showed contempt for those who were letting the side down by jumping on their toes! I moved quite far forwards and I only wished we'd got going earlier. Despite the next tune being Lost On Yer Merry Way (less new songs please!), a mosh almost continued now the ice had been broken.
Grandaddy then vanished before returning for their encore and an opportunity to make the show a great one. Chartsengrafs was a satisfactory start, and I suppose you couldn't blame them for playing He's Simple, He's Dumb, He's The Pilot, which was fine, but the problem was that was it. Where the hell was Summer Here Kids?? If they'd had closed with that I think everyone would had felt a lot happier but it was just omitted. Also I'm sure room could have been found for at least some of Everything Beautiful Is Far Away, Hewlett's Daughter, Beautiful Ground, Jed The Humanoid, Alan Parson's In A Winter Wonderland and Saddest Vacant Lot In The World. There was even time for them to have got two more songs in rather than just finishing early! Naturally the setlist didn't go to me, and it was with feelings of disappointment that I left this gig, knowing Grandaddy could be so much better than this. Sadly this is the final time I ever got to see them. I wish they could have done a tour for final album Just Like The Fambly Cat, and the massive crowd here proves that there were enough fans to make it worth their while coming to Britain. A great band and a very strong final album - it's just a shame that this final gig for me wasn't better.
Mark: 7.5/10
Grandaddy
Support
Snow Patrol
Where
Manchester Academy
When
8th November 2003
Price
£12.00
Who with
No-one
Position
Towards the left
Comments
After seeing the two finest bands on Earth, standards had to dip slightly and Grandaddy, providing the landmark of my 50th gig, had a hard act to follow. I had three pints in anticipation for the moshpit and bought myself a rather nice Grandaddy pen for £2 from the merchandise store. Snow Patrol were first up and it was incredibly the third time I'd seen them. They went down pretty well, and one song towards the end was particularly fine, but I kept rushing off back the bar so didn't pay them 100% attention. A solid support. During my wait for Grandaddy the video screen showed us a cool pic of a cat in a spacesuit. I can't say I paid the screen much attention for the rest of the night and this show was far less visual than before. We were also treated to the first half of album-of-the-year Phantom Power, which made the time before the main act pass quickly. I had pushed my way as far forwards as possible but the astonishingly massive crowd meant I had to be content being towards the left. And of course when the band came onstage some guy taller than me pushed in front and his big head obscured my view for most of the night, and I was sorely tempted to decapitate him!
Setlist
Yeah Is What We Had
Levitz
El Caminos In The West
Laughing Stock
The Go In The Go-For-It
A.M. 180
The Group Who Couldn't Say
Nonphenomenal Lineage
So You'll Aim Toward The Sky
The Crystal Lake
Stray Dog And The Chocolate Shake
Now It's On
Lost On Yer Merry Way
Chartsengrafs
He's Simple, He's Dumb, He's The Pilot
