GIG NUMBER ONE HUNDRED AND THIRTY-TWO
Who
There were numerous charity collectors which I'll explain later, and even a Big Issue seller had somehow sneaked inside. Just like before it was frustratingly busy and the difficulty of getting a decent position was one respect which makes the new Academy even worse than the old one. I spent ages wandering around to the other side of the stage but I still had to stand quite far back and with a restrictive view thanks to the balcony, which also was the source of the misery at the old Academy - this room also didn't go far back enough and the less said about the silly side entrance the better! It's a shame as the stage and sound system are lovely, the room just needs to be Civic Hall shaped and in a better city! I was too polite to push too far forwards but that didn't stop everyone else pushing past throughout the show, but at least I wasn't like the mardy bint I had the misfortune to be standing near, who was whining at everyone and clearly had a massive chip on her shoulder for being so short! Perhaps she doesn't realise that moaning at people for being rude is the highest form of rudeness of all, although the fact the people in front kept farting was a close second! At least I resisted beer, going some way to cancelling out the hefty ticket price. I never saw a hint of any support band and when I came in they were partway through an early career of Madness documentary on the large TV screen, which finished with a bit of The Prince and a thank you for their thirtieth anniversary, which was a great hint that this would be a greatest hits show! They also advertised that you could buy a recording of the show on MP3/datastick afterwards, which is a nice option but I knew they'd be pricey and I want CDs or nothing. In fact I've even given up on band t-shirts now. After the Madness documentary finished the venue reverted to DJing and the crowd were clearly in a good mood and sung along to songs I'd never heard in my life. Some were wearing Tommy Cooper hats which I believe is a Madness fan thing. There were obviously some older fans but generally there was a good mix of age groups and the band clearly still had contemporary appeal.
Roadies then appeared and started messing with the equipment and I wondered why they hadn't sorted all of this out before we'd got in, seeing as it seemed there'd been no support band to stop them! However I certainly didn't have to worry about unnecessary delays as the lights went down and Madness came onstage before 9pm, which also meant they'd probably finish at a reasonable time too! I know it's not very rock 'n' roll for bands to worry about their fans having to get home and so forth, but it's rudeness not to consider such practicalities! Madness were wearing suits and sunglasses plus a few hats, definitely living up to their typical image. Apparently most of the original members are still present and correct too! They started off in the best possible fashion with One Step Beyond, which has such an amazing intro that you barely notice that the tune which follows is slightly tedious! It was so awesome that people kept randomly screaming it throughout the show! This great start continued with Embarrassment as a few beers were thrown around before a huge cheer as they launched into My Girl, which started off slowly and, after wrenching all the emotion out of it, they then reverted to a normal rendition. It was fantastic to see them warming us up in this manner and the crazy guitarist at one point started rocking out and had to be dragged around and up by a roadie in true Spinal Tap fashion. Suggs was a great frontman who kept saying hi to individuals in the crowd and his opening remark was "good evening ladies and gentlemen, and you sir", no doubt teasing someone towards the front. He also pointed out how the band had still got all their own teeth, and I swear the guy to the left is Suggs's twin brother, but their surnames suggest they aren't even related?
Visually the show was awesome and they'd clearly put a lot of money and effort into the production. The band were filmed by a variety of cameramen, none of whom I saw, which was an awesome thing to do especially considering my restricted view. The TV screen cleverly combined live footage with video clips and so forth, plus there was a huge flashing Madness logo in the background and dancing animated figures graced the screen regularly. The good start continued with NW5 which made me glad I'd learned a few new songs. Suggs also questioned the English obsession with the weather and I correctly predicted this was the intro for The Sun And The Rain. Madness said they were going to play a song they don't usually then launched into something unknown which eventually revealed itself to be Johnny The Horse. As it was on the greatest hits collection I owned I welcomed it with open arms! I forget at what point they played The Prince but, just like the Lips, they sagged a bit in the middle with too many new and unknown songs, but these were still justified by being short and sounding rather good. They even threw in a weird version of the song that is famous as Out Of Space by The Prodigy which my research reveals was, disappointingly, not originally written by Madness, but it was welcome all the same. Clerkenwell Polka was another offering from the latest album which was great and sped up considerably towards the end, Suggs making out that the drummer had done it just to spite him! Things were ticking along nicely and I'd had tolerated a little more self-indulgence but the band were in a sporting mood and a spoken word intro by the crazy guitarist was followed by House Of Fun, which certainly inspired some madness! Suggs also told those of a weak disposition to stand at the back and at one point said they were going to play Mandy by Barry Manilow before launching into yet another of their own (better) hits!
I figured they'd strategically space out the hits for encore purposes but they followed House Of Fun with Wings Of A Dove which inspired even more insanity and the best sing-along of the evening as the cameras turned onto the crowd. I had no idea it was so good. Then insanely they followed this with Baggy Trousers and, although the sound unfortunately failed at the outset, it very loudly picked up again and this was the most ragged song in a well-polished set. Clearly they'd already outdone themselves but shocked us all with... Our House! It was now just getting stupidly exciting and they even threw in some Birmingham road signs on the video screen, including the nearby Smallbrook Queensway. Suggs then sung an a cappella, possibly improv, version of Help! by The Beatles which inspired another mass sing-along. And now was the point at which the main set drew to a close with It Must Be Love. Surely only Brian Wilson has ever beaten the standard of these five live songs in a row! The crowd were now delirious and without delay started screaming for their return, including a chant of "ole ole ole ole, Madness, Madness" and considerable foot stamping. The momentum was (understandably) lost as the drummer came back onstage to tell us he was raising money for breast cancer by running the London marathon and how we should donate to the collectors strewn around the venue. I was struggling to think where the band could possibly go from here and they decided to take the wind out of the show with an aimless instrumental before the singers returned to the stage so they could play a song actually called Madness, which I'd never heard before but it was exciting and some crazy person even appeared to try and rush the stage in response!
I'm sure it's a gimmick they've done at nearly every show for the last 30 years but it was a refreshingly un politically correct moment when Suggs and a few band members then donned Middle Eastern-style headscarves to herald the introduction of Night Boat To Cairo. The energy and video were absolutely amazing as the lyrics were flashed up on the screen accompanied by images of pyramids. Clearly it was hardly the most original way of playing the song but it worked, then the band left the stage again. There was a bit more applause for a return but the lights went up and I think we all felt we'd had quite enough entertainment for one evening, despite the fact it was only 10:30pm. I couldn't think of anything more I could possibly had wanted from them, and I'd been fully prepared for self-indulgent omissions! Always Look On The Bright Side Of Life was played as we all headed for the exit but I doubt anyone needed cheering up! On the subject of omissions, I accepted Lovestruck wasn't essential and it would have been nice if they'd played Cecilia but that could hardly have been expected. Once I got on the train and started drafting this review on my phone I noticed that I'd forgotten about Uncle Sam, which is a great song but was a flop at the time. And then I noticed the gaping hole that was the absence of Driving My Car! This was a bit mean considering the early finish, so I wonder if they can't stand it or perhaps they want us to go back and see if they play it next time? That dastardly scheme certainly worked with The Bluetones and Marblehead Johnson. And Michael Caine would have been nice too. But it certainly could have been a lot worse and it was a hell of an achievement that Madness played so many hits and several new songs and still managed to finish early. I found myself wanting to see them in Wolves the next week but I'm sure my bank balance wouldn't approve and there'd be little point. Madness were better than they had any right to be!
Mark: 8.0/10
Madness
Where
Birmingham O2 Academy
When
10th December 2009
Price
£33.50
Who with
No-one
Position
Towards the right
Comments
2009 was a pretty good year for seeing greats I'd never seen before, with Basement Jaxx and Kasabian before this show and Pet Shop Boys to follow, bands who were all very high in my "must see" list. I'd purchased tickets ages in advance despite the hefty price, knowing that Madness would be worth seeing once. Nevertheless I was a bit worried about the band being self-indulgent and not playing all their hits, especially since The Liberty Of Norton Folgate album had been so critically acclaimed. But their success was also a good sign that they weren't creatively bankrupt yet, and I'd heard their greatest hits album enough times to note that their later songs were rather good too. By taping TV performances I also got to grips with some of the Norton Folgate songs but alarm bells were certainly ringing by the fact the TV shows rarely showed the hits! My House is by a million miles my favourite song, being both ridiculously catchy yet good enough to withstand repeated listens. The main annoyance in my preparation was when they completely unexpectedly added one extra date to their tour - where else but Wolverhampton?! This was truly jaw dropping and must have been done to spite me, and this can only strengthen my resolve to sit back and wait for bands to come to Wolves! I was also concerned about the trains, knowing that to go home then out guaranteed a late arrival, plus a late finish would lead to my missing the train or missing the end. I was in enough of a rush to resort to a bloating chip shop meal on the way home but had a McFlurry in Birmingham to cancel out the effects while listening to Madness greatest hits one more time. Doors had opened at 7pm and I arrived at 8ish, once again needing a map to find the venue. I also could have done with a map to find the entrance as it was highly confusing as to where normal people with stalls tickets were expected to queue!
