GIG NUMBER ONE HUNDRED AND FORTY-THREE
Who
I found the other Wetherspoons off New Street as I'd decided the one inside the library complex just wasn't cosy enough. It was fairly busy but I found a seat and took advantage of it being steak night to get a particularly enormous mixed grill and a pint for just £6. Perhaps this prudence was cancelled out by my next two pints but it still goes to show that England is one of the cheapest countries in the world if you know where to go! A guy chatted to me after commenting on my t-shirt and said he'd been outside for the soundcheck before trying to tell me exactly what they'd play in the encore, thereby ruining the surprise a bit as I couldn't cut him off quickly enough! Nevertheless I headed to the venue in a positive mood and was relieved that I could still find the way there, and wasn't even too annoyed when they made us stand outside for no reason for a few minutes despite the lack of a queue. The venue was fairly quiet and never really filled up, which was a surprise as some of the other shows on the tour had sold out quickly and I'd had thought Screamadelica would have aroused everyone's interest. Shame on you Birmingham! I easily got a good position away from the overhanging balcony and was surprised to see that the support band were already onstage. I found out afterwards that they're called Kassidy and they played some pretty engaging rock 'n' roll whilst sporting some long hair and a nice if slightly unoriginal image. The main point of interest was a guy in front of me jumping and waving his arms furiously who presumably was a friend of the band, and another guy who decided to imitate him and pretend to be enjoying it crazily too. He looked rather sad trying to catch the eye of the other guy and his status as a twat was sealed when he left the crowd before the end just as the quality of their music really picked up! Kassidy asked us if we were looking forwards to the main event and the singer sung a snippet of Movin' On Up before they finished on a high, although strangely enough everyone had got quieter as their songs had got better and better.
Well I guess anything is better than Richard Fucking Fearless had been "supporting" Primal Scream back in 2000, and the DJ even played some decent tunes to keep the momentum up as we waited for Primal Scream to take to the stage. The Academy is quite nice when it's not full so my main concern was my enormous coat. I had to tie it around my waist but I do wonder how everyone else was wearing so little, or indeed if anyone froze to death on the way back home afterwards! I also got some more praise for my t-shirt which was only being sported by a handful of others including, most interestingly, someone wearing a blue version. We didn't have to wait too long as Primal Scream took to the stage shortly after 9pm and, after Bobby asked us if we were ready to testify, they launched straight into Movin' On Up. The Screamadelica logo graced the video screen behind the stage for this tune and it reappeared again for Come Together if I recall. My main question had been whether Primal Scream would be faithful to the record as I remember how much they'd reworked the oldies back in 2000 to the point at which they were barely recognisable. As it would prove, the Scream just did what they felt like and this was a ragged take on this classic song. Bobby had said in an interview that he never goes back and listens to the albums so I guess he simply forgets how the songs should sound! The guitars were insanely loud but I think on balance that it made it sound even more epic and it was a triumphant opener. The crowd certainly enjoyed it. I took photos throughout and Bobby looked smart in a black suit with red shirt, even if he hadn't buttoned it up properly! Mani naturally looked supercool and I'm shocked to read that he was nearly fifty! The show continued as it should with Slip/Trip Inside This House, which featured a faithful albeit apparently pre-recorded introduction, and it was great to hear Primal Scream doing something a bit different to their usual live show.
The crowd were reasonably calm throughout, although there was a crowdsurfer towards the end who received a high five from Bobby. I'm quite annoyed by this as I remember that in Wolverhampton in 2000 the only person Bobby had interacted with had also been an idiotic crowdsurfer who'd injured himself, so perhaps he should focus on the more considerate elements of his crowd? Speaking of twats, the guys in front of me spent the whole show hugging each other, holding their beers aloft, shuffling around and generally getting in my way. It may have been their interpretation of "male bonding", but in fact their behaviour, as well as being annoying, was completely gay, and I think they should have just fucked off out of my way and got a room! Don't Fight It, Feel It was also awesome and the backing singer took a mic at the front towards the end but spent most of the show stuck at the back. The show then jumped the shark slightly as the band launched into Damaged. I mean, what the fuck? Playing the songs in order is perhaps the most basic requirement of a "playing the album" show so it just felt completely wrong. The band clearly were trying to "improve" the running order to give us a better show but this is something they shouldn't mess with! The ending was extended and Bobby encouraged us to sing along and this was followed by I'm Comin' Down, which was as dull as it sounds on the record, its only purpose being to represent the end of a drug taking experience. Surprisingly the band then jumped ahead to the last song on the album and played Shine Like Stars. It was certainly lovely, with a beautiful backdrop of stars, but it just wasn't right! Perhaps the best element of the butchery of the album running order was how Inner Flight was utilised as a bridge to the "hits" section of the album which followed as Bobby left the stage leaving the rest of the band to shine like stars themselves. The cheers for Mani naturally started up and he hilariously shushed us and gestured towards the side of the stage, as if to say "yes, I know I'm your favourite but please keep it down so you don't hurt Bobby's feelings!!" It was probably the funniest/coolest thing I'd ever seen him do and it's amazing how there was never a clash of egos to drive him out of the band, although the reformation of The Stone Roses managed it in the end!
There was also a young guitarist, who apparently was taking the place of Robert Young who I read had left the band back in 2006. Also Andrew Innes looked a bit awkward as he had done the last time around, but made up for it as his guitar was hilariously loud and he drove some of the best moments in the show. As well as the opener of Movin' On Up, another good example of his guitar work was when the next song - Higher Than The Sun - went off on an incredibly loud tangent and it was nice to hear the band taking the tune to a completely different dimension. It may not have been faithful, but it was bloody exciting! Meanwhile Loaded was the obvious highlight of the whole evening, with a roar of approval as the band looped the "just what is it you want to do" and "we wanna get loaded and we wanna have a good time" samples at the outset. There were screams of joy throughout yet somehow I can barely remember what they did with the song. I recall a very old video was utilised, presumably the original promo, but perhaps I had been left deafened by the preceding tune! This was followed up as I'd expected with Come Together, which was very long indeed and, rather than going off just at a tangent in the middle, went off into what could well have been an entirely different tune! At the end the band left the stage leaving just the backing singer to repeat the refrain of "come together as one" at a ridiculously loud volume. Although there'd only been one rendition of Higher Than The Sun, Screamadelica had effectively now been played in full. The band bounded back onstage and Bobby asked us if we were ready for some rock 'n' roll before launching into an exciting take on Country Girl. It's a great song and it was extended at the end to allow for some most Unprimal Screamish crowd participation, but it's such a poppy and catchy song that it's still hard to accept that The Scream had written it just five years ago! I did read a review afterwards discussing the "difference in quality" between the main set and the encore but I have no idea which they were saying was best, as they were very different yet equally wonderful elements of the evening!
The song I'd most wanted to hear apart from the obvious choices from Screamadelica had been Jailbird and the band obliged by storming through it before following it with Rocks, which was great if not quite as electrifying as it had been last time, perhaps because the show had maintained such a high level throughout. The band then left the stage. And that was it. They'd played for less than 90 minutes but everyone seemed quite happy and no-one seemed to be expecting another encore. It was one of the most gloriously concise shows I'd ever seen and I was shocked that they hadn't tried foisting some new songs on us at the close. Their determination to give us only the best was admirable, and a decision must have been made that "electronic" songs such as Swastika Eyes or Miss Lucifer didn't fit in with the setlist thus the focus was entirely on Screamadelica and rock 'n' roll. The main downer had simply been that the album hadn't been played in order but even that I appreciate was an attempt to improve the show rather than just stupidity, even if they had got that decision wrong. In fact there was a very brief taste of Xtrmntr as the band looped a bit of the "fuck fuck sick" refrain from Pills at the very end, and I wonder if the band will play a 20th anniversary of Xtrmntr show in 2020 focusing on just the electronic tunes? That would be pretty awesome, but they'd be rather old by then I'm afraid to say. Afterwards I headed straight back to the train station, resisting the urge to pop back into the pub. As my new phone wasn't the best for simple functions such as calling or writing messages I scribbled down a draft of the review on good ol' fashioned pen and paper after enjoying a McFlurry while waiting for my train home. I can't predict if I'll ever see them again but I was pleased to have seen Primal Scream at the top of their game and glad that I'd made the effort of coming along.
Mark: 8.0/10
Primal Scream
Support
Kassidy
Where
Birmingham O2 Academy
When
15th March 2011
Price
£29.11
Who with
No-one
Position
In the middle
Comments
I was interested in attending this show from the moment tickets went onsale but decided to wait until closer to the time before buying, being reluctant to make a commitment to go. The tickets were rather pricey, I didn't know what I'd be up to at the time and I felt I could just about afford to miss out. I decided less than two weeks beforehand to just go for it, realising I'd never have another chance to witness Screamadelica being played live and that I'd regret it if I missed out, and also because I was back in work. I heard Screamadelica one and a half times plus I ran through the best of Primal Scream's other songs but I knew the tunes pretty well so felt I was ready to see Primal Scream for the fourth time with little other preparation. I decided to get changed into my Screamadelica t-shirt and strangely enough I have no idea where I purchased it from! Nevertheless, if I was ever going to wear it tonight was the most appropriate time! I left my stuff at work and headed into Birmingham, which fortunately was easier now as I was working closer to Britain's worst city than I'd ever done before. Upon arrival I purchased a monthly West Midlands travel card and was annoyed to see that I'd been travelling all day on an invalid ticket as my weekly pass had expired one day earlier than my maths had allowed for! Things hardly improved when the girl behind the counter sold me the wrong new ticket but thankfully I spotted her mistake and went back to get it replaced. The sheer hassle and risk of losing money if I hadn't spotted their error in time didn't bear thinking about. However the evening now picked up and it was great to know I could now get all around the West Midlands for free, something I'd take advantage of in future. Also I went to a mobile phone shop and got my phone hooked up to the internet with no hassle which was nice and gave me something new to play with in the pub!
Setlist
Movin' On Up
Slip Inside This House
Don't Fight It, Feel It
Damaged
I'm Comin' Down
Shine Like Stars
Inner Flight
Higher Than The Sun
Loaded
Come Together
Country Girl
Jailbird
Rocks
