02/05/03 - Empress Ballroom - Blackpool, UK

by Dave

Never before has a place held host to two groups of opposite people, since Jerry Springer invited members of the Jewish Liberation front to meet members of the Ku Klux Klan for clear the air talks. During the day, the novelty Elvis masks, shiny shoes and smart outfit brigade would throw a fleeting bemused look as they pass scruffy jeans and tracksuit top wearers, with "The Music" logo somewhere to be found on their person. The superficial nature of society’s aforementioned vanity is succinctly given the short sharp shrift by The Music’s front man Robert Harvey in ‘The Truth is No Words”:

"People try to judge me, they will never know me."

It is lyrics like this that have helped earn the band a cult like following over the country after just one album. Therefore, after the enthusiastic crowd were warmed up by strong sets from the promising scouse rockers: ‘The Stand’ and the long haired American garage rockers: ‘The Kings Of Leon’, Robert Harvey and company received a heroes welcome. Maybe it is too early and too much pressure to throw phases like "Saviours of music" around, but such genuine lack of pretentiousness was certainly appreciated tonight. As soon as the first note of the opening track ‘The Dance’ resonated around the impressive 2,000 plus packed venue, ‘The Music’ grabbed hold of the audience’s attention like a Jack Russell with something in it’s mouth and refused to let go. There was impressive contrast in the reaction of the adoring crowd, as the songs containing searing guitar riffs like ‘The Jag Tune‘, ‘The People’ and ‘Getaway’ created a sea of bobbing heads from front to back. Whereas, the slower instrumental and acoustic based tunes like the B-sides ‘New Instrumental’, ‘Those Creeping Walls’ and ‘Alone’ saw some members of the audience closing their eyes in prayer like fashion as ‘The Music’ took them to another place. If the band continues to raise the level of their music, then they will be compelled to seek clearance from Air Traffic Control prior to arranging their next gig.

The only hint of disappointment to the gig was the fact that they played every track from the self titled debut album, with all previously released tracks complementing the set list. It would have been nice to hear some new material in order to find out in which direction the band is heading, and if the second album will build on the success of the first one. The fact that the latest track “ What’s It For?” the B-side to the latest single “The Truth Is No Words”, indicates that the band may feel handicapped by the overwhelming success of their now well established material, as they seem cautious to experiment and parade new material like ‘The Coral’ have recently done. However, this did not stop them being breathtakingly awesome, as the band got lost in ‘The Music’ the same way as everyone else did.

Thanks Dave for your report! :)

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