Thursday, April 05, 2007

gig reviews: razorlight, damien rice, little man tate

Razorlight/Manchester MEN Arena

Oh dear. Two years ago Johnny Borrell would give his appendix to ensure his audience enjoyed itself. Tonight he seems happy to discount showmanship duties and only give the bare minimum.

With two stunning albums behind them, it beggers belief that such a band could fall flat on an arena level.

But fall flat they do, and the crowd is left wondering how the band ever gained its previously electric live reputation. 5/10


Damien Rice/Manchester Apollo

If Damien Rice has many skills to his name, brevity certainly isn't one of them.

Over a full 2 hour show, 4 minute album tracks are drawn out to become 13 minute epics. The audience is left to cheer a full 5 minutes for an encore.

The presence of recently departed vocalist Lisa Hannigan is dearly missed, but it doesn't prevent the performance from being an intense, intimate and wildly compelling one. 8/10


Little Man Tate/Manchester Roadhouse

For a band with six singles already under their belt, LMT should be a storming live prospect.

It's unfortunate therefore, that all through the set Jon Windle's voice appears in worrying health.

Throughout there's a consistent feeling of a band not quite living up to their usual gig reputation, and it results in a show that pleases the core fans, but leaves any observing passers-by remaining unconvinced. 7/10

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