Down-sizing their venues from the familiar huge arenas,
it was Liverpool’s turn to see the award-winning Manics at a more intimate
Royal Court Theatre.
In one hour forty five minutes, the sloganeering Welsh super-group
rocked the 67-year-old Art Deco building to its foundations. These boys don’t
hang about: they get on, and get on with it.
Opening with a rasping Found That Soul,they set the tone for the night.
Chunky guitarist James Dean Bradfield was dwarfed by towering bassist Nick Wire,
as the pair fronted the trio’s stage antics of air-splits and leaps, which added
to the electrifying energy of the night. Thumping away on the sticks, drummer
Sean Moore was almost un-noticeable in the background.
Visually they’re an odd combo. Bradfield looks the military type: short hair
and beefy. Lanky Wire added the tacky glamour. With a feather boa wrapped around
his mic stand and glittered eye make-up, he’s a peculiar contrast to his band-mate.
With his low-slung bass, long arms and legs, Wire loped around the stage like
a lost soul, occassionaly dipping in to a little foot routine.
As a unit they’re one of the best I’ve heard, with all songs sounding sharp:
the balance was perfect. Bradfield’s powerful vocals engulfed the theatre
and, for a change, they were crystal clear, unlike many rock singers.
The set was a mix of singles and album tracks, and surprisingly they dropped their
first major hit Design For Life as the second song, which sent the two
thousand crowd into raptures. From then on they couldn’t go wrong. They romped
through the 23 songs at a blistering pace.
Highlights were anthemic hits You Stole The Sun From My Heart, If You Tolerate
This Your Children Will Be Next, with mellower Let Robeson Sing and
Everlasting making just as much impact. Finishing with a
raucous Paradise City/Motown Junk they left the stage without an encore.
As of April 2009, Blu-rays and DVDs reviewed by the editor are watched on a Panasonic TH-37PX80B
37" Plasma TV with a Sony BDP-1500 Blu-ray player and played through a Yamaha DSP-AX820 amplifier.
PC games reviewed by the editor are on:
Since Jan 2011: Intel Quad Core Dell XPS 8100, i7 CPU 860 @ 2.80Ghz, 8Gb RAM, nVidia GeForce GTS 240, Windows 7
Since Nov 2005: Intel Pentium D 830 3.0Ghz, 1Gb RAM, 128Mb nVidia GeForce 6700XL, Windows XP
Since Aug 2003: Intel Pentium 4 2.66Ghz, 512Mb RAM, 128Mb GeForce4 MX440 graphics, Windows XP
Since May 2003: Intel Pentium 4 2.6Ghz, 512Mb RAM, 128Mb ATI Radeon 9600TX graphics, Windows XP
Since Jun 2002: Intel Pentium III 600Mhz, 384Mb RAM, Windows 98 SE, 64Mb ATI Radeon 8500LE
Since May 2000: Intel Pentium III 600Mhz, 384Mb RAM, Windows 98 SE, Voodoo 3 3000 AGP
Down-sizing their venues from the familiar huge arenas,
it was Liverpool’s turn to see the award-winning Manics at a more intimate
Royal Court Theatre.
As a unit they’re one of the best I’ve heard, with all songs sounding sharp:
the balance was perfect. Bradfield’s powerful vocals engulfed the theatre
and, for a change, they were crystal clear, unlike many rock singers.
Highlights were anthemic hits You Stole The Sun From My Heart, If You Tolerate
This Your Children Will Be Next, with mellower Let Robeson Sing and
Everlasting making just as much impact. Finishing with a
raucous Paradise City/Motown Junk they left the stage without an encore.
Review & concert pics copyright © Elly Roberts, 2004-2010.
