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The Roundhouse, London 25 October 2011
Erasure last played The Roundhouse
as part of Mute's Short
Circuit event back in May. Sadly, on that occasion I could
only attend the first day, whereas Vince Clarke
and Andy Bell played the second day, so it was
fitting - for me at least - that they should return to The Roundhouse
for this London date on the Tomorrow's World tour.
As I've documented in my review
of the album, despite being into my third decade of being an Erasure
fan, Tomorrow's World was something of a disappointment
in places, with producer Frankmusik adding lots of irritating effects
to Andy's voice and suppressing Vince's analogue sounds to create
a needlessly contemporary pop album. Consequently, I would have
like to have skipped Frankmusik's support slot this evening. Alas,
I got to see his 'broken jukebox' set of original songs blended
with overt snatches of other tracks. He advised that his set would
last 28 minutes, and whilst initially I will concede that a) it
suited the charged atmosphere of The Roundhouse on this mild October
evening to have some upbeat fare and b) the female keyboard player
was really pretty, it became pretty tiresome after about, I don't
know, five minutes maybe.
Generally, my expectations were pretty high about
hearing Vince and Andy deliver masterful performances of the songs
that Frankmusik's production had swamped. A case in point was 'A
Whole Lot Of Love Run Riot' (one of my least favourite tracks on
Tomorrow's World) which saw Andy - plus stalwart backing
vocalists Valerie Chalmers and Emma Whittle
- totally negating the need for that mindless Melodyned vocal that
Frankmusik insisted on bringing to the studio. The other track that
knocked spots off the studio version was the first single 'When
I Start To (Break It All Down)' where in the power of Andy's voice
shone through to create an absolutely massive sound. Likewise 'Be
With You' (a really simple song which my five year old daughter
knows backwards, but which Andy needed a lyric sheet for) benefited
from no tampering with the word 'me' at the end of every
line, something which really detracts from an otherwise very Erasure
track on Tomorrow's World. The other track from the new
album played tonight was 'Fill Us With Fire', which received a very
strong reaction from the crowd, and which sounded like it could
have come from any Erasure album, from any period.
It's been six years since I last saw Erasure play
live (Norwich UEA, 18 March
2005) and it was nice to hear a lot of the hits played. Of these
a storming 'Drama!' ('Whenever we play that I feel like Judge Judy,'
muttered Andy after) and, inevitably 'Sometimes', were among the
highlights for me. 'A Little Respect' was typically rousing, though
the enthusiastic shouting / singing of the crowd made it almost
impossible to hear the actual song. 'Sometimes', too, was marred
by fans singing the trumpet solo. (Fans singing along to
riffs and solos has become one of my pet hates this year.) 'Love
To Hate You' was greeted with the loudest reaction by fans, and
the strobe section in the middle (see The Tank, The Swan And
The Balloon for an example) still looks great.
Andy forgetting his lyrics didn't seem to happen
at all, and there was only one false start, ironically enough on
closing number 'Stop!'. Camp shenanigans were few and far between,
Andy being in perhaps the most restrained mood I've ever seen him
in on stage (although still more over the top than most people in
the audience). Then again, when you arrive on the Gothic gargoyle-filled
set dressed as a gladiator, and when you ask your musical partner
to cut you out of the reverse waistcoat / corset thing you're wearing
('It's like Project Runway in reverse,' said Andy gleefully
after 'Chorus'), it's difficult to argue that that isn't at least
a little bit flamboyant. The set was a little baffling, like some
sort of post-nuclear mythical Greek wasteland (a comment on the
parlous nature of this 'PIIGS' economy right now?). The metal innards
of concrete columns jutted from the stage and Vince's keyboard /
laptop set-up were hidden behind what could have been Batman's scarier
cousin over on stage right. I guess it is Hallowe'en next week after
all.
After the corset-removing incident (cue cheers and
coo-ing from fans - I accept that Andy is in good shape and I wish
I was that athletic at my current 35 as opposed to his almost 15
extra years over me), and somewhat appropriately for this beloved
former punk venue, Andy donned a Sex Pistols vest, only it was covered,
like his eyes, in glitter.
Surprises were few, but that wasn't what I was looking
for. 'Alien', delivered with all four members of the stage band
seated and Vince strummed his way through one of Loveboat's
best ballads, accompanied by the sparsest preset percussion, felt
familiar, as did the stately opener 'Sono Luminus', after which
Andy Bell removed his ridiculous Life Of Brian centurion
helmet. Vince playing guitar and grinning like the Cheshire Cat,
in the centre of the stage for 'Sometimes' and 'A Little Respect'
was unexpected for someone who seems to dislike the limelight, but
welcome to actually be able to see the lame-suited musical genius
that he is.
Was I as excited about this compared to other Erasure
gigs I've been to? I have to say, following Tomorrow's World,
that I wasn't. But I wasn't disappointed at all. And at least I
went this time - I couldn't be bothered to drive to Oxford for the
date on The Light Of The World gig and I've always regretted
that.
setlist:
1. Sono Luminus
2. Always
3. When I Start (To Break It All Down)
4. Blue Savannah
5. Fill Us With Fire
6. Breath Of Life
7. Drama!
8. Be With You
9. Ship Of Fools
10. Chorus
11. Breathe
12. Victim Of Love
13. Alien
14. Love To Hate You
15. I Lose Myself
16. Whole Lot Of Love Run Riot
17. ChainsOf Love
18. Sometimes
19. A Little Respect
20. Oh L'Amour
21. Stop!
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