A rare and welcome treat...
Mark E Smith has never cared much for the old saying ‘if it ain’t broke don’t fix it’. Over the past thirty years he’s broken and deconstructed his band The Fall so many times that the amount in the ex-Fall members club is now nearing fifty.
But tonight’s performance is by the same group of musicians who have been part of The Fall for five years. This short amount of time is the longest period of elapsed time without a sacking, although they’re currently without regular guitarist Pete Greenway. He’s away on paternity leave, something Smith would never have happened in the past. It’s this familiarity which results in the band being the most focused they have been for over two decades.
A Fall performance is all about Smith, is he on time? Yes. Is he drunk? Probably. Is he wired? Totally. The opulent surroundings of the IndigO2 venue within the cavernous O2 is used to slick American R ‘n’ B acts or ‘90s pop such as wonky haired pub warbler Heather Small. Tonight was probably the first time the lyrics “I had to wank off the cat to feed the fucking dog” have been sung from this stage.
Smith growls, lurks around the stage. He gurns in his usual disdainful way as the band pummel along behind him. Being generally obtuse, he spends a significant amount of time sitting down to read his lyrics from a piece of paper prior to barking them out. Then when he’s bored with that, he tries to antagonise stand-in guitarist Tim Pressley by turning the filters up and down on his amp. He looks to see if he takes the bait: he doesn’t.
The band sound lean and robust, particularly drummer Keiron Melling whose metronomic skins caning is so precise it sounds as if it’s done by a drum machine. But at times it feels as if Smith is taking the piss, something he may have been getting away with for decades. The majority of words from his mouth are becoming more indecipherable as the years go by. There’s no form, just noise, which isn’t helped by the music which at times becomes sludgy, dirge like.
As with gigs from The Fall these days, the band‘s history is eschewed for new material and a liberal peppering of recent classics. ‘I’ve Been Duped’ is becoming a modern day essential whereas last years ‘Bury’ and an incendiary ‘Reformation’ storm the crowd. As well as the surprise of an encore, bearing in mind the amount of times Smith has given up during a set, that last tune is also the biggest of this latter period of their existence. By playing said track - ‘Theme from Sparta FC’, they commit the unspeakable act of purposefully pleasing the crowd – a momentary lapse from being the contrary bastards we expect them to be. A rare and welcome treat for these most loyal of fans, the un-fallen.
Words by Chris Todd
Photos by Ian Dewsbury
For a photo gallery of the event, click HERE.
But tonight’s performance is by the same group of musicians who have been part of The Fall for five years. This short amount of time is the longest period of elapsed time without a sacking, although they’re currently without regular guitarist Pete Greenway. He’s away on paternity leave, something Smith would never have happened in the past. It’s this familiarity which results in the band being the most focused they have been for over two decades.
A Fall performance is all about Smith, is he on time? Yes. Is he drunk? Probably. Is he wired? Totally. The opulent surroundings of the IndigO2 venue within the cavernous O2 is used to slick American R ‘n’ B acts or ‘90s pop such as wonky haired pub warbler Heather Small. Tonight was probably the first time the lyrics “I had to wank off the cat to feed the fucking dog” have been sung from this stage.
Smith growls, lurks around the stage. He gurns in his usual disdainful way as the band pummel along behind him. Being generally obtuse, he spends a significant amount of time sitting down to read his lyrics from a piece of paper prior to barking them out. Then when he’s bored with that, he tries to antagonise stand-in guitarist Tim Pressley by turning the filters up and down on his amp. He looks to see if he takes the bait: he doesn’t.
The band sound lean and robust, particularly drummer Keiron Melling whose metronomic skins caning is so precise it sounds as if it’s done by a drum machine. But at times it feels as if Smith is taking the piss, something he may have been getting away with for decades. The majority of words from his mouth are becoming more indecipherable as the years go by. There’s no form, just noise, which isn’t helped by the music which at times becomes sludgy, dirge like.
As with gigs from The Fall these days, the band‘s history is eschewed for new material and a liberal peppering of recent classics. ‘I’ve Been Duped’ is becoming a modern day essential whereas last years ‘Bury’ and an incendiary ‘Reformation’ storm the crowd. As well as the surprise of an encore, bearing in mind the amount of times Smith has given up during a set, that last tune is also the biggest of this latter period of their existence. By playing said track - ‘Theme from Sparta FC’, they commit the unspeakable act of purposefully pleasing the crowd – a momentary lapse from being the contrary bastards we expect them to be. A rare and welcome treat for these most loyal of fans, the un-fallen.
Words by Chris Todd
Photos by Ian Dewsbury
For a photo gallery of the event, click HERE.
The Fall
