“Oi, buy a ticket, it didn’t sell out!”
These were the bewildered words yowled down by a scarcely rugged up skinhead on the smoker’s balcony to an equally underdressed mate who stood puffing and ticket-less outside the Roundhouse on the eve of The Music’s final UK date.
From this, one might have predicted a gross under-attendance (with the crusty likes of support band The Chemist not warranting an early arrival) yet come 20.59, the North London mini-dome had swelled with excitement as the Leed’s quartet shot through a pool of crimson light to the brink of the stage and the pandemonium of thousands.
Never before has an album title so fittingly grasped the air of a gig than ‘Strength In Numbers’, as the hoards fulminated to ‘Take the Long Road and Walk it’, ‘The Spike’ and ‘Freedom Fighters’ a trio of big beat rock that plummeted through the bands deviating career. Twas’ a thumping parade and exaggeratedly thrashy, a trait perhaps illuminated by the recent resurgence of hair metal (i.e. Metallica, AC/DC) though this time around, Robert Harvey’s head is bare, much like his soul that’s been laid out in the bands third instalment which grabbles with the leaders toils with mind altering excesses.
‘Human’, ‘Drugs’ and ‘Strength In Numbers’ lay at the heart of the immense ninety minutes that saw Harvey refrain from idle chatter (though “nice one, cheers, thank you” was parroted after each song), preferring to stay at the core of the party, by banging it out and dancing.
Deep use of backing tracks most apparent in ‘Idel’ blew up the bands relentless pound while Harvey’s voice soared artlessly into the ears of the admirers who became somewhat demonised the moment opening riff to ‘The People’ raged, this followed by ‘Everybody Wants to Know’ and ‘The Left Side’ drew the band to a memorable close.
Though left slightly without kinship to the energetic Harvey, long after The Music’s departure, an adoring, slightly northerly chant of “Moo-ic.. Moo-sic.. Moo-sic” echoed into the darkness, a reminder that this partly elapsed yet hypnotic dance rock is as gut-twistingly joyous as ever.
