Appears to be a soundboard however the mix is pretty strange and Mark tends to go off microphone on odd occasions. Bass unfortunately is low in the mix however rest of instruments are well presented. Reviews of the time indicate that Ding was subject to on-stage mixing on the night which would explain this.
All in all a damn good show. Reviews at the time were very positive. Interesting thing is how Pritchards guitar is less fulsome than, say, a year later and the interplay between the keyboards and the overall sound is more marked. Notable that many of the numbers on the date were relatively short with nothing exceeding six minutes. Playing is exceptional throughout although Milner tends to be unadventurous in places. Mark is in fine form with some excellent articulation and a real sense of presence.
Fine versions of the four opening numbers with some excellent work from all involved - "Mere Pseud Mag" has a bit of constipated start and I've never been sure it works with a keyboard given the riff based nature of the song - Eleni's faux organ patch does nothing to disabuse me of this notion - regardless of that this is an interesting version with some fleet bass playing from Ding.
"Contraflow" is excellent - a sort of a mad skank reggae version on the verses with scraped guitar and a great back beat - Smith is particularly snarly and delivers with some degree of anger. "F-Oldin'" has a rough start and hangs together quite well - not sure of the choice of synth patch on this and as a rhythm instrument it is perhaps too loud in the mix. Ben does some noodling in places, It morphs into a very well delivered "Kick the Can" where the guitar gets the prominence it deserves and Milner plays a blinder as do the backing vocalists.
A very short "Mountain Energei" has an interesting quality - the bass takes the lead and the guitar and keys are perfectly balanced - Smith mangles the words well using some variation. "Touch Sensitive" is a little wooden but manages to pick up. The early version of "Sparta" is motoring along nicely until the singer and the band disappear only to reappear a minute later to do it again - one has to say somewhat fresher and faster. "Pharmacist" is its usual lovely self and is followed a elegiac reading of "Janet, Johnny & James" (not the Janet vs Johnny version as listed elsewhere) with Smith scattering the words. After this quiet we get a medium paced rock version of "Way Round" with some interesting synth swirls from Eleni - a very pleasing version with Smith's voice treated with some echo which adds to the ethos of the tune.
"Prinz" starts as a two-step and builds effortlessly into a rolling - often disjointed - thumping exercise - keys dont seem to fit in well and its probably the most disappointing thing on the evening with the band not locking together and Smith wandering off microphone.
Encores are a jerky "Bourgeois" which again suffers from low guitar and over mixed keyboards and a superb version of "Buck's" which has a bit of a false start but then kicks in with some venom - Ben gets a bit of a slagging off as Mark draws some comparisons. Some excellent lyrical variations here and great delivery. There is a lenghty solo guitar riff from Ben at the end.
A fine ending to a general good show which appears to have been somewhat diminished by sound problems.
All in all a damn good show. Reviews at the time were very positive. Interesting thing is how Pritchards guitar is less fulsome than, say, a year later and the interplay between the keyboards and the overall sound is more marked. Notable that many of the numbers on the date were relatively short with nothing exceeding six minutes. Playing is exceptional throughout although Milner tends to be unadventurous in places. Mark is in fine form with some excellent articulation and a real sense of presence.
Fine versions of the four opening numbers with some excellent work from all involved - "Mere Pseud Mag" has a bit of constipated start and I've never been sure it works with a keyboard given the riff based nature of the song - Eleni's faux organ patch does nothing to disabuse me of this notion - regardless of that this is an interesting version with some fleet bass playing from Ding.
"Contraflow" is excellent - a sort of a mad skank reggae version on the verses with scraped guitar and a great back beat - Smith is particularly snarly and delivers with some degree of anger. "F-Oldin'" has a rough start and hangs together quite well - not sure of the choice of synth patch on this and as a rhythm instrument it is perhaps too loud in the mix. Ben does some noodling in places, It morphs into a very well delivered "Kick the Can" where the guitar gets the prominence it deserves and Milner plays a blinder as do the backing vocalists.
A very short "Mountain Energei" has an interesting quality - the bass takes the lead and the guitar and keys are perfectly balanced - Smith mangles the words well using some variation. "Touch Sensitive" is a little wooden but manages to pick up. The early version of "Sparta" is motoring along nicely until the singer and the band disappear only to reappear a minute later to do it again - one has to say somewhat fresher and faster. "Pharmacist" is its usual lovely self and is followed a elegiac reading of "Janet, Johnny & James" (not the Janet vs Johnny version as listed elsewhere) with Smith scattering the words. After this quiet we get a medium paced rock version of "Way Round" with some interesting synth swirls from Eleni - a very pleasing version with Smith's voice treated with some echo which adds to the ethos of the tune.
"Prinz" starts as a two-step and builds effortlessly into a rolling - often disjointed - thumping exercise - keys dont seem to fit in well and its probably the most disappointing thing on the evening with the band not locking together and Smith wandering off microphone.
Encores are a jerky "Bourgeois" which again suffers from low guitar and over mixed keyboards and a superb version of "Buck's" which has a bit of a false start but then kicks in with some venom - Ben gets a bit of a slagging off as Mark draws some comparisons. Some excellent lyrical variations here and great delivery. There is a lenghty solo guitar riff from Ben at the end.
A fine ending to a general good show which appears to have been somewhat diminished by sound problems.