Excellent audience re-fettle courtesy of Michael out of Graeme.
That Smith, you know, he's a lucky sod. Drop him from a great height and he will always land on his feet. Two days after the core of his band depart for Blighty he reassembles the Fall, with the help of his record lable, around the guitarist and bass player from "Darker my love" and the drummer from "On the hill".
OK it doesnt quite get off to a completely professional start - Elena and Mark play "Pacifying Joint" and Tim, Orpheo and Rob play "Midnight in Aspen" - actually it does work - after a hesitant start MES adopts the words to the alternate and somehow, somehow it all makes sense in a loose free form way. MES mutates the words at the end and slips into "Aspen" ... Elena cottons on and the band locks into a sensual groove.
What is readily apparent from the start is the power of Orpheo McCords drumming which is mesmerisingly good. He gives the band a core sound which elevates it to a new level. Presley's take on the "Sparta" riff is spacey with some effective guitar fx, what catches the ear is Barbato's bass which is a monstrous growling noise. For a band with less than 48 hours rehearsal this is amazing - OK its not perfect but you can hear a new Fall sound emerging. The band hasn't quite got the changes, and Elena's vocals aren't clear but with a well placed "whup" MES gets the boys back on the case. A messy but altogether gestation and then a sense of something to come at the end when Presley elevates the coda into a Wall of Sound with judicious chordage.
Mark asks where he can get some "big shorts" from - he is advised the Mall is the best place - he chuckles and then counts in a mammoth bass grunge version of "Mountain Energei". Compared to the rushed version of two days earlier this is a slow walk through the classic from "TRFLP". McCord lays down a heavy backbeat and Presley adds jazzy chords as EP plays a silky lead line on the synth. If anyone ever says the Fall ain't sexy get them to listen to this - it positively grooves along.
"Wrong Place, right time" is a train wreck. A brilliant mad dub crazy lunatic train wreck with no reference to the original than the lyrics - the band reconstruct the song from the bottom upwards and add spacy echo guitar noises. Fascinating.
"What about us?" is the manifesto for the future - an incredibly dense wall of noise which starts off as an uncultured, cluttered mess but resolves into an intense barrage of repetition as the drummer and the guitarist find their places in the tune and pull off an amazing feat of prestidigitation which ends in a glorious feedback howl.
Encore time and "Pharmacist" is a sloppy and incredibly noisy rattle through the old war-horse - Presley sort of plays a guitar solo in the middle bit - the band lose their way a little towards the end but it all ends on a bit of a high. The crowd is left baying for more with "Loop 41"
Immense - one of the best live rehearsals you may ever hear.
That Smith, you know, he's a lucky sod. Drop him from a great height and he will always land on his feet. Two days after the core of his band depart for Blighty he reassembles the Fall, with the help of his record lable, around the guitarist and bass player from "Darker my love" and the drummer from "On the hill".
OK it doesnt quite get off to a completely professional start - Elena and Mark play "Pacifying Joint" and Tim, Orpheo and Rob play "Midnight in Aspen" - actually it does work - after a hesitant start MES adopts the words to the alternate and somehow, somehow it all makes sense in a loose free form way. MES mutates the words at the end and slips into "Aspen" ... Elena cottons on and the band locks into a sensual groove.
What is readily apparent from the start is the power of Orpheo McCords drumming which is mesmerisingly good. He gives the band a core sound which elevates it to a new level. Presley's take on the "Sparta" riff is spacey with some effective guitar fx, what catches the ear is Barbato's bass which is a monstrous growling noise. For a band with less than 48 hours rehearsal this is amazing - OK its not perfect but you can hear a new Fall sound emerging. The band hasn't quite got the changes, and Elena's vocals aren't clear but with a well placed "whup" MES gets the boys back on the case. A messy but altogether gestation and then a sense of something to come at the end when Presley elevates the coda into a Wall of Sound with judicious chordage.
Mark asks where he can get some "big shorts" from - he is advised the Mall is the best place - he chuckles and then counts in a mammoth bass grunge version of "Mountain Energei". Compared to the rushed version of two days earlier this is a slow walk through the classic from "TRFLP". McCord lays down a heavy backbeat and Presley adds jazzy chords as EP plays a silky lead line on the synth. If anyone ever says the Fall ain't sexy get them to listen to this - it positively grooves along.
"Wrong Place, right time" is a train wreck. A brilliant mad dub crazy lunatic train wreck with no reference to the original than the lyrics - the band reconstruct the song from the bottom upwards and add spacy echo guitar noises. Fascinating.
"What about us?" is the manifesto for the future - an incredibly dense wall of noise which starts off as an uncultured, cluttered mess but resolves into an intense barrage of repetition as the drummer and the guitarist find their places in the tune and pull off an amazing feat of prestidigitation which ends in a glorious feedback howl.
Encore time and "Pharmacist" is a sloppy and incredibly noisy rattle through the old war-horse - Presley sort of plays a guitar solo in the middle bit - the band lose their way a little towards the end but it all ends on a bit of a high. The crowd is left baying for more with "Loop 41"
Immense - one of the best live rehearsals you may ever hear.