Very good quality audience tape
Interesting that the reviews of this gig at the time veered between grudgingly disappointed to unabashed acclaim. Listening to this a couple of months later I am bound to side on the latter opinion. This is a violent and uncompromising show with more energy than I have heard from the band in a long while.
The opening "Scenario" name checks Beefhearts "Veteran's Day Poppy" and is derived riff wize from"Coming Down" it starts as it means to go on - we are treated to a high tempo charge through the standards from this tour together with the two-step grunge beat and surf guitar of the instantly memorable "Reformation" which at this point its history offers opinions of Manchester in 1981.
Slight guitar errors on "Grass Grow" are minimal and do not detract. We get a short break on "Aspen" where Barbato has the bass just right and Presley begins to get the guitar sound....MES plays with the words Seamus and Andy Williams get a mention....McCord provides exceptional light and shade.
Again "Blindness" is a tour-de-force - Barbato's bass gives it a peculiar mutant sound and Presley uses a "Reznor" like patch on the melody - its a dub driven intense piece of rock which comes to a juddering halt after just over 9 minutes.
Swamp rock "Mr Pharmacist" leads a dense "Systematic Abuse" distorted bass, guitar and laminal synth patches lock in perfect unison.....if anything goes to the core of the original sound of the Fall then this does.
It concludes with a drone, tumbling drums and surge through "Youwanner" - not altogether as tight as the Pritchard/Birtwistle/Trafford version but somehow just as vital, with breaks and tension wracked sections where the band drops out and Orphy holds the beat.
The audience get the microphone at the end and regale us with a few hits......rather silly but a lot of fun.....
Immense.
Like most gigs on this tour - an essential gig to listen to.
Interesting that the reviews of this gig at the time veered between grudgingly disappointed to unabashed acclaim. Listening to this a couple of months later I am bound to side on the latter opinion. This is a violent and uncompromising show with more energy than I have heard from the band in a long while.
The opening "Scenario" name checks Beefhearts "Veteran's Day Poppy" and is derived riff wize from"Coming Down" it starts as it means to go on - we are treated to a high tempo charge through the standards from this tour together with the two-step grunge beat and surf guitar of the instantly memorable "Reformation" which at this point its history offers opinions of Manchester in 1981.
Slight guitar errors on "Grass Grow" are minimal and do not detract. We get a short break on "Aspen" where Barbato has the bass just right and Presley begins to get the guitar sound....MES plays with the words Seamus and Andy Williams get a mention....McCord provides exceptional light and shade.
Again "Blindness" is a tour-de-force - Barbato's bass gives it a peculiar mutant sound and Presley uses a "Reznor" like patch on the melody - its a dub driven intense piece of rock which comes to a juddering halt after just over 9 minutes.
Swamp rock "Mr Pharmacist" leads a dense "Systematic Abuse" distorted bass, guitar and laminal synth patches lock in perfect unison.....if anything goes to the core of the original sound of the Fall then this does.
It concludes with a drone, tumbling drums and surge through "Youwanner" - not altogether as tight as the Pritchard/Birtwistle/Trafford version but somehow just as vital, with breaks and tension wracked sections where the band drops out and Orphy holds the beat.
The audience get the microphone at the end and regale us with a few hits......rather silly but a lot of fun.....
Immense.
Like most gigs on this tour - an essential gig to listen to.