Good quality audience tape from Graeme . Graeme includes a snippet of support act Safi Snipers material as a taster at the beginning of his presentation. Some audience noise/chatter which can be a distraction. The keyboads tend to dominate but all in all a good representation.
The band starts a little sloppily and then picks it up and shakes it about and then gets into its groove. The first three numbers are a little untogether but by the time "Sparta" gets going there's a sense that the exceptional performances from Pomona are to be repeated. "Mountain Energei" and "What About Us?" are exercises in controlled venom with Presley coming into his own. In between is a mutated version of "Wrong Place, Right Time" which is driven by Smith and the bass.
The 12 minutes plus version of "Blindness" is most peculiar - Sun Ra type organ swirls start the proceedings - the bass and guitar are indistinguishable - Smith dominates in almost dub version with his vocals much louder than the instruments. The track is spoiled by a chattering loon in the audience whittering on about something and nothing. In time the bass and guitar gain a degree of ascendancy albeit sparse and minimal. "Good evening we are The Fall, we leave you now". The last two minutes are about Orpheo McCord and Elena Poulou with singularly intense interplay leading to an extended coda.
The encore of "Mr Pharmacist" is taken at a slow delta blues swagger - slovenly and sexy!
Its safe to say that most of the gigs on this remarkable tour are worth acquiring.
The band starts a little sloppily and then picks it up and shakes it about and then gets into its groove. The first three numbers are a little untogether but by the time "Sparta" gets going there's a sense that the exceptional performances from Pomona are to be repeated. "Mountain Energei" and "What About Us?" are exercises in controlled venom with Presley coming into his own. In between is a mutated version of "Wrong Place, Right Time" which is driven by Smith and the bass.
The 12 minutes plus version of "Blindness" is most peculiar - Sun Ra type organ swirls start the proceedings - the bass and guitar are indistinguishable - Smith dominates in almost dub version with his vocals much louder than the instruments. The track is spoiled by a chattering loon in the audience whittering on about something and nothing. In time the bass and guitar gain a degree of ascendancy albeit sparse and minimal. "Good evening we are The Fall, we leave you now". The last two minutes are about Orpheo McCord and Elena Poulou with singularly intense interplay leading to an extended coda.
The encore of "Mr Pharmacist" is taken at a slow delta blues swagger - slovenly and sexy!
Its safe to say that most of the gigs on this remarkable tour are worth acquiring.