I suppose the first thing to say about this show is that everyone taking part in it looks very cold indeed. An outdoor venue in Denmark that late in the evening means that you're guaranteed the possibility of a visit to the wonderful world of hypothermia, if you aren't careful. It's telling that even Mr Smith who is the most mobile member of the band onstage, except when King Leetch becomes possessed by the ghost of a Studio 54 visitor from the 1970's, takes his hoodie off at the end of
Smokers but puts that jacket straight back on again. The temperature is also a plausible explanation as to why the crowd seem a little bit static during the show. It's one of those instances where the flamethrowers used during
Papillon could have been left on at a low setting and aimed at the front row in a gesture of kindness. Then, of course, you run the risk of the newspaper headline the following morning reading "Editors really set their audience on fire!", and having it mean something other than "They gave a great show!". So maybe not such a great idea after all. Health and safety at work is obviously something I need to read up on.
This is a milestone in the summer festival campaign as it's the first time we get a chance to see and hear
The Pulse professionally recorded. For a while there it was nothing more than a title; possibly an idea that was formulated during the
Scottish recording sessions but that never blossomed. Now we know different. I've said before that it may be a clue to the direction being taken on E6, but as we've learned things can take dramatic turns in other directions with this band. As an example, when they undertook those recording dates in Scotland 2 years ago they were only supposed to be demoing material. As it happened, they ended up self-producing the
In Dream album there. I'm also reminded of the fact that
Last Day, a song which I've
babbled on about before, was the stopgap between
ITLAOTE and
The Weight of Your Love. However, the circumstances surrounding the recording of E4 meant that
Last Day was not a useful suggestion of the kind of music we'd be hearing on
TWOYL.
We do know that
The Pulse is the product of the rehearsal room, and
hasn't yet been recorded in a studio in any final form, so it may be that we look back on this version in the same way we viewed the early live takes of
Bones with the extra "retreats" still intact. Whatever the outcome, it's encouraging that they're obviously still a band in forward motion with an eye on the future rather than just trotting out the hits for the festival crowds.
From the rest of the songs here, I love the way
Ocean of Night and
Life is a Fear sound. There's a solid pop sensibility about them and the clarity of the recording really brings it to the fore. I know this will sound odd, but I'm also enjoying the way that
Papillon merges into
Marching Orders during these recent shows. The way that signature keyboard riff just gradually slows down and then just
becomes the intro to
M.O. is wonderful. It's a similar appreciation that I have to the beginning of the live versions of
When Anger Shows, when Chris would fire up his guitar on a loop, then Ed's drums would come in and Tom's piano would follow. I'm sure you'll find something to love in this gig, enjoy the show everyone ;)
Video - stream it here
MP3s
No Harm - download here
Sugar - download here
Smokers - download here
Life Is a Fear - download here
Formaldehyde - download here
The Racing Rats - download here
Forgiveness - download here
Munich - download here
A Ton of Love - download here
The Pulse - download here
All the Kings - download here
Ocean of Night - download here
Papillon - download here
Marching Orders - download here
brought to you with lots and lots of lemming-love :) x
