Guardian Review

[simonkeeping]

Spiritualized

Sage, Gateshead

Dave Simpson
Monday May 30, 2005
The Guardian

Spiritualized gigs are normally full-on hallucinatory overloads featuring strobes, free-jazz musicians, gospel choirs and passing kitchen sinks. But this is different. A one-off in an intimate venue that neatly resembles being inside the Tardis, Spiritualized's customary dazzling light show has been largely left at home. For perhaps the first time in his career, it's possible to see that Jason Pierce, aka Spaceman, is accompanied by a bassist, drummer, guitarist and percussionist rather than teams of sound-producing spacemen.

The spotlights on the playing - and acoustics that reveal the tiniest sibilant detail - highlight the complex, telepathic musical make-up of what can sound brain-jarringly simple. With the band between releases, this performance shows where Pierce has taken his work and plans to go next. Bookended by two typical stormers from his old band Spacemen 3 (Walkin' With Jesus and Take Me to the Other Side), more recent cuts like a wracked, sepulchral Oh Baby are peppered by new material. Last album Amazing Grace's return to garage rock has given way to hints of everything from classic late 1960s songwriting (Jimmy Webb/Glen Campbell), bubblegum pop hooks and soul.

Pierce's achievement has been to create a constantly shifting sonic landscape that is instantly recognisable yet largely undefinable. Seemingly ageless, he sits sideways to the crowd, oblivious to shouts of: "We love you, Jason."

As the musical spells get more transcendent and emotions are sharpened by Lay It Down Slow's awesome mantras of "You've got pain in your heart/Why don't you share it with me?" the effect on the crowd - even in this stripped-down state - is like a sensory experiment. By the end, it feels like witnessing an enormous machine being disassembled to its components, which does nothing but heighten the mystery of how stunningly the whole thing works.

[herman]

Wish I was there. Very nice review, thank you simonkeeping