Brighton 30/4/22

For setlists, memories and bootlegs etc...

Moderators: BzaInSpace, runcible, spzretent, MODLAB

Post Reply
Shinesalight
Known user
Posts: 2460
Joined: Thu Jul 15, 2004 5:57 pm
Location: Brighton, U.K.
Contact:

Brighton 30/4/22

Post by Shinesalight »

Getting some thoughts down on last night's gig in Brighton.

Pros:
  • Band sounded great. Big shout out especially to the bass player, whoever is on keys these days and the backing singers
  • Jason's voice is the best it has sounded in years. Really strong on the loud sections, but calm and clear on the quieter bits (of which there are many - see cons :wink: )
  • There was a lot less chatting during and inbetween songs. There was reverential silence during the real quiet parts. I think this was in part to the gig being all seated
  • The opening salvo of Hey Jane, She Kissed Me and Shine A Light was fantastic
  • Light show was great in parts, especially the strobe assault in between Kissed Me and Shine A Light

Cons:
  • A bit of variety in the set list would have been appreciated. Seeing the set lists from previous shows meant I knew exactly what was coming next. For those going to multiple shows it must irk a little to be faced with exactly the same set
  • Do you remember when we used to moan (or at least a large proportion of us on here) about the lull in the set during the likes of Oh Baby and Rated X?... well with the current set list, be prepared for quite a lot more of this. Loads of people getting up for toilet breaks during the ballads in the hope of returning to some classics, only to be welcomed back with more ballads
  • Why on earth don't they play the best two songs from the new record... namely Always Together With You and Mainline Song? :x
  • The section of 4 songs from And Nothing Hurt, one after the other, sounded nice but it is too much all together and really brought down the mood in the venue
  • The fact that Soul on Fire (not exactly the strongest song in the back catalogue) got the massive reception it did spoke volumes about the majority of the crowds feelings towards the songs that came before it. The crowd went ballistic when Come Together started and it would have been great to have more of these moments
Overall it was a good gig and wonderful to see them again after a break of 3 years. I know Jason is a perfectionist and really likes to nail all the nuances of a set but, for me, this is the weakest set list in years. I'm more than happy to hear new material but 6 tracks from And Nothing Hurt out of a total of 16 songs seems excessive to me, especially when there is such a depth to the Spiritualized back catalogue. The new album tracks sounded great live and the sound of the band as a whole was faultless. I enjoyed what I heard but I was still left wanting more. Just 2 songs from the first 3 albums (pretty much universally considered to be his best work) and nothing from Let It Come Down doesn't feel right to me. :(
www.dronerockrecords.com
The Home of Drone
purespace
Known user
Posts: 1178
Joined: Thu Jan 01, 1970 1:00 am
Location: Michigan, USA

Re: Brighton 30/4/22

Post by purespace »

Great review! You nailed my biggest hesitancy for this tour which is the momentum killing set list. Man I hope J gets wind of this and changes things up when they come back to the states in September. Taking a newbie to the show and this is not an ideal setlist for introducing the live Spiritualized experience :|
I think I feel it coming on
Greeny
Known user
Posts: 812
Joined: Thu Jan 01, 1970 1:00 am
Location: Burgess Hill

Re: Brighton 30/4/22

Post by Greeny »

My first live Spiritualized experience since the (for me) disastrous RAH2 show, and I had high hopes despite some serious misgivings about the set list having looked at previous shows.

The opening salvo was great, if a bit "Spiritualized noise by numbers" and Shine a Light was sublime.

But then it just drifted into mediocrity for me, and unfortunately we had a group of p1ssed up talkers immediately behind us, who also insisted on kicking the backs of our seats like a child on an aeroplane. Just bad luck I guess.

In the midst of the momentum killing ballad-fest I nipped out to the bathroom and just decided I was bored. The spell was totally broken. My mate felt the same, as I then discovered.

We left well before the end.
purespace
Known user
Posts: 1178
Joined: Thu Jan 01, 1970 1:00 am
Location: Michigan, USA

Re: Brighton 30/4/22

Post by purespace »

Greeny wrote: Sun May 01, 2022 5:42 pm My first live Spiritualized experience since the (for me) disastrous RAH2 show, and I had high hopes despite some serious misgivings about the set list having looked at previous shows.

The opening salvo was great, if a bit "Spiritualized noise by numbers" and Shine a Light was sublime.

But then it just drifted into mediocrity for me, and unfortunately we had a group of p1ssed up talkers immediately behind us, who also insisted on kicking the backs of our seats like a child on an aeroplane. Just bad luck I guess.

In the midst of the momentum killing ballad-fest I nipped out to the bathroom and just decided I was bored. The spell was totally broken. My mate felt the same, as I then discovered.

We left well before the end.
Damn, that really sucks and is so easily fixable. I've had 3 Spiritualized shows like that which almost put me off seeing them live ever again. I guess the bar is so high because of the life changing shows I've seen J pull off. Not looking forward to disappointment again because of a vibe killing setlist. Here's to hoping for some change up 🙏
I think I feel it coming on
jesus son
Known user
Posts: 322
Joined: Thu Jan 01, 1970 1:00 am
Location: Rugby

Re: Brighton 30/4/22

Post by jesus son »

Sounds like an identical experience to Bath.

How big was the Brighton venue? Perhaps Jason needs bigger venues to cover the cost of extra musicians these days? I was hoping that with the Birmingham Symphony Hall being way bigger than the Bath venue it would mean fleshing out the sound with brass and strings, and either a new twist on the songs chosen for this tour, or a different set list.But it appears to be far from sold out tomorrow, so probably going to be more of the same I guess.

I'm perplexed by the proportion of the ballads in the current set, but didn't Jason say in an interview that it's Doggen that decides the set list these days?

If anyone is interested, the support for tomorrow will be http://johnbutcher.org.uk/
Vancouver
Known user
Posts: 155
Joined: Fri Jan 09, 2009 6:44 am
Location: Vancouver, BC
Contact:

Re: Brighton 30/4/22

Post by Vancouver »

Shinesalight wrote: Sun May 01, 2022 11:31 am Getting some thoughts down on last night's gig in Brighton.

Pros:
  • Band sounded great. Big shout out especially to the bass player, whoever is on keys these days and the backing singers
  • Jason's voice is the best it has sounded in years. Really strong on the loud sections, but calm and clear on the quieter bits (of which there are many - see cons :wink: )
  • There was a lot less chatting during and inbetween songs. There was reverential silence during the real quiet parts. I think this was in part to the gig being all seated
  • The opening salvo of Hey Jane, She Kissed Me and Shine A Light was fantastic
  • Light show was great in parts, especially the strobe assault in between Kissed Me and Shine A Light

Cons:
  • A bit of variety in the set list would have been appreciated. Seeing the set lists from previous shows meant I knew exactly what was coming next. For those going to multiple shows it must irk a little to be faced with exactly the same set
  • Do you remember when we used to moan (or at least a large proportion of us on here) about the lull in the set during the likes of Oh Baby and Rated X?... well with the current set list, be prepared for quite a lot more of this. Loads of people getting up for toilet breaks during the ballads in the hope of returning to some classics, only to be welcomed back with more ballads
  • Why on earth don't they play the best two songs from the new record... namely Always Together With You and Mainline Song? :x
  • The section of 4 songs from And Nothing Hurt, one after the other, sounded nice but it is too much all together and really brought down the mood in the venue
  • The fact that Soul on Fire (not exactly the strongest song in the back catalogue) got the massive reception it did spoke volumes about the majority of the crowds feelings towards the songs that came before it. The crowd went ballistic when Come Together started and it would have been great to have more of these moments
Overall it was a good gig and wonderful to see them again after a break of 3 years. I know Jason is a perfectionist and really likes to nail all the nuances of a set but, for me, this is the weakest set list in years. I'm more than happy to hear new material but 6 tracks from And Nothing Hurt out of a total of 16 songs seems excessive to me, especially when there is such a depth to the Spiritualized back catalogue. The new album tracks sounded great live and the sound of the band as a whole was faultless. I enjoyed what I heard but I was still left wanting more. Just 2 songs from the first 3 albums (pretty much universally considered to be his best work) and nothing from Let It Come Down doesn't feel right to me. :(
Pretty much nailed my thoughts from the show here last month....except you voiced it much better lol. Cheers.
Spiby
Known user
Posts: 215
Joined: Thu Jan 01, 1970 1:00 am
Location: Rugby, UK

Re: Brighton 30/4/22

Post by Spiby »

I guess different strokes for different folks, because I really liked the balance of the set list. I was a liitle bit wary of how it would work, having been aware of what the set list would be from the previous shows. I took a newbie with me who I've been pestering to go and see them for over 30 years and he absolutely loved it. He's more familiar with the LGM to LAGWAFIS era, but felt he'd recognised far more stuff than he was expecting. I think some thanks must go to 6Music for that, as they've drip-fed much of the last 2 albums over the last 4 years.

He'd been to see Reef a few days ago, and on the way to Spiritualized he was saying that Reef were the loudest band he'd ever seen. I was thinking "Just you wait...", but Spiritualized weren't particularly loud last night. However, the mix (from where I was anyway) was fantastic - really clear, and the intense moments were actually as intense (for me) as any I've experienced with Spiritualized. I think that's in no small part to the set list - great dynamics.

I loved it, and am very excited to see them in Nottingham next week.
Shinesalight
Known user
Posts: 2460
Joined: Thu Jul 15, 2004 5:57 pm
Location: Brighton, U.K.
Contact:

Re: Brighton 30/4/22

Post by Shinesalight »

The music editor of the Guardian, Brightonian Alex Petridis, liked it:-

https://amp.theguardian.com/music/2022/ ... son-pierce
www.dronerockrecords.com
The Home of Drone
sunray
Known user
Posts: 3131
Joined: Wed Sep 19, 2007 10:07 pm

Re: Brighton 30/4/22

Post by sunray »

I think they dropped Always Together... and The Mainline Song 'cos they couldn't replicate them live (i'm sure i read this recently).

The initial US gigs definitely had a more rock n roll setlist but that didn't last long and i reckon this is it for the forseeable. It's still the ending that i have trouble with, it looks like it just peters out after A Song.
Nineteen...Nineteen...Six Five
Greeny
Known user
Posts: 812
Joined: Thu Jan 01, 1970 1:00 am
Location: Burgess Hill

Re: Brighton 30/4/22

Post by Greeny »

sunray wrote: Sun May 01, 2022 11:17 pm. It's still the ending that i have trouble with, it looks like it just peters out after A Song.
Funnily enough that was the last song we watched, albeit standing at the back as we'd already abandoned the seats.

I knew what was coming next - two of my least favourite "oldies" and some other stuff. Time to head to the station!
endsprings
Known user
Posts: 60
Joined: Sat Sep 22, 2018 12:26 pm
Contact:

Re: Brighton 30/4/22

Post by endsprings »

Vancouver wrote: Sun May 01, 2022 8:09 pm
Shinesalight wrote: Sun May 01, 2022 11:31 am Getting some thoughts down on last night's gig in Brighton.

Pros:
  • Band sounded great. Big shout out especially to the bass player, whoever is on keys these days and the backing singers
  • Jason's voice is the best it has sounded in years. Really strong on the loud sections, but calm and clear on the quieter bits (of which there are many - see cons :wink: )
  • There was a lot less chatting during and inbetween songs. There was reverential silence during the real quiet parts. I think this was in part to the gig being all seated
  • The opening salvo of Hey Jane, She Kissed Me and Shine A Light was fantastic
  • Light show was great in parts, especially the strobe assault in between Kissed Me and Shine A Light

Cons:
  • A bit of variety in the set list would have been appreciated. Seeing the set lists from previous shows meant I knew exactly what was coming next. For those going to multiple shows it must irk a little to be faced with exactly the same set
  • Do you remember when we used to moan (or at least a large proportion of us on here) about the lull in the set during the likes of Oh Baby and Rated X?... well with the current set list, be prepared for quite a lot more of this. Loads of people getting up for toilet breaks during the ballads in the hope of returning to some classics, only to be welcomed back with more ballads
  • Why on earth don't they play the best two songs from the new record... namely Always Together With You and Mainline Song? :x
  • The section of 4 songs from And Nothing Hurt, one after the other, sounded nice but it is too much all together and really brought down the mood in the venue
  • The fact that Soul on Fire (not exactly the strongest song in the back catalogue) got the massive reception it did spoke volumes about the majority of the crowds feelings towards the songs that came before it. The crowd went ballistic when Come Together started and it would have been great to have more of these moments
Overall it was a good gig and wonderful to see them again after a break of 3 years. I know Jason is a perfectionist and really likes to nail all the nuances of a set but, for me, this is the weakest set list in years. I'm more than happy to hear new material but 6 tracks from And Nothing Hurt out of a total of 16 songs seems excessive to me, especially when there is such a depth to the Spiritualized back catalogue. The new album tracks sounded great live and the sound of the band as a whole was faultless. I enjoyed what I heard but I was still left wanting more. Just 2 songs from the first 3 albums (pretty much universally considered to be his best work) and nothing from Let It Come Down doesn't feel right to me. :(
Pretty much nailed my thoughts from the show here last month....except you voiced it much better lol. Cheers.

I was there too and know what you mean. Surprised he played so many from ANH. Could have done with a couple more off EWB.

I was hoping they'd play the whole new album like they did on the ANH tour. Sound was good though, nice and loud. Band played superb and I agree, the bass player was on point!
https://soundcloud.com/endsprings
https://dustwindtales.wordpress.com
https://endsprings.bandcamp.com
https://twitter.com/endsprings
mkb
Known user
Posts: 524
Joined: Tue Jan 09, 2007 10:45 pm
Location: Glasgow

Re: Brighton 30/4/22

Post by mkb »

I'd imagine we're still getting a lot from ANH because that tour was relatively short (very few UK non-festival gigs in particular).
TwilightGarden
New user
Posts: 5
Joined: Wed Nov 03, 2021 6:45 pm

Re: Brighton 30/4/22

Post by TwilightGarden »

Brighton was my 26th Spiritualized show. I've seen them on every album cycle from PP to SHSW.. for some reason I didn't see them during ANH so I think this, and a 10 year (ish) gap, did me a massive favour and I really loved the ANH section, it all felt new and fresh to me... The next morning I bought a Roundhouse ticket.

The musicianship was next level... I was transfixed by the bass playing... best bass player the band has had since Sean Cooke (I'm pretty sure he was playing with them last time I saw them at Corn Exchange?). Jason's voice was outstanding.... some decent strobe lights too.

From my wonderful seat on the balcony it was a joy to witness the energy in the room during Come Together, it just exploded. Euphoria. I had stayed away from set spoilers but had already sensed it was gonna be heavy on the later material (some times you just know). So it was a shame when the energy died down again...

My daughter (her first Spiritualized show) was a little disappointed The Mainline Song & AFWY were absent and my wife was dissapointed there were only two songs from the first 4 albums (just swapping out a couple of newer tunes for oldies could have made such a difference) but both loved the show....I totally get everyone's gripes, but for me I was just so pleased to be watching Spiritualized again.

Anyhow, just my thoughts...

Roll on The Roundhouse.
Spiby
Known user
Posts: 215
Joined: Thu Jan 01, 1970 1:00 am
Location: Rugby, UK

Re: Brighton 30/4/22

Post by Spiby »

Although there were a fair few songs from ANH, to be fair the only show they'd done in the UK since the release of ANH was the Apollo show in 2018 (and possibly Blue Dot?). So anyone who hadn't had the opportunity to go to those shows would have nearly 4 years worth of pent up ANH desire :)
endsprings
Known user
Posts: 60
Joined: Sat Sep 22, 2018 12:26 pm
Contact:

Re: Brighton 30/4/22

Post by endsprings »

Spiby wrote: Mon May 02, 2022 4:40 pm Although there were a fair few songs from ANH, to be fair the only show they'd done in the UK since the release of ANH was the Apollo show in 2018 (and possibly Blue Dot?). So anyone who hadn't had the opportunity to go to those shows would have nearly 4 years worth of pent up ANH desire :)
Yeah that's true. Forgot he didn't really tour ANH here. ANH is my fave so wasn't disappointed!
https://soundcloud.com/endsprings
https://dustwindtales.wordpress.com
https://endsprings.bandcamp.com
https://twitter.com/endsprings
mkb
Known user
Posts: 524
Joined: Tue Jan 09, 2007 10:45 pm
Location: Glasgow

Re: Brighton 30/4/22

Post by mkb »

Shows were played in Belfast and Glasgow after ANH too, but yeah very few UK shows all in.
niamhm
Known user
Posts: 1894
Joined: Fri Mar 06, 2009 9:07 pm

Re: Brighton 30/4/22

Post by niamhm »

mkb wrote: Mon May 02, 2022 6:38 pm Shows were played in Belfast and Glasgow after ANH too, but yeah very few UK shows all in.
They were and ANH sounded fantastic, not really sure what the problem is with playing a large part of it, just to say Damaged is one of my fav Spiritualized tunes the last 20 yrs, be over the moon to hear it again
Spiby
Known user
Posts: 215
Joined: Thu Jan 01, 1970 1:00 am
Location: Rugby, UK

Re: Brighton 30/4/22

Post by Spiby »

mkb wrote: Mon May 02, 2022 6:38 pm Shows were played in Belfast and Glasgow after ANH too, but yeah very few UK shows all in.
Ah yes, forgot about those two shows. I remember at the time thinking there was bound to be a string of smaller dates after the Apollo gig, and very nearly didn't bother going. I was then very surprised and disappointed at the lack of UK dates, followed by a few European dates and then seemingly loads of US dates. Things seem a lot more promising this time around. I thought they were being quite ambitious at the size of venues they've gone for in the UK, and after seeing the seemingly lacklustre turnout at shows such as The Fillmore (over two nights, too), I was pleasantly surprised at the turnout at Brighton. Hopefully this means that more UK dates can be justified at the end of the year, and who knows, we may get a more eclectic set list (although I'll be happy for live dates regardless!).

The whole business seems such a gamble, I just hope it consistently pays off for all involved (he says, selfishly. The end result of the process still gives me so much pleasure after all these years, it's daft!)
sunray
Known user
Posts: 3131
Joined: Wed Sep 19, 2007 10:07 pm

Re: Brighton 30/4/22

Post by sunray »

niamhm wrote: Mon May 02, 2022 8:43 pm
mkb wrote: Mon May 02, 2022 6:38 pm Shows were played in Belfast and Glasgow after ANH too, but yeah very few UK shows all in.
They were and ANH sounded fantastic, not really sure what the problem is with playing a large part of it, just to say Damaged is one of my fav Spiritualized tunes the last 20 yrs, be over the moon to hear it again
While i think Damaged is an utter bore of a tune i would agree that it's perfectly natural to play a large chunk of ANH as so few got to see those songs performed live when it was released.
If he swapped out Come Together and Soul On Fire for Heading For The Top Now and I Am What I Am and rearranged the setlist a bit it would work better.
Nineteen...Nineteen...Six Five
Sim
Known user
Posts: 398
Joined: Wed Jun 23, 2004 2:15 am
Location: East Anglia, UK

Re: Brighton 30/4/22

Post by Sim »

sunray wrote: Tue May 03, 2022 4:22 pm If he swapped out Come Together and Soul On Fire for Heading For The Top Now and I Am What I Am and rearranged the setlist a bit it would work better.
Absolutely, I was at Cambridge and Come Together really sounded odd sitting between Soul on Fire and Sail on Through, the drums at the start of CT really need to emerge from a squall of noise from the previous song's ending.

Overall I enjoyed it but probably was my least enjoyable Spz gig. Actually wasn't too bothered when I needed to spend a penny half way through whereas usually I'd be annoyed to miss something.
____________________________________________________
http://spiritualized-discography.com
endsprings
Known user
Posts: 60
Joined: Sat Sep 22, 2018 12:26 pm
Contact:

Re: Brighton 30/4/22

Post by endsprings »

Looking back at the setlist I must admit I think it's a pretty good set. I agree with most that soul on fire into CT is a bit strange but it kinda worked. Just wish they had strings, choir and brass as on the ANH London show.

What was Pretty Thing like? (We left before the encore!)
https://soundcloud.com/endsprings
https://dustwindtales.wordpress.com
https://endsprings.bandcamp.com
https://twitter.com/endsprings
Post Reply