Friday, 14 December 2007
Dare you enjoy yourself this much?
Support comes from the quite promising but ultimately slightly disappointing onetwo; comprised of ex members of OMD and a german chanteuse who used to be in Propaghanda - for them the biggest cheers of the night for onetwo are reserved for wheeling out numbers from their members predecessors; an OMD track gets huge applause, and the propaganda tracks similarly. Their own material though, is lush and textured ; vocals whisper in and out accompaned by orchestral synths and etheral music. Sadly though, almost every song seems to follow the same formula, at the same tempo, and thus is also very repetitive, lacking in dynamics, and samey. it might work much much better on record, but on a cold winters evening in Wolverhamperton, such subtleties are lost, and its impossible to tell.
The Human League on the other hand, are a big, bright, massive shiny pop thrill, in vibrant dynamic dayglo neon. The laws of pop say you have to be thin, sing other peoples songs in a saccahrine and souless way, and get out of the game before i)Your five years are up ii)you get invited to do Celebrity Big Brother or iii)Start doing adverts for Iceland. Don’t get fat, old, or over it. Stay perfect, and then get a job in a call centre or spend your years desperately trying to relive those dreams of youth. The Human League on the other hand, break those rules. Like The Terminator, they keep on going – an unstoppable pop machine wheeling out hit after hit after hit.
From the opening classic “These Are The Things That Dreams Are Made Of” to the closing “Together In Electric Dreams”, it’s a back catalogue stuffed with classics any other band would be proud of, recreated with loving textures. The band have changed exponentially since the days of 1981, though still revolving around the core of Phil Oakey and co-vacalists Susan and Joanne – with a backing band who have been with them for almost as long. Nonetheless their electronic pop thrill remains undiluted.
Technology has come a long way since 1981, and though the band are playing the exact same songs, they sound fully fresh and up to date with a cutting edge current sounds. Some songs are massively rejigged but not always for the better – the new version of ‘Together in Electric Dreams’ in a mere shadow of the pop perfection of its previous incarnations, all rearranged and hardly identifiable – and some remodelled with a slicker, funkier, more up to date sheen, such as the lamented and overlooked (ie not on the greatest hits albums) "Heart Like A Wheel".
The first half of the show is the understandably highly anticipated performance of the entire of 'Dare' - 1981's seminal, multi million selling album - in full, for the first time ever. From "The Things That Dreams Are Made Of" to the closing 8 weeks at number one "Don't You Want Me", via the rarely performed "Do Or Die" (which is hyper extended beyond the point of being bearable) and the one the Stereophonics ripped off for "Dakota" (aka "Open Your Heart") , its a seminal and classic performance. Imagine watching Michael Jackson do "Thriller" in full in order, or Guns N Roses doing "Appetite for Destruction" - its that sort of classic retro that you dare not miss.
Come the second half of the set, and via the traditional opener (and "Love Action" B-Side) "Hard Times" - tonight in an instrumental version -comes forth a truncated hits set, given that the first half included four big hits and the entire of dare. Its time for the hits to be keep coming like Mike Tyson.
If you had a heartbeat in 80’s, you’d know and love these songs, such as a sparkling “The Lebanon” and a rather staid “Human” (a definite low point, at least in terms of BPMs). However the foray into later material such as the electroclash hybrid pop classic of “All I Ever Wanted” and the classique “Tell me When”, not to mention the criminally underrated “Heart like A Wheel” which is easily the equal of any of their other songs, though it never makes any of the greatest hits albums.
However good the songs are – and though the Human League are now as unhip as could be, they easily rank up there with any one of their competitors in terms of influence and brilliance (See the Pet Shop Boys, for example) – it’s a definite show of nostalgia. Only three of the songs tonight are less than 20 years old, and the vast bulk of the set are songs over 21 years old; that’s 17 out of 20 numbers. Existing now in recording limbo given the current state of record company politics, the League live to play live, and it’s a stunning show; as good as any you’d expect from any stadium filling act. Video screens display and move, retreat and come forth, synchronised imagery and humour mix, and then there’s even the obligatory costume change from the second Phil Oakey comes on stage look like a mix between Darth Vader and Neo from the Matrix, right up to the very end.
The Human League - a band that make living in the future seem like a great place to be. If kraftwerk had come from sheffield and decided to be fronted by female duo, they might just sound like this. A stunningly retro gig filled with songs that sound utterly up to date yet also timeless, they are a great live band and a damn fine night out. Dare you miss this?
Setlist:
The things that Dreams Are Made Of / Open Your Heart / The Sound of The Crowd / Darkness / Do or Die / Get Carter / I am the law / Seconds / Love Action / Don't You Want me / Hard Times (insturmental) / (Keep Feeling) Fascination /Heart Like A Wheel / All I Ever Wanted / Human /The Lebanon / Tell Me When / Mirror Man
Encore:Being Boiled / Together In Electric Dreams Only registered users can write comments.
Please login or register. Powered by AkoComment 1.0 beta 2! |
