Wilko Johnson had a pretty decent crowd waiting
before he arrived on stage; looking a bit frail
around the edges he began playing and showed that
no musical talent had been lost whatsoever. Regardless
of this, the crowd seemed uninterested, no one
moved and even facial expressions seemed distant.
They played well, however there was no stage presence
or crowd interaction to warm up the crowd.
'Waltzing Black' played as we waited for The Stranglers
to arrive, this was perfect intro music. Baz Warne,
Dave Greenfield, Jean-Jaques Burnel and Jet Black
entered the stage and they proved within the first
few notes that they are still as good as they
ever were, despite a few band member changes it
didn't seem to effect this faultless performance.
I was amazed how lifeless the crowd were; admittedly
most were over 40, but surely that's never stopped
anyone expressing their enjoyment? A few sang
along to 'Always The Sun' and 'Golden Brown',
with a few jumping in the middle for the more
upbeat songs, but overall the audience seemed
almost unappreciative of the show that was happening
in front of them; far more praise was due than
they recieved.
'Something Better Change' was a fantastic division
between the old and the new; this line up seemed
to gel well together and the overall performance
was spectacluar considering it was a fairly light
hearted set. The performance varied between big
periods of old and then new, however the crowd
only seemed interested in the old. The Stranglers
emulated cool, they were suave and held their
own throughout the entire show, they are so brilliantly
British, and it was ace to see them still continuing
their 70's and 80's style. 'Peaches' was executed
brilliantly, really and truely bringing back their
punk origin.
They continued their set and the crowd got slightly
better, although it was more of a trough than
a peak overall. The time came for them to leave
and they returned with their cover of 'All Day
and All Of The Night' followed by 'No More Heroes',
the crowd sang along to these but there was still
not enough energy in the room! The finished after
a massive build up and thanked the crowd. What
a cracking show, just a shame they had a zombie-fied
crowd watching them.
Wilko Johnson - 2/5
The Stranglers - 5/5
Review By Karlie M
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