Live: Spiritualized® – Apollo

At the moment, we like our loud bands. Chucking off the twee as fuck image and embracing noise. Spiritualized® didn’t let us down in that respect. 2 drummers, an orchestra, full gospel choir and live band, all cranked up to 11 in Manchester’s Apollo. We had pretty good seats in the stalls and by the end of the night I thought my ears might actually explode.

As many of you must know, this was part of the Ladies and Gentlemen We Are Floating In Space reissue tour. Jason Pearce played the entire album, from start to finish with a level of passion and (oddly restrained, in the only way he can) epic energy that most bands can only dream of. A pioneer or minimalist psych-rock, this was a celebration of a groundbreaking and seminal record, but also a demonstration by Pearce of how it should be done. An open letter to the new wave of ‘shoegaze’ revival bands (The Horrors, even?) stating that no matter how hard they try, nothing they do will come close to …Floating In Space.

There was no support band, no encore, no ‘banter’ with the audience and for the entire show, Pearce never moved from his chair at the side of the stage. Rude? Professional? In the zone? Probably all three. But then again, I don’t think I’d actually want him to do the usual ‘entertainment’ routine of telling jokes and chatting to the crowd. This wasn’t an entertainment show, or An Evening with Jason Pearce. It was purely a showcase of a brilliant work of art. The minimalist ideology permeates through the artwork (see above), through to the music itself, right into the stage performance. Even his outfit of plain white tshirt and trousers. Who could really ask for more than that?

10/10