Hypnotica's Gig Reviews 2007

Erasure live @ Royal Concert Hall, Nottingham Tuesday 4th September 2007

"Light at the end of the world tour"

Support group: Onetwo

Setting the Scene / Support:

For me this was a ‘Double A-Side’ gig – although Onetwo were ‘support’ I was as keen to see them live as Erasure.

For anyone into electronic music they won’t need an introduction but for the un-initiated, both were formally part of two 80's Synthpop supergroups. Paul Humphreys, was (and still is) part of Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark (OMD), and Claudia Brücken was part of Propaganda, both groups I am a huge fan of

It's been a good few months for music for me, I saw OMD at Hammersmith Odeon in May and again in Nottingham in June so it was great to see Paul again as part of Onetwo

The Royal Concert Hall is a pretty good venue and we had reasonable seats about 14 rows from the front in the stalls. The atmosphere was good and the band finally came on stage about ten to eight, Paul, Claudia plus another member on keys

I always think it’s a bit of a raw deal for a support act when they don’t really get any form of lightshow or backdrop but luckily their music is great so it’s not a problem

I haven’t got a confirmed set list but essentially it was a smattering of tracks from the album ‘Instead’ including ‘Cloud 9’ which was written by Claudia and Depeche Mode’s Martin Gore plus 2 specials, Associates - Club Country (a Billy Mackenzie tribute) and Propaganda – Duel

I hope the Erasure audience appreciated the heritage of the artists on stage – but I’m not sure as Erasure probably attract more ‘pop music’ fans than electronic music fans but who knows!

I thoroughly enjoyed the set and it’s definitely got me in the mood to give the album & Cds another blast. I must also say what a treat to play 'Duel' too!! - Awesome! never thought I'd get to hear that live as Propaganda are long disbanded but it still sounds the business

In addition to that, the Associates cover was excellent too which is no mean feat as Billy Mackenzie’s voice was so distinctive, but it really worked.

My only criticism would be that from our seats, the sound was a bit bass heavy to start with and you couldn’t hear Claudia's vocals very well – presumably down to the mixing at the venue. It seemed to take 10 minutes or so before it was clearer and more like the 'lush' sounding studio CD's

Altogether it was a good mix of quality 80’s Synthpop nostalgia for me plus great new melodic, electronic material

The Main Event: Erasure

What can I say! This was the first time I have ever seen them live and they really put on a show…

Erasure are deceiving. On the surface you have no more than catchy Synthpop presented in a ‘top of the pops’ mainstream style format but underneath there is a ‘whole lot’ more going on

I would be the first to admit that I have taken my electronic music obsession a bit ‘too’ seriously over the years in pursuit of unusual electronic groups and pretty much avoiding anything mainstream – seemed a plan at the time but looking back, this means I have missed out on some great music due to misguided music snobbery – doh!

I have always felt there is a direct inverse correlation between good music and popularity – the more popular the music is the more dire the music seems to be (just look at the charts...), but I guess there must also be occasions where records are popular because they are good! and not because the ‘artists’ were ex-pop idol or ‘big brother’ or the charts were simply fixed by the record companies (such cynicism I know!)

Somehow, Erasure fell into the category of bands for which I had 'peripheral' interest in, back in the 80’s. They were obviously 'Synthpop', but their huge mainstream success centred around their most 'commercial' tracks

This left me with a bit of a dilemma. On the one hand there was Synth genius Vince Clarke with blue chip Synth credentials being in ‘Depeche Mode’s original line up and founding the timeless 80’s Synthpop group ‘Yazoo’, (Upstairs at Eric’s being one of my favourite albums of the 80’s) and on the other hand there was their really strong image of definitely being a ‘pop band’ which I always felt hard to reconcile.

One constant in all this is ‘the Synths’ however, Vince even brought out a sample CD called ‘Lucky B*stard’ made from sounds created on his amazing collection of Synths . He owns and uses one of the largest collections of (mainly analogue) Synths in the business and his studio is amazing. I have always loved the signature sound of Vince Clarke, technically perfect, crisp, bubbly analogue heaven – they are the sounds I often strive for in my lame setup but can really only be 'authentically' created with vast modular systems and vintage gear though technology is coming on in leaps and bounds.

The structure of Erasures music seems quite straightforward, with simple melodies and rhythms galore. I think the reality is that mastering obscure electronic gear is anything but – this is a pro ‘making it look easy’. Simple is often best when it comes to melodies and the outstanding quality of the analogue arsenal that Vince commands helps to drive those tunes and rhythms home

Anyway……the gig!

The curtains opened to a baying audience revealing an incredible set. Half west end musical – half sparkly game show! The stage was covered in glitter and right down the middle was a staircase – perfect for grand entrances & exits. From the ceiling hung huge diamonds in keeping with the artwork for the latest ‘Light at the End of the World’ album. From the off you knew you were in for some 'tongue in cheek' humour accompanied by a great feel good soundtrack

Vince took stage left, Andy the centre and the three backing vocalist girls took the right side. The live outfits are legendary and didn't disappoint. The first line-up looked like black & white desert army gear and as the show progressed the outfits got more colourful though Vince's classic blonde 70’s style wig stole the show for me!

I confess to not knowing every single album track by Erasure but I suspect they played every hit single they have ever done plus a good sprinkling of material from the new album. Vince rarely broke a smile but I guess that’s his trademark – Andy put on a lively show running around all over the place and his vocals were spot on. The catchy Synth riffs kept coming one after another and there was a real party atmosphere with everyone on their feet throughout

From a technical point of view I would have loved to see Vince aside a pile of vintage gear but as time ticks on this spectacle becomes rarer and rarer for any electronic group. Unsurprising then that I don’t think Vince even had a keyboard in front of him, I am guessing it was some kind of control surface that he was using along with his Mac book to trigger, change & morph sounds in and out. I didn’t get the impression he was faking it, it’s just a different way of working these days

Over the last year or so I have retrospectively grown to love Erasure’s music – aside the big hits there are lots of emotional masterpieces in there, some of my favourites being “Rock me gently”, “When I Needed You (Melancholic Mix)”, "Siren Song" (which could easily be Depeche Mode) and “Breathe”.

From a hesitant introduction to their music I am now a total convert and Erasure albums are very regularly blasted at home - they are truly uplifting and you simply can't listen to one without feeling better, which is what music should be about!

I do like many of the classic bouncy Erasure tunes but I guess my choice of favourites shows it’s not the mainstream tracks I like best but the heart wrenchingly melodic ones. I think the song writing is up there for melancholy, with Martin Gore of DM, Andy’s vocals are powerful and warm and the quality of the Synth sounds for me unmatched; it’s a great combination

I think Erasure are what many serious Synthpop bands would sound like if they just ‘let themselves go’ and made music that simply felt good to their soul

I would love to see other dates on this tour given the chance, and really hope I get to see them live again on any future tours

Review copyright by Mat Mckenzie www.hypnoticbeats.co.uk

Erasure - Light at the end of the world

Onetwo Instead

Onetwo live Royal Concert Hall Nottingham Tuesday 4th September 2007 Photo by Mat Mckenzie

Erasure live @ Royal Concert Hall, Nottingham Tuesday 4th September 2007 Photo by Mat Mckenzie