I travelled more in hope than expectation. I'm so pleased that I did.
With so many traumas over recent years to contend with, Man's ability as a musical entity to ride the punches and still weave away from the ropes was going to be sorely tested on this tour.
The tradition of both forced and unforced line-up changes continues. The loss of Phil Ryan left a huge gap, and with René Robrahn not on this trip, 2/5ths of tonight's personnel would be playing catch-up. For a 50th anniversary tour, how would the choice of material reflect and respect the legacy, remaining true to the past, present and future? Note regarding the future: new album, working title "Anachronism Tango", expected early next year.
With dates in Swansea being chased around the calendar after various local tribal squabbles, and the Evesham show lost when the venue closed down, the potential to do a "Tap" was very real.
What doesn't kill you makes you stronger.
Within minutes of our arrival, around 5pm, the banner above the entrance to the performance room at the Half Moon needed a slight adjustment. The words "Sold Out" were added at the bottom. I breathed a relieved sigh that I'd bought my tickets earlier (I travelled with my guitarist buddy Gordon Ayre, a Man virgin, for this trip) and wouldn't be left standing at the platform when the train pulled out. I'll admit, I wasn't sure I believed that "Sold Out" sign at first. I've been to several Man gigs over the years where the audience outnumbered the performers, along with many where there would still be comfortably enough room to swing a cat. This time though it was true, 250 capacity sold out, packed to the rafters, little room to breathe, but at least a reduced likelihood that anyone would be falling over. We were there, a few other friends were not, turned away at the door.
Worrying signs of organisation were present. Last but one time here was the album launch for Reanimated Memories, which went really well except for the minor detail of the album not actually turning up. This time, the merch stand was well-stocked, with the new DVD "Faith" live in Stuttgart, the new tour edition EP "Mojo Train" and 50th Anniversary Tour T-shirts prominent alongside Malcom's "Cry" vinyl EP, and a healthy supply of back-catalogue CDs to inspect. The stand had an added touch of glamour too, in the shape of Jennifer Jones (Josh's partner) and Lauren Ace (Martin's daughter [now an author in her own right]) to tempt us to part with more cash than planned.
The band kicked-off on time, straight into "And In The Beginning", followed by "Sudden Life". Obvious from the first moments that tonight was going to be special, as everyone was completely spot on. One of the more welcome sights was the presence of Malcolm Morley at the left of stage. Malcolm is looking ridiculously young and happy. Mostly playing the keyboard (Rob M it was a Korg Kronus) with a little acoustic guitar on at least one select number, this was the first time Malcolm has been back in the band since 1974.
What else did we get? We got a toe in the water from almost every album. As well as those mentioned already, we got "Would The Christians Please Wait", "Romain", "Spunk Rock", "C'mon", "Manillo". From the new album we got "Manor Farm" which owes a substantial debt to Spunk Rock, and two others which I didn't hear as I was out of the room to cool down. We got "Blown Away", with Malcolm on acoustic guitar. We got "The Chimes At Midnight", "Mad On Her" and, to close, "Bananas". For encores we got a superb "Many Are Called and we got an ecstatic "Hard Way To Live".
All through, the band were ridiculously tight, well rehearsed and determined to deliver the goods. Malcolm seemed to have a great time, so much so that he's agreed to do the rest of the tour. He played several strong synth solos to the accompanying role he played on piano and organ through the evening and he added that extra dimension to the guitars that would otherwise have dominated. Drummer Shane Dixon very quickly showed himself to have a powerful engine, rehearsals paying off well as there was just an occasional look for cues during the entire show on this his first night. Man's songs over the years have generally been a little more complex that your average pub-rock fare. I've run out of superlatives to describe James Beck's contribution to the band since he joined. James gets it. He is both Micky and Deke combined, taking Micky's willingness to step beyond the routine and Deke's ability to craft a killer riff. Added to that his own lyrical take on the newer songs, and you have the real deal. Josh has lifted his playing up another level this year (sorry Josh, I know that sounds like a school report!), you can see and feel the difference in confidence across the whole set, but particularly in the sections when he and James are playing twin leads. Martin was very much in his element. Looking very well and pleased with the performance overall, an occasional nod to cue in Malcolm or Shane, or the guitar boys, were the only clues that tonight was a step into the unknown future as well as a commemoration of the celebrated past.
Since the great split, in some areas sides have been chosen, positions taken and attitudes hardened. I would encourage everyone to try to rise above that this year. It seems rather self-defeating to criticise a band for being something they are not and never could be. For those thinking of staying away, from the bottom of my heart I implore you not to deny yourselves the privilege of being able to see the current Man.
Oh, and Gordon's view? He hadn't understood my devotion to Man before, but he does now. He's been there, done that and tonight also bought the T-shirt.
For those who were to see Son Of Man at the Resonate festival the day after, I hope that went well too. It would be great to see a review.
Shout outs to Allan and Eileen, Dave B, Dave Mc, Pete 'Rhino' C, Ollie G, Steve J, 'Boogie' John S, Pete M (and Kim, who I didn't get to say hello to, so here's a late wave
), Mike G, Michael and Helen (plus the other 237 people who I also didn't get to say hello to). Next time at Borderline for the London crowd. I'll be catching another date on this tour at The Band On The Wall in Manchester on Friday.
From a first listen to the Mojo Train EP, we're being taken back in the general direction of 1971. Two mostly complete new songs, paired with a couple of demo's, don't be expecting your average 3 minutes 50 pop songs.
I haven't yet summoned up the courage to watch the Stuttgart DVD. I've no doubts about the quality on offer, but it was Phil's last gig.
