Set List
The Price
Mad on Her
C?mon
Speak
Russian Roulette
Spunk Rock
Dream Away
Steal the World
The Man with X-Ray Eyes
Many are Called but Few Get Up
Bananas
Do It
This was the first time I?d seen the band with neither Micky nor Deke in the line-up; the first time I?d seen Phil Ryan in the band since the first time I EVER saw the band, back on the Up for the Day tour; the first time the band had played Scotland since (Allan, help me out here!) ? too damn long anyway. So I?m not really qualified to comment here on comparisons with more recent line-ups.
The set list concentrates noticeably on material from after 1990. That?s not surprising given that most of Martin Ace?s recorded output with the band dates from then. What WAS surprising was the strength of the less frequently played choices, especially the opening pair of songs as played by the new band. They seemed to be a manifesto for the evening, demonstrating a willingness by the new line-up to revisit back catalogue with fresh ears. The band are choosing songs that work for the current line-up, not any former dream team.
In the case of obligatory classics such as C?mon and Spunk Rock they have gone back to the songs? simpler studio versions, stripping out the inspirational innovations and developments of Micky and Deke and thereby creating space for inspirational innovations of their own. I felt like I was watching a young band with a great future, to be honest. As you?d expect of a young band, they are still feeling their way into the material, none of which is yet entirely of their own making. But I don?t think anyone doubts now that they have the talent, and the coherence as a band, to make their own useful mark on it all.
The vocal arrangements are particularly strong now, better than they?ve been the last few times I?ve seen the band, when inevitably Micky?s and Deke?s voices had lost much of their power. I long to see Josh come forward and do more PERFORMING as opposed to playing and singing; he revealed a genuinely strong and interesting singing voice when he took the lead vocal on Speak, the best of the new songs played at Lathones.
The line-up may be young, but of course not all the members of it are; the most lively performers of the night were Martin and Phil. Martin was as ever striking poses left right and centre and leading from the front; and the energy that Phil put into his playing, rising at times from his seat as if lifted by the higher power of the music, was exciting to watch. The current version of Do It, faster than I?ve heard it and with thrilling solos and vocals from Phil, was the highlight of the evening for me. And like Mr Heron I didn?t miss Romain at all.
The sound for the gig was okay. In such a small venue, only the vocals went through the PA, with everything else unmixed, just back line, and the kit unmiked. This meant that certain ranges and settings for keyboards and guitars got lost sometimes behind the acoustic brightness of the drums.
As for the venue: Lathones IS the Inn at Lathones, and maybe two other houses. Deep in the heart of Fife along tortuously curving rural roads, it?s hardly a centre of population. It wasn?t the thinnest audience on the tour, but at ?24 a ticket and 90 minutes? drive from Edinburgh, even more from Glasgow, it was never going to reunite the Scottish faithful in a massive end of tour party. But it has atmosphere and intimacy; and if the audiences go up and the prices come down, it could well become one of those special places.
