Living Colour - Manchester Academy 29th October 2004
Setlist: Type / In Your Name / Funny Vibe / A ? of When / Middleman / Sacred Ground / Memories / Mind Control / Ignorance / Flying / Landlord / Love Rears Its Ugly Head / Times up // Cult of Personality /// Crosstown Traffic
At first, Living Colour doesn’t strike you as the kind of band that your average God of Thunder would be into, does it? But, then again, maybe it is precisely the sort of band I would follow.
Think about it. A really talented group of musicians, breaks onto the scene with a ripsnorting debut album then, for no discernible reason, fails to build upon the initial success, in spite of continuing to produce a string of excellent recordings. It’s a familiar story and one that many of the bands that I do champion (on this very website) have in common.
After the breakthrough, with the support slot on the Rolling Stones tour, Living Colour received much critical acclaim, but never managed to secure their place at the top of the rock ‘n’ roll bill, whilst lesser acts did exactly that. I’ve never understood the intricacies of why some mediocre bands manage capture the attention (and wallets) of the masses, when quality bands struggle to fill the halls and ship the units. Then again, look at the popular music charts; popular and good are not the same thing. That debate is an article in its own write(!)... let’s not dwell upon it here.
At first, Living Colour doesn’t strike you as the kind of band that your average God of Thunder would be into, does it? But, then again, maybe it is precisely the sort of band I would follow.
Think about it. A really talented group of musicians, breaks onto the scene with a ripsnorting debut album then, for no discernible reason, fails to build upon the initial success, in spite of continuing to produce a string of excellent recordings. It’s a familiar story and one that many of the bands that I do champion (on this very website) have in common.
After the breakthrough, with the support slot on the Rolling Stones tour, Living Colour received much critical acclaim, but never managed to secure their place at the top of the rock ‘n’ roll bill, whilst lesser acts did exactly that. I’ve never understood the intricacies of why some mediocre bands manage capture the attention (and wallets) of the masses, when quality bands struggle to fill the halls and ship the units. Then again, look at the popular music charts; popular and good are not the same thing. That debate is an article in its own write(!)... let’s not dwell upon it here.
Living Colour (and why does a band from New York spell its’ name in the English manner anyway?) from the outset, had a unique, fresh sound that was entirely its own. Each member of the band was so obviously a master of his chosen instrument and together they produced a potent fusion of rock ‘n’ rap that would gently stroke you one minute and stick a steel toe cap in your soft parts the next. It was always easy to see Corey Glover’s wonderfully powerful, tuneful voice and Vernon Reid’s stunning guitar work as the band’s dual focal points but, on closer inspection, it became evident to anyone with ears that Will Calhoun’s eclectic drumming and Doug Wimbish’s astonishingly proficient bass playing were as much the sound of Living Colour as anything else. The more you listened, the more you realised just how complex the sound was and how supremely accomplished these individuals were. A string of excellent releases, Vivid, Time’s Up and Pride, seemingly was not enough to secure mainstream success and, eventually, after years of trying to crack the big time, Living Colour, called it a day in 1995.
To this day, one of my most played MiniDiscs (originally a tape) is a recording from Leeds University in 1991. It was a radio broadcast and is absolutely awesome quality. It amazes me that it isn’t listed as a bootleg on the LC website, because this is a performance that kicks some serious ass! Until now, it is as close as I’ve come to seeing them live; I’d never been in the right place at the right time. I didn’t actually think I ever would get the opportunity, until, that is, I found out about the reunion and the 2004 UK dates. As soon as I could, I secured a ticket for the show at Manchester Academy. It would take an act of God to make me miss this one. Or an act of Nils Lofgren, to be more precise.
To this day, one of my most played MiniDiscs (originally a tape) is a recording from Leeds University in 1991. It was a radio broadcast and is absolutely awesome quality. It amazes me that it isn’t listed as a bootleg on the LC website, because this is a performance that kicks some serious ass! Until now, it is as close as I’ve come to seeing them live; I’d never been in the right place at the right time. I didn’t actually think I ever would get the opportunity, until, that is, I found out about the reunion and the 2004 UK dates. As soon as I could, I secured a ticket for the show at Manchester Academy. It would take an act of God to make me miss this one. Or an act of Nils Lofgren, to be more precise.
You see, there were a number of gigs in October that I wanted to go to:
It all seemed so easy and straightforward. Then, Nils Lofgren was rearranged for the 27 th. Bugger! To compound the problem, I couldn’t now go to see Nazareth in Crewe on the 5 th because I had to take my daughter to see Slipknot in Birmingham when her friend got sick; her mother was their transport. As if that wasn’t enough of a headache, Bill Nelson sold out in Wolverhampton; this was not looking good. At this rate, October was going to be a really cheap month.
I took secondborn and her posse to Slipknot on the 5 th. I’d figured that I could see Nazareth on the 7 th and Bill Nelson on the 10 th in Manchester. Then the Ulrich Roth tour was cancelled completely and Living Colour was rearranged to the 29 th, which meant I could still see Nils Lofgren on the 27 th. Result! Did I mention that my firstborn daughter was coming home from the USA on the 26 th? Is anyone else’s life this complicated? And that was the short version of the story too! OK. I’m getting to the gig. Patience, little ones.
- Nazareth in Crewe on the 5th
- Nils Lofgren in Wolverhampton on the 7th
- Bill Nelson in Wolverhampton on the 9th
- Ulrich Roth in Wolverhampton on the 25th
- Living Colour in Manchester on the 27th
It all seemed so easy and straightforward. Then, Nils Lofgren was rearranged for the 27 th. Bugger! To compound the problem, I couldn’t now go to see Nazareth in Crewe on the 5 th because I had to take my daughter to see Slipknot in Birmingham when her friend got sick; her mother was their transport. As if that wasn’t enough of a headache, Bill Nelson sold out in Wolverhampton; this was not looking good. At this rate, October was going to be a really cheap month.
I took secondborn and her posse to Slipknot on the 5 th. I’d figured that I could see Nazareth on the 7 th and Bill Nelson on the 10 th in Manchester. Then the Ulrich Roth tour was cancelled completely and Living Colour was rearranged to the 29 th, which meant I could still see Nils Lofgren on the 27 th. Result! Did I mention that my firstborn daughter was coming home from the USA on the 26 th? Is anyone else’s life this complicated? And that was the short version of the story too! OK. I’m getting to the gig. Patience, little ones.
Back at the Academy 3 again, for the third time this month, and this time it was packed to the rafters and hotter than a Russian wrestler’s tights. I was eager to try out my new Fuji S7000 digital camera, courtesy of firstborn’s trip to the USA (no instruction book though – it’s still somewhere over the mid-Atlantic in a box of clothes). I made my way to the front and waited.
I was really quite excited about this particular gig, more so than I had expected, so I staked out a spot right in front of Doug Wimbish’s spot and waited. After a minimal delay the band came on stage and launched straight into Type. Personally, I couldn’t have asked for a better beginning to the set. Type is one of my favourite LC songs and it just rocks. From that point, the show improved exponentially. In Your Name, Funny Vibe and A ? of When were all excellent and maintained the strong start, warming everyone up nicely into the bargain. By the time Middleman came around it was so hot in the Academy 3 that sweat was dripping off me, so it must have been absolutely roasting on stage. It made no difference to Living Colour; they just kept on rollin’. Each song they played was as strong as the one before it, and the one after it. The new material fits right in with the older favourites and if you didn’t know, you wouldn’t be able to tell that a decade had passed between the recording of some of these tracks. Nevertheless, the classics kept on coming; Ignorance is Bliss, the truly wonderful Flying (a classic in the making) and Landlord; each one elicited a raor of appreciation from the audience, and rightly so.
Watching this band perform is an education. Each band member is so damn good it hurts. Doug Wimbish is a phenomenal bassist and his chants of ‘Terrorism’ were definitely one of the high points of the evening.
I was really quite excited about this particular gig, more so than I had expected, so I staked out a spot right in front of Doug Wimbish’s spot and waited. After a minimal delay the band came on stage and launched straight into Type. Personally, I couldn’t have asked for a better beginning to the set. Type is one of my favourite LC songs and it just rocks. From that point, the show improved exponentially. In Your Name, Funny Vibe and A ? of When were all excellent and maintained the strong start, warming everyone up nicely into the bargain. By the time Middleman came around it was so hot in the Academy 3 that sweat was dripping off me, so it must have been absolutely roasting on stage. It made no difference to Living Colour; they just kept on rollin’. Each song they played was as strong as the one before it, and the one after it. The new material fits right in with the older favourites and if you didn’t know, you wouldn’t be able to tell that a decade had passed between the recording of some of these tracks. Nevertheless, the classics kept on coming; Ignorance is Bliss, the truly wonderful Flying (a classic in the making) and Landlord; each one elicited a raor of appreciation from the audience, and rightly so.
Watching this band perform is an education. Each band member is so damn good it hurts. Doug Wimbish is a phenomenal bassist and his chants of ‘Terrorism’ were definitely one of the high points of the evening.
During Will’s drum solo spot, I sidled off to the side, had a drink, and tried to cool down a bit as I had a quick squint at some of the pics on my camera. There I was, flipping through the shots, when this bloke asked for a light for his ‘roll-up’. No problem. I fired his ‘cigarette’ up and we stood side-by-side watching Will beat the shit out of his kit. I showed him the picture I had taken of Doug a few minutes earlier, which I was rather proud of. He nodded, thanked me for the light and wandered through the curtain at the side of the stage. It was around this time that I became aware of people staring at me, smiling and giving me thumbs up signs. Then, somewhat belatedly, I realised that the guy who had been standing next to me was wearing the same T-shirt as the chap in some of my photos. Not surprising really, as it was Doug Wimbish.
Finishing off the set was the double whammy of Love Rears Up Its Ugly Head and Time’s Up, as strong a selection as you’re going to get at a gig anywhere on the planet. It would be difficult to follow these two songs unless you have a song like Cult of Personality in your arsenal; so it’s just as well that’s exactly what they do have! I don’t think I need to express how excellent it was.
Some nights, you just know that you’ve been a good enough audience to get the band back out for a second encore; and Manchester was never going to let them leave without another tune. When they returned, I think we all expected Back in Black. Instead we were treated to a storming rendition of Crosstown Traffic, which practically remodelled the building for Manchester University.
Finishing off the set was the double whammy of Love Rears Up Its Ugly Head and Time’s Up, as strong a selection as you’re going to get at a gig anywhere on the planet. It would be difficult to follow these two songs unless you have a song like Cult of Personality in your arsenal; so it’s just as well that’s exactly what they do have! I don’t think I need to express how excellent it was.
Some nights, you just know that you’ve been a good enough audience to get the band back out for a second encore; and Manchester was never going to let them leave without another tune. When they returned, I think we all expected Back in Black. Instead we were treated to a storming rendition of Crosstown Traffic, which practically remodelled the building for Manchester University.
This gig was all that I hoped it would be. For me it was the last of four superb gigs in the month of October. Each one had been very different to all of the others, yet each had been exceptional in its own way. The one thing that they all had in common was that the artist in question had all been performing for long enough to know what makes a good gig. None of these artists had been given anything that they hadn’t earned - and worked damned hard for – and each deserves more recognition and reward than they are accorded. It would be easy for them all to give up and not bother, but they keep coming back and I am glad that they do. The alternative is just too hideous to contemplate!
So, what’s your favourite colour?
Living, of course!
Mark L. Potts
The God of Thunder
30th October 2004
So, what’s your favourite colour?
Living, of course!
Mark L. Potts
The God of Thunder
30th October 2004
About the photos...
OK. Be gentle with me - I'm still getting used to the S7000! Even so, some of these aren't bad. Problem is that you need to get close enough to have a clear, unobstructed view, but then you find yourself shooting uphill and taking pictures of nose hairs. Never satisfied, that's me.
But, this one is a cracker!
But, this one is a cracker!