The secret show was great. At the start, Robert
announced that they would play songs that didn't feature in the current tour
set list. This is where the comment relating to having ‘not played How beautiful
you are for twenty years till today’ originated from. It seems the boys were
as impressed with their renditions as we were and incorporated several of
these songs (plain-song, disintegration) into the Friday night set.
Anyway, this not so ‘secret’ gig was pretty damn good. After waiting in and
outside the entertainment centre for about 2 hours the less than 100 attendees
were let onto the dance floor of the entertainment centre. The band were…
there. We could walk around etc without pushing through sweaty teenage drunkards
and still be in the front row of a cure concert.
This Myspace advertised ‘intimate and secret concert’ was more of a relaxed
sound check. The band seemed in good spirits with Robert joking with the
audience. However not a lot of people really danced. It seemed that we (the
audience) seemed more interested in taking photos and videos than revelling
in the good fortune of having our own gig.
The songs that they played were awesome. Plainsong in particular was beautiful
but it was indeed “How beautiful you are” that was the main reward
for those who had rushed to Red Eye early the day before. Whilst you wouldn’t
describe the performance as ‘tight’ (obviously nothing had been seriously
rehearsed) it was apparent that these icons were musicians, something that
is sometimes forgotten in these days of celebrity voyeurism and worship.
Here were four guys playing music. - Music that isn’t necessarily their most
popular or critically acclaimed. Instead, here were four musicians ad-libbing
(it seemed) a set list for fans. They were just trying to dredge up some
cool songs that they hadn’t intended to play this time around. Thank you.
The absence of keyboard was readily apparent, however, this in fact added
to the songs. In particular plain song and disintegration benefited from
the new guitar heavy interpretations, elevating them above the expectations
of their studio (or even ‘entreat’) versions. - This dynamic was further
illustrated in the Friday night show by such songs as screw and sinking.
All in all it was a sedate affair that ended with us wandering out past the
queuing dance floor pundits. Our memory cards filled andour ears ready and
waiting for the Friday night concert.
