The Music - London Brixton Academy - 10/1/03
4/5
By: Andy Willson
Paupers to kings of the indie-scene in only a mere twelve months, The Music are indeed brandishing a not-so-rough trade. It wasn't long ago that these boys were providing more support-slots than you presume they had hot dinners, but the infectious sound that they have generated has spread quicker than an Australian bush fire. And, having recently returned from a successful tour of the States after co-headlining with The Vines, these Leeds-based scallies returned to London to an expectedly delirious reception.
For those wise thousands that have invested in a copy of the quartet's album already, rightly, you'd anticipate such a dextrous collage of sound as theirs to be difficult to pull off live, but Rob and his merry men manage not only to match it, but take it all to a towering, shuddering new level. Enhanced maybe by a superlative light-show, or possibly just Rob Harvey's wig-out dancing, whatever the fundamental contingents that combine to form a 'The Music performance' quite so special, all are suitably mesmerised by the spectacle on-show.
So, all this in spite of their young age, The Music's wide source of influences, ranging from the 'try-it-out' dizziness of Led Zep. to the funkified feel of The Happy Mondays or even Stone Roses, certainly makes for a sensational package. Rewardingly too, tonight is primarily made up of all key tracks from that debut, fusing the above to uncontrollable, impalpably huge proportions - the singles, 'Getaway', 'Take The Long Road...' and an epic, eight-minute 'The People' predictably receiving greetings that even The Coral would become anxious over.
Yet, surprisingly omitted, and goodness knows why, is the trippy slumber of 'You Might As Well Try To F**k Me', the group's so-commonly overlooked second release, but to make up for it - and to bring the focus back on the band, and not his Bez style shape-throwing - Harvey grabs a guitar and helps thrash out a few numbers before proceeding close with the searing instrumental, 'The Walls Get Smaller'. There is no time, nor effort, left for an encore - all has been given in an hour that many present will find a chore to forget any time this century.
Even after such a feat as this, the workaholics that they are, The Music have now just released details of a couple of seaside dates for later in the year; strange, you would have thought it's too early to move to that stage of their career (go and see Jim Davidson and Jimmy Tarbuck if you really want to), but at least these will help those sun-revellers that have avoided their previous shows realise just what they have been missing. Once witnessed, like us this evening, such characters will finally realise that life is now complete; for, if we needed one band for the next five years, then chances are that The Music would be the sole, true option.
Photo-Credit: Ranald Pringle
Artists in this article: The Music
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