By Monk and The Dark Queen
It takes something special to drag your ÜRHQ team away from the comfort of our home base and across the singular most expensive stretch of water on this dirty little planet but the promise of a back-to-back double header of two bands we collectively and individually haven’t seen in more than three decades was a more than apt excuse to get on a big orange and white aeroplane-type thingy for an early weekend of classic rock ‘n’ funkin’ roll celebrations… And Manchester fire brigade had to be on full alert, as two absolutely incendiary shows were not only promised by also delivered to full effect.
“Are you ready?” asks Corey Glover. We certainly are, and when he adds “let me hear you” the response is nearly as loud as the band themselves – and, yes, we can hear them, loud and clear, as they blast into a funked-up version of Zep’s ‘Rock And Roll’, perhaps a seemingly surprising opening salvo but then Living Colour have always been known for pushing the envelope to the edge of the desk, as this evening’s all-too-brief set more than demonstrates.
With the big pops of ‘Middleman’ and ‘Open Letter’ interjected by a positively hair-raising interlude of ‘Hallelujah’, which sees Glover delivering the sort of power guaranteed to make middle-aged men (sic) burst into floods of tears, LC’s set is a declarative call to arms, epitomized by musicianship tighter than a rusty nut and topped off by an absolutely stunning vocal performance from Glover. While several of the possibly expected big pops, such as ‘Glamour Boys’, are missing from this otherwise crowd-pleasing greatest hits set, the band do find time to pay homage to their hip-hop roots, particularly via Doug Wimbish’s throwback to his time as one of the members of genre pioneers, The Sugarhill Gang.
But, of course, there’s one song that they’re not going to get off stage without playing, and ‘Cult Of Personality’ brings the opening set to a suitably rowdy, at least as far as the crowd singalong is concerned, if somewhat slightly restrained, as far as the overall performance, conclusion.
It had been nearly eight years since Extreme had last played the UK (but then that’s as long as been between albums by these considerately paced rockers), and the anticipation emanating from this sold-out crowd was as palpable as the taste of stale beer. One other thing is for certain, and that is that the band don’t disappoint right from their fiery start, leading us on a ‘Decadence Dance’ accompanied by a crowd singalong that threatens to raise the roof – and what follows over the next two hours is an absolute masterclass in musicianship.
The combination of Cherone’s vocals and Nuno’s solos soars around the venue, captivating everyone present with the sheer genius of what we’re all watching and listening to. And they’re not afraid to take their feet off the pedal, as the acoustic interlude at the end of ‘Other Side Of The Rainbow’ proves… and the segue from ‘Hurricane’ into ‘More Than Words’ is simply sublime, highlighting the consummate synergy which the band’s two main progtagonists possess.
With Cherone constantly feeding his inner Freddie hunger, Bettencourt mixes acoustic and electric virtuosity with aplomb with the result that, as we pass the 90-minute mark, this sounds like one massive studio jam session with a 1000+ friends invited along to join in the party. With the omnipresent, and essential, ‘No More Words’ seeing the singer needing none of his own, before he later hits, and holds, one of THOSE notes during a brilliantly updated version of ‘That’s All Right’.
Seeming to close off with the definitive message of what ya can do if ya don’t like, and that’s ‘Get The Funk Out’, the band of course still have more to lay on the stage, and they do just that with a highly appropriate and emotional version of ‘Smalltown Beautiful’ before bowing out with THAT solo, showing that they are a band who can more than ‘Rise’ to the occasion on any night of the week…
Stunning stuff and more than worth the trip, but there was more to come for the ÜRHQ crüe the following night…
- PHOTO CREDIT: All photos © The Dark Queen/Über Rock.
- Extreme and Living Colour play the O2 Kentish Town Forum on Tuesday 19 December.
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