Gig date: 30/11/19
Review written: 19/1/20
Thirteen. That’s how many times I’ve seen The Bluetones. This was gig no. 13. It was good. I knew it would be, as the band were performing the excellent Science & Nature in full. I think Science & Nature is my second favourite behind Expecting To Fly, so this was always going to be a treat.
All of the gig a month clan were supposed to be there, joined by my brother, Mike. Unfortunately, Andrew was double booked and so it was Ste, Mike & I meeting for this evening of entertainment. We headed to the Caribbean themed Turtle Bay restaurant for a bite to eat and a drink. Mike and I had some good meals and decent portions. Ste was the meal loser with a portion size fit for a 6 year old. Part of the portion issue may have been that the chicken was accompanied by a large slice of unexpected watermelon. Odd. Washed down with a can of Jamaican Pale Ale, we headed over the road to the Town Hall. This was the first time Ste and I had set foot in this venue since it’s refurb. It looked modern and impressive.
The merchandise stall was calling me. I knew in advance that they were selling newly pressed copies of the Serenity Now EP on 12” vinyl (previously only issued on CD), but I was also taken by a blue (naturally) Trivial Pursuit (Science & Nature category) themed hoodie. I took them both on, dropping the vinyl off in Ste’s car before settling in to watch the support acts.
Velvet were up first, followed by The K’s. Both band names were troubling to us in this google and social media world. Really difficult to find bands with non-distinct names like this. Both were decent.
Velvet had some good tunes and a decent amount of support in the crowd. There was something about the lead singers vocals that didn’t quite appeal to me, but the set went by quickly.
I enjoyed The K’s set more. They seemed a good band and I’d consider listening again after the gig.
The Bluetones took to the stage in scientist themed white coats. They played the whole Science & Nature album in order. Despite this being the advertised theme and the way Mark explained it was going to happen, some of the crowd seemed bemused. Strange. The live renditions sounded great. The Bluetones do seem like a band when are back to enjoying themselves. Mark Morriss is now comedic again in his banter, where once I felt he was becoming acerbic. It might just be how I’m taking it though. At this gig, he was funny, engaging and humble.
My highlight of the Science & Nature run through was, oddly, Blood Bubble. The one instrumental number was played with raucous intent and sounded bloody brilliant. Zorrro, Last Of The Great Navigators, One Speed Gearbox and Emily’s Pine all sounded fresh too, supplemented by the singles. It was interesting to hear the tale of record company discussions around the release of Mudslide. I’d always wondered why it was a mail order only EP release (apparently to avoid the embarrassment of it not breaking the top 40 if released commercially). They took a break after playing through the album, had a change of clothes and came out for part 2.
The second half was all pulled from The Singles collection. Genuine classics were contained within. My one gripe would be that it contained two of my least favourite Bluetones tracks; Freeze Dried Pop (Dumb It Up) and Fast Boy. I’ve never really liked either and was surprised to hear that Freeze Dried Pop was also lined up to be a single (but wasn’t released as After Hours didn’t light up the charts). I know it’s all a matter of personal taste though, and others will love these tunes.
The rest were all highlights; After Hours (love this tune), Bluetonic (classic), Cut Some Rug (perfect), Marblehead Johnson (quality between albums single), Solomon Bites The Worm (crowd livener), Never Going Nowhere (fantastic tune, and my brother loved the mix into Love Is A Stranger), Slight Return (no matter what the band think of it, this is a quality tune) and finally the always closing and brilliant sing-a-long, If…
The Bluetones even managed to do a marriage proposal on behalf of a man in the crowd. Mark got the lucky lady’s name wrong. Awkward. But all ended well as she said yes.
I saw The Bluetones play Expecting To Fly a number of years back, but missed the Return To The Last Chance Saloon tour (if they did one?). It would be great to hear that in full, to get their classic trilogy played live.
Loved hearing Science & Nature in full tonight with some quality smash hits to end. #thebluetones #agigamonth2019 pic.twitter.com/VyLFuIXsuk
— Chris Williams (@cwblueroom) 1 December 2019
A Gig A Month 2015-2022 