I realised something tonight which in hindsight was very obvious. The Polyphonic Spree are a novelty act. Don’t get me wrong, their album The Beginning Stages Of is ace and they were at times awesome tonight but at the end of the day there isn’t really much to them.
Starting at the start I was happy to find that Hope of the States was the first support act. They did well for Starsailor last week and after seeing them again I would drop some money on a cd. So they kicked off and did 30 minutes. Next up was a band that I didn’t catch the name of but they were certainly not bad. I’ll check up on the name and post some more later.
Then it was time for the Spree, before hand a group of people came out and threw 30 or so robes into the audience and it began. Frank Skinner came out to introduce the band. Lovely comment about how he loved the album lots…except track 10. This got quite a cheer from the audience. Out came the spree, all 25 of them. Straight into Have a Day and then on through Hanging Around 1 & 2 mixed right into an intro to Solidier Girl and on to La La and then Light and Day. That was awesome. The crowd were behind them 150%. The floor was just jumping, it was an amazing sight and wonderful to be in. At this stage I was going home to book a ticket to see them at their next gig over here in a few months.
But think about it, as soon as they have done that, its over. Those are the album tracks gone, out of the window. We are left only with new stuff and b-sides. That kinda killed off the crowd participation a lot if not completely. The new stuff was pretty much the same as the current stuff, light fluffy bouncy tunes without much to them. This went on for another 30 minutes or so and then they took a quick break and showed their appearance tonight on Graham Norton. Then back on stage for a few cover versions (only one of real note was Bowie’s Five Years and an impressive ending with a lot of noise behind it.
So did I enjoy myself? Hell yes, they were certainly worth seeing, excellent live versions of the good songs (although disappointingly a not so great live Solider Girl). I wonder if I shall in fact pick up their next album. I think they may have captured something magical on this one and it will be lightning in a bottle. I hope they prove me wrong, I won’t rule out going to see them again, but I’m not going to go off and book a ticket now.
I stand behind everything I have said about them over the past few weeks, the album is still well worth getting and I am very glad I saw them. They remain however, a novelty act.