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The
Polyphonic Spree, Manchester University Students Union (22 Oct
2002)
You can sometimes tell a lot about a band by the music their
DJ plays. After Brit-rockers Athlete’s out-of-place set,
the interlude is filled with 60s songs and themes, mostly with
a bit of Moog and including the Beach Boys, amongst others.
Coming on to Dr Dre throws any idea that there’s a chance
you might get this band, as do the standard issue plain
white robes.
Last month’s The Beginning Stages Of... did its
best to put together what people, firstly in the Texas and then
in London, were astonished by at gigs. Like it, tonight’s
show (and show being a crucial word) opens with “Have A
Day”, a slow-building hint of what’s to come. Founder
Tim DeLaughter oozes showmanship and he orchestrates from the
front, involved in every horn blow and jump for joy. His voice,
filled with helium and high on energy, is captivating and suits
such a busy band perfectly. “It’s The Sun” is
about as choral and anthemic (Bah dah dum bah dah - try
not to sing along!) as the Spree get. The sight of 22 robed
disciples swaying like the Muppet Show is frightening, as are
the dozen singers during "La La", where an otherwise
tuneful band becomes shrieky and scary.
New single “Hanging Around The Day” is the album’s
masterpiece and doesn’t let us down tonight. As the group
look dazed, the brass section take the lead and comparisons
to the Flaming Lips seems unjustified. Without leaving time
for applause, a Beck-esque break takes the band into “Soldier
Girl” and the best medley of the night is formed.
After following the album track by track, they play six or seven
new songs, notable by their more lyrical direction versus the
melody-heavy debut. One sounds like Sgt Pepper-era Beatles,
another like an um-pa-pa band and another like Canadian power-poppers,
New Pornographers. The two-song encore comprises another new
song and Bowie’s “Five Years”, a b-side to the
new single. The Polyphonic Spree do seem a bit gimmicky and,
by the end, one-dimensional. But that isn't to say, as a one-off
event, witnessing such a positive and energetic band is anything
but heavenly.
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