Word had soon got around via social media and such like that British Sea Power would be taking to the stage early for a special set, which came in the form of five tracks – all of which were a fairly chilled out introduction to what was to come. BSP never seem to do things conventionally when it comes to performing live, so this was a nice way of being able to perform songs that wouldn’t have fitted in with the main louder set.
It also meant that the actual support Milk and Biscuits were able to play to a decent size crowd with the sold out Wedgewood Rooms already not far off being filled to capacity. Somewhere between sounding like the old Manchester scene and the likes of noisier acts such as Jesus and Mary Chain and Swervedriver, there was something appealing about Milk and Biscuits but they weren’t quite exciting enough to grab me – maybe this was due to the earlier BSP set being too good, or the fact some of their intriguing samples were too low down in the mix to make them stand out above other similar acts from days gone by.
British Sea Power
So back on stage were British Sea Power for their louder set, and if the earlier tunes weren’t enough to get the crowd in the mood then the opening notes of “Remember me” from the bands 2003 debut album definitely got the crowd going for what was the start of something epic.
Whilst there were several songs pulled from new album “Machineries of Joy”, which quite deservedly is getting some good reviews in the press, BSP also covered tunes from all over their back catalogue. Tracks such as “Waving Flags” from the album “Do you Like Rock Music?” being met with much love from the crowd, sounding huge in the small venue, and with British Sea Power having an almost cult following it all made for a great atmosphere from the front of the room to the back.
Although with the surreal and slightly unnecessary appearance of a 9ft polar bear (which was presumably in reference to the bands second album “Open Season”), I couldn’t help wondering if this was what Iron Maidens mascot Eddie looked like before the fire? Or was that just me… in conclusion though, this was a long old performance with the fans most definitely getting their money’s worth and we enjoyed every moment.
