It’s quite the phenomenon, the nostalgic multi-band indie night out, and tonight consists of a real variety pack of bands, who it could be said, hit their peak in the 1990’s but still have an audience willing to come and see them in a big old room such as this. And tonight for me it’s a band I’ve seen recently, one I haven’t seen for years and one that, unbelievably, I’ve yet to see live.
“We are Bis, from Glasgow, Scotland” is a phrase that we will hear a lot over the next half an hour, as the energetic trio announce that they haven’t played Liverpool since the last century; in fact it is “1996 or 1999” at the much-missed, never-forgotten Lomax before kicking off their frankly-not-long-enough half-hour set with ‘Action And Drama’ from that same era.
Having somehow never managed to see them before, it’s a genuine goosebump-inducing thrill when they launch into early single ‘This Is Fake DIY’ with all the gusto of a band enjoying life back in the spotlight.
“We haven’t played this for years” they say about ‘Kiss and Tell’, before the goosebumps are back for their biggest single – voted one of the Top 50 best Britpop songs and the main reason to buy Shine 7 (ask your parents) – the always thrilling ‘Kandy Pop‘.
Rounding out the set with a couple of their newer tracks from their lockdown-era record, including the infectious ‘Sound Of A Heartbreak’, and there’s just time for them to take a picture of the crowd “to show my kids that Mummy’s band are good and people like them” ,before a rousing ‘Eurodisco’ ends things all too quickly. It won’t be another 30-odd years ’til I see them live again; they are a joy.
Somewhat surprisingly, Jesus Jones – who we assumed would be headlining – are up next and they are the ‘haven’t seen them for ages’ act of the night.
Opener ‘Move Mountains’ shows off frontman Mike Edwards’ distinctive voice, which hasn’t aged a minute over the intervening years, before ‘Zeroes And Ones’ and ‘Never Enough’ remind you how many nearly-big singles they had. But it’s not all nostalgia; ‘Animal Instincts,’ they announce, is from their upcoming album.
However, there’s a few mishits along the set’s way with both ‘International Bright Young Thing’ and ‘The Devil You Know’ not quite hitting the mark, sounding ever so slightly off.
“EMF bring the light, we bring the shade” deadpans Edwards, who leaves the big hitters for the second half of the set as they wait until the last few songs before really hitting their stride. But when they do, they really go for it.
‘Who? Where? Why?’ ignites the crowd, with a blistering ‘Idiot Stare’ and finale of ‘Info Freako’ to save the day. If only they attacked the first 45 minutes like the last 15 it would have been a set for the ages.
I’m not sure that if they were a newly formed band that you’d get a band as thoroughly jolly and positive as EMF thriving in this day and age. From the minute they come onstage they look genuinely delighted to be there as they roar into the first two songs from their smash debut album Schubert Dip, ‘Children’ and ‘Long Summer Days’, with frontman James Atkin, sporting a t-shirt emblazoned with “Sensible Raver”, which will become more appropriate as the set continues.
But their early dancing intentions are thwarted early on as they somehow manage to blow the onstage lighting, with the set carrying on in the dark for a spell.
There’s new stuff alongside the oldies here too, with ‘Hands In The Air’, the first song from their new EP debuted here. It’s a searing anti-fascist, anti-racist anthem, which bodes well with more to come.
‘Inside’ from their arguably-better-than-the-debut, criminally ignored second album Stigma has a new elongated dance ending, which is just the beginning of the rave feel, as ‘Reach For The Lasers’ escalates into a medley of covers of 80’s/90’s dance anthems. Prodigy, Faithless, New Order, they’re all in there, gloriously received by a now warmed-up crowd.
There’s just time for their trio of “believe” themed songs, with their enormo-megahit ‘Unbelievable’, a part-reggae, part-thrash cover of ‘I’m A Believer‘, before Top 6 hit ‘I Believe’ from 1991 leads us into the closer, as they put it, “our national anthem, our theme tune“, ‘EMF‘.
As good as they are tonight, there’s a feeling, especially in the closing part of the set, that there’s something missing, and it’s the presence of their erstwhile keyboardist and on-stage mischief causer Derry who has had to miss these gigs due to ill health. All our very best to him.
Overall then, a really good Friday evening out for all concerned with a healthy dose of nostalgia coupled with some promising future noise. More of these nights please.
(Photos: Cheryl Doherty)
