Faithless @ Wolverhampton Civic Hall, 27th May 2010
If you’ve never seen Faithless live then you really have missed out, and the fact they have chosen to play smaller venues on their current tour, including Wolves Civic, makes their experience even better.
Support tonight is by The Hempolics, a band I’ve never heard of. They are a seven piece band playing a mixture of dub-dance-reggae tunes which at several points during their half hour set merge into one another, giving the easy comments that “they all sound the same”, but I have to be totally honest and say they are a great band. Vocals are shared by two people, with the one (also playing guitar) sounding very much like Plan B, so certainly topical.
They get a tepid crowd response but are certainly worth further investigation. They end their set with an almost instrumental track ‘Oh, oh, oh, Superman’, but sounding more like the old Batman theme. To sum up think a cross between Plan B and Pama International.
The stage is quickly cleared and at the stroke of 9 the lights dim and Faithless take to the stage, with the final entrance centre stage by Maxi Jazz. In his usual suit, no shirt, showing a body and abdomen I can only dream of, he effortlessly launches into his mesmeric raps. This tour is to promote the recently released album ‘The Dance’, and a good few tracks are played amongst the usual old favourites and crowd pleasers. I won’t spoil the set-list but a quick internet search will provide this, and it seems it’s been the same set throughout the tour.
The stage features a large visual screen at the back of the stage, but the graphics range from fantastic, such as the depiction of Ali, during ‘Muhammad Ali’ to the awful during ‘Feel Me Now’ which in fairness matched the song, as it’s the worst song from ‘The Dance’ and certainly the only low point of the gig.
The backdrop during ‘Feel Me Now’ shows various lines, almost akin to a broken computer monitor, but all this is pre-programmed and so such a poor visual graphic is unforgiveable, especially given the feast we get for ‘God is a DJ’.
I have no idea why Faithless have chosen to re-hash the Blancmange track, certainly not to include on a new album. It’s not a great choice (not even Blancmange’s best outing) and live it just doesn’t inspire. However, the vocals are handed over, and so without the presence of Maxi Jazz this is to be expected. The man simply oozes charisma from every pore.
Musically Faithless do not disappoint, and a particular mention needs to go to the percussionist, Sudha, who added sublime yet essential backing. Faithless live always re-work tracks and so whilst they sound like the studio version they also sound different, and this is what keeps them fresh. The crowd consists of mainly middle-aged couples, who come to life during old favourites such as ‘God is a DJ’, ‘Insomnia’ and of course set-ender ‘We come one’ but new tracks also get a good reception. However those in the balcony find themselves restricted to arm waving and head nodding as anyone who stands to dance is immediately told to sit down by very over-zealous security staff.
Merchandise is the usual fare of t-shirts and sweatshirts, but the Tour shirt looks like tissue-paper, and at £18 is only for the die-hards. As we near the end of the tour I did think they may have dropped the price but this isn’t the case, and I personally think they are over-priced.
Faithless are brilliant live, simple, and to have them in such a small venue (for them) is a real privilege. I was recently talking to a friend who has to travel 68 miles to her nearest venue, and then the acts are few and far between who play there. It s at times like that you realise just what the Civic offers, and how much it’s taken for granted.
Review – Glenn Raybone
Photos – Ian Dunn