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Gig Review

Spiritualized
London, Royal Albert Hall

Article written by Alex S - Oct 30, 2011

Spiritualized

Before we discuss the peacock brilliance of Jason Pierce, a word about the venue. The Royal Albert Hall is an incredible place to listen to music. The list of famous performers and world figures that have appeared here since it opened in 1871 is unrivalled. Wagner, Verdi and Elgar conducted the first UK performance of their own works on its concert platform, Rachmaninov played his own compositions and nearly every major classical solo artist and leading orchestra has performed at the Hall. Frank Sinatra, Liza Minnelli, Jimi Hendrix, The Beatles, The Who, Led Zeppelin and Eric Clapton. Among leading world figures who have spoken at the Hall are Her Majesty The Queen, Sir Winston Churchill, Nelson Mandela, His Holiness The Dalai Lama and former President of the United States of America, Bill Clinton. It is impossible not to be swept up in its architectural brilliance and cultural significance and Jason, a man who possesses an ego the size of Jupiter, clearly feels at home here.

Of course he’s been here before, in 1997 and again in 2009. This time he is joined by a 24-strong choir, a 30 piece string orchestra as well as the fetching ensemble of 3 backing singers that accompanied Spiritualized's 2008 ‘Songs in A&E’ tour. Yet the stage seems curiously empty, as the band’s penchant for standing to the side and to the back is mirrored by Jason permanently seated demeanor behind his lectern to the right. The first half of the show consisted of entirely new songs. Similar in musical and lyrical content to ‘Songs in A&E’, it was a tender, if sometimes meandering section. From the sparer, more restrained choral sounds of ‘Jesus, Take Care of Me’ and ‘Does your Mother know’ through to the grandeur and exuberance of ‘Shine a Light’ and ‘Sail On, So Long’ (apologies if these turn out not to be the actual song titles) the show is once again dripping with religious metaphor and spiritual iconography. The choirists gently bobbing on stage, the strings triumphant; the intention is to allow the new material to creep up on the listener’s consciousness. My attention wandered on occasions, staring out from my balcony box at the domed skylight of pointed glass and wrought-iron and the 10,000 pipes of the organ.

The second half is an altogether different affair. The first song features the backing singers but before you can say ‘Ladies & Gentlemen We are Floating in Space’ it is simply Jason and his band. Sadly though there are no songs from this masterpiece, and only true Spiritualized devotees would have recognized the obscure collection of older songs performed here. Still, these numbers were powered by brutal guitars, noisy, strung out feedback and all mixed up in the screaming psychedelic soundscape we’ve come to know and love. But it was hard not to smile during the penultimate song; Spacemen 3’s ‘Take me to the Other Side’ as a balcony position afforded us a bird’s eye view of the extent of Jason’s musical nihilism. Midway though the madness of a 5 minute buzzsaw guitar frenzy Jason stopped mid-distortion, turned the page of his musical score, then continued to thrash his guitar to within an inch of its life. Unashamed and unabashed, Jason is a pedagogue, looming like a musical God above his audience who have been degraded to the status of passive onlookers. Hilarious.

Then quick as a flash the stage is busy and the choirists and strings have arrived in a great big flock, ready for the final number. Edwin Hawkins' ‘Oh Happy Day’ is about as uplifting as it gets, and the beauty of the hall paled in comparison with the emotional beauty of this moment. A sumptuous ten minutes ensued as warmth washes over the audience. The chorus increasing gradually in volume and intensity as the rich scoring, harmonies and joyous pleasure of this anthem seemed to challenge the audience to confront the awe at the centre of the mystery of the divine. If Jesus is no more than a handful of dust and bones slowly crumbling away somewhere on the outskirts of Jerusalem, you wouldn’t know it in this moment. This is what Spiritualized do best in my view, bringing to an end a dazzling evening of allegorical guitar and song.

Oh happy day
Oh happy day
When Jason walked
Oh when He walked
When Jason walked
He washed my sins away
Oh, it’s a happy day

Links:
http://www.spiritualized.com/