The The / Civic Hall / Wolverhampton

Oct 6

Oct 6 The The / Civic Hall / Wolverhampton

Tonight, a trip across the midlands to Wolverhampton and to the Civic Hall, to catch Matt Johnson’s The The on tour. This was a show I did not want to miss. The The were one of the most influential bands in my formative teen years with their biggest albums, 1983’s “Soul Mining” and 1986’s “Infected” a particular influence on me. For me, they summed up the 1980’s and the war, wealth inequality, social decay and urban decay that so blighted the decade. Both vinyl’s are still in the collection, and get regular spins, and (sadly) how ironic that the sentiment of songs like “Heartland” are just as relevant today as ever.

Tonight looks like being something special. There is no support, instead The The are performing two sets. First up (the listening set) a run through of the brand new “Ensoulment” album, the first studio album for 25 years. After a break, the band are back for the second (Dancing) set, a collection of their greatest hits.

The new album is something else, a delightful mix of powerful sentiment and delicate more philosophical times mixed so beautifully. One of the standout tracks is Kissing the Rin of Potus about dictators that use tools like charm, influence, seduction and lies to gain power, which sits alongside something like the much more thoughtful tracks like Where Do We Go When We Die? and the wonderfully titled Some Days I Drink My Coffee By The Grave Of William Blake. My personal highlight of this first set is a stunning performance of I Want To Wake Up With You, as moving and captivating as anything you’ll hear this year.

The listening set is just that, the audience sit, transfixed in silence taking in the scale and nuances of the latest album. The atmosphere changes after the break for the dancing set, with Matt Johnson at ease, interacting with the audience. The set begins with the eponymous Infected which instantly changes the mood up a notch. Other highlights include This is the Day from 1983’s “Soul Mining” which is so beautifully optimistic and uplifting juxtapositioned against some of the darker themes.

1993’s “Solitude” provides another highlight in the form of Dogs of Lust which has a wonderful blues like swagger complete with harmonica

Supported by a talented group of musicians in James Eller (bass), DC Collard (keyboards), Chris Whitten (drums) and Barrie Cadogan (lead guitar), they deliver a skillful performance with flair and panache, with Collard delivering an outstanding solo keys section the end of Uncertain Smile (a section original laid down by Jools Holland).

The night ends with Giant which is just that – a big brash number for the crowd to join in with, and featuring some incredible, almost tribal like beats from drummer Whitten.

And before you know it, the two set, 2 song performance is over. For me, I’d have loved to hear a couple of my favourite tracks Out of the Blue (and Into the Fire) and Slow Train to Dawn (both from 1986’s “Infected”) but the setlist wasn’t written for me lol.

“Ensoulment” is The The’s first studio album for 25 years, and who knows, it may be the last, but it demonstrated the talent, creativity and beauty of Matt Johnson’s writing. The two sets were very different in style, and I liked that. Matt’s music has that dark inward looking feel, focusing on injustice, inequality and social decay, but weaved into the fabric, is a subtle, gentle and beautiful under-current, of hopefulness and wonder.

A night that brought back a thousand memories, and made many new ones.

Setlist (The Listening Set)

Cognitive Dissident

Some Days I Drink My Coffee by the Grave of William Blake

Zen & The Art of Dating

Kissing the Ring of Potus

Life After Life

I Want to Wake Up With You

Down by the Frozen River

Risin’ Above the Need

Linoleum Smooth to the Stockinged Foot

Where Do We Go When We Die