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Review by Jack Foley
TURIN
Brakes' love affair with Brixton Academy was fully realised on Friday night
(March 21, 2003), when Olly Knights and Gale Paridjanian played the second
of two sold-out nights at the prestigious London venue and delivered the type
of gig that will live long in the memory.
Having grown up in nearby Balham, Knights' recalled how, ever since the age
of 10, both he and Paridjanian had visited the Academy, watching the likes
of Transvision Vamp, Rage Against The Machine and Carter: The Unstoppable
Sex Machine, before thanking everyone for helping his dream to come true.
But then Turin Brakes' rise to stardom has been the stuff of dreams. Ever
since debut album, The Optimist, secured
a Mercury Music Prize nomination and sold 200,000 copies, the duo have been
quietly going about achieving mega-success and becoming one of the coolest
acts around.
Rather like early Coldplay, they possess the unbridled enthusiasm of a band
that is as much in awe of its own success, as those looking from the outside,
coming across as a genuinely endearing couple of guys whose passion for what
they do translates to those around them.
I first caught them live when they supported James' farewell tour in Brighton,
when I was blown away by the crispness of the guitars and the quality of the
songs. They were one of the few bands I have seen who sounded better live,
than on the album, and I vowed to see them again at the next available opportunity.
With the release of second album, Ether
Song, the desire to see them became even greater, especially as the follow-up
to The Optimist is, for me, a far more accomplished piece of work.
And I'm glad to say, they did not disappoint. The Brixton gig provided a genuinely
thrilling evening, the type of which more than justifies the hype currently
surrounding them.
Kicking off with the opening track from Ether Song, the slow-building
Blue Hour, the ensuing set mixed old material with new, and uptempo
tracks with some more laidback numbers.
Highlights included the likes of Stone Thrown, Self Help and Panic
Attack, from the latest album, and old favourites, such as Emergency
72, Future Boy, Feeling Oblivion and Mind Over Money, from the
second album.
Knights' yearning vocals were as powerful as ever, hitting every note with
near perfection, and grabbing the crowd's attention with an almost effortless
ease, while Paridjanian's diverse guitar work was as exemplary as we have
come to expect. The two compliment each other perfectly.
And they are so incredibly in tune with each other, strumming along like clockwork,
and bringing things to a complete stop (or start) at various points, to the
delight of Brixton's revellers.
The anti-war message, which seems to be an integral part of any concert at
the moment, was also present and correct, though not overplayed. Knights merely
chose to dedicate the song, Average Man, to 'our Prime Minister' and
simply got on with it, to the approving roar of the crowd.
And when the time came to deliver the show-stopping set pieces, they did so
with aplomb. Hence, the concert was drawn to a close with the quite brilliant
single, Painkiller (which reached number five, we were told), before
an encore delivered the electric-guitar charged Little Brother, hidden
track 13 (from the second album) and, finally, a rousing version of Underdog
(Save Me), during which Paridjanian stepped forward and let his guitar
do the talking to spine-tingling effect.
At the close of proceedings, a clearly delighted Knights thanked his fans
for 'making this a night we will never forget...' Well, back at you, boys.
This was pure class.
RELATED STORIES: Click here
for a review of Ether Song...
Click here for a review of The Optimist...
Click here for a review of the Brighton
gig...
RELATED LINKS: Click here
for the Turin Brakes website...
Click here
to order the Ether Song LP...
Click here for
a Turin Brakes fan site...