A very welcome chance to see Bis again (having seen
them way back in 1999 at The Flapper in Brum and 2013 at the much-missed
Indietracks Festival in Derbyshire) and EMF and Jesus Jones for the very first
time. Bis kicked things off with 30 minutes of the best pop tunes your ears
have ever had the pleasure of hearing including their breakout track Kandy Pop
and a joyous Eurodisco. Action and Drama still being well and truly delivered.
You have to feel for Jesus Jones trying to follow that.
But it was great to hear the likes of Real Real Real, International Bright Young Thing and Right Here, Right Now again.
Headliners EMF were a rave riot from start to finish, with a hits packed set, including a slower version of their cover of I’m A Believer (which gave a bit of a nod to Robert Wyatt’s interpretation, albeit with 90s indie disco vibe) and a couple of new classics in waiting including recent release LGBTQ+ Lover.
This last track saw a special guest appearance from Bis who they seem to have formed a particularly special bond with on this tour. Speaking of special bonds tonight saw the return of band member Derry Brownson. I’m not sure what’s been ailing him in recent years but he and the band had an…wait for it…Unbelievable time up there.
Ending the night with a singalong EMF (the track that is) the crowd (mainly 50 somethings like me but lead singer James’ son was there with a bunch of his Uni mates who seemed to be enjoying it as much as everyone else) lustily belted out the “Motherfuckers” like…well…motherfuckers. A joyful celebration of the 90s for those who were there the first time round and those who wish they had been. It might just be the old rose coloured spectacles (or varifocals in my case now) but the world really did seem a better place back then.
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