Live Review

The Music – Leeds Met

• 20th May 2008

Coming out of the traps at 100mph and never letting up, The Music’s hometown gig at Leeds Met was a refreshing reminder of what these guys are capable of. Rob Harvey, these days sporting streamlined shaved head rather than the floppy locks of old launched in to Take The Long Road (And Walk It) offering up an amazing array of moves to get everyone bouncing. The crowd tonight is a mixture of folk who got sucked in by the first two albums and some obvious new comers who have found the energy of the band infectious. New tunes Spike and Drugs are thrown into the mix early on and the crowd take to them well. The whole evening is underpinned by the driving rhythm section, showing many of the teeny indie wannabes about at the moment what real musicians can do. Continuing to mix tracks from the first two albums and their forthcoming release, the evening is a celebration of one of Leeds’ best bands. Despite the obvious enjoyment of the crowd there is a nagging sense that the material sometimes blends into one with no pause for breath. The set list would have benefitted from a few changes in tempo and direction. The new stuff is both encouraging but there is also a suspicion that it may lack anything new. Despite this the new album should see the band build upon the previous two and as a high energy live act few can better them.