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Bristol University Anson Rooms - 04/11/02
The first surprise of the evening was singer Alex Whites' new haircut, a severe number 1 crop which drew some amusing comments from the crowd gathered at the Anson Rooms. After a puzzling unaccompanied rendition of Elvis' "Always on my mind", Alex's slick new look set the tone for the evening as they launched into recent single "Same way, every day". The band were tight and the sound was noticeably heavier than on their previous tour in May. Gone were the equipment problems and tantrums of the earlier tour and Alex seems to have become a more confident front man, as if toughened up by the relentless round of gigs and festivals that the band have played since their "Holes in the wall" album was released in February.
They slipped six new songs into the set amongst blistering versions of "old" favourites such as "Start again" and "There's a silence". The new songs, including " Lights out" and "Things I've done before" sounded darker and less melodic than the older material on first hearing. One song "In the Summer" was half sung and half spoken in a style which recalled "Peaches" by The Stranglers. The younger White sibling and main songwriter Tom came out from behind his drum kit to sing two of the new songs along with "Red balloon for me" from the album.
The crowd were up for a good time and with Alex back on lead vocals, "Empty at the end" and the encore of "Silent to the dark" had them jumping. ESP played with impressive determination and after just 55 minutes left the crowd calling for more. That's no mean feat for a Monday night in Bristol.
Written on 06/11/02
by D. Fedigan
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