The Coral - with support from Arctic Monkeys (Manchester Ritz 21/04/05) - Live Review

The Coral

The Coral
with support from Arctic Monkeys
(Manchester Ritz 21/04/05)

Raw, young, honest and perceptive Sheffield quartet Arctic Monkeys combined bemusement, catchy instrumental loops and a little endearing provocation that oozed out early on in’ Bet You Look Good On The Dance Floor’ to capture attention early on. Alex Turner’s slightly coarse but very commanding Johnny Borrell ordering a taxi with Dominic Masters almost chatty vocal range, delivered tales of the seedy and sordid lives of your average Joe and Josephine with succinctness and pungency in the searing; ‘Scummy’ towards the latter end of a bold and veracious set.

The Wirral sextet humbly shuffled onto the tight stage with maturity and grace, as they are now classed as veterans, despite the fact that most of them are in their early twenties andare younge

than most members of the Franz Ferdinand fuelled art pop movement that is spreading across the world. Opener ‘She Sings The Mourning’ was a tight, emotive slightly dark but laid backoffering that was followed by fellow new number; ‘So Long Ago’; extracted from their forthcoming third album proper 'The Invisible Invasion'. In the latter it was as though The Monkees had fully evolved and taken heart andcrispness as far as nature intended it go. James Skelly’s vocals have become tenderer and are ascomforting as ever. The beginning of the much awaited ‘Magic & Medicine’ offerings; ‘Don’t Think You’re The First’ elicited some rumblings in the pit andnew folk tinged single; ‘In The Morning’ was enthusiastically performed with the echoing vocals, relaxingly hanging in the air like the smell of freshly baked bread.

Great as it was to witness the calming maturity of the band, there was the hope, deep down that they had not lost their rugged edge and their ability to depict society’s downtrodden. My fears and those of many of my fellow crowd members were emphatically allayed, by the double whammy of first album dark horse; ‘Simon Diamond’ and second album's rat race decrying; ‘Bill McCai’. These were sung back at Skelly by the front few rows, with the passion and belief of Everton fans communicating with Gary Neville. Old favourites ‘Calendars & Clocks’ and ‘Shadows Fall’ had lost none of their spice or zest, but The Coral continue tobeat a new and golden path, you would be advised to follow and enjoy the journey.

www.thecoral.co.uk

David Adair