Somewhere in my private fantasy land lives the hope that one day Jason Pierce and Peter Kember will kiss, make up, give each other a manly pat on the back and reform Spacemen 3. It was therefore suiting and somewhat bittersweet to see Silver Apples opening for Spiritualized tonight as part of the inaugural All Tomorrow's Parties (ATP) festival. As I stood and watched the delightful Silver Apples mastermind, Simeon, doing his thing, I couldn't help but think of him as the logical father for Kember, both men playing with the same synth set-up and both sharing the same look of intensity during songs, which quickly transforms into a huge, slightly goofy grin as soon as the last note is struck.
Playing on his lonesome, Simeon was armed with an arsenal of bizarre (and perhaps homemade?) electronic equipment, and several synthesizers to produce the kooky, pulsing sounds Silver Apples pioneered in the late '60s. It was a rare treat to see tracks such as 'Oscillations' and 'A Pox on You' live, and Simeon looked to be having such fun on stage that his booming voice didn't even falter through any of the offensive crackling noises spitting through the Metro's dodgy PA; a true trail-blazer and the ultimate spaceman.
I wasn't expecting much from Spiritualized's set, having seen them play two disappointing gigs in England on the Songs In A&E tour already. "Third time lucky" did not have a part to play here, as this was definitely the most pedestrian of all three shows. Perhaps it was I who was tired after the previous night's rendezvous with Afrirampo, Dead Meadow and Fuck Buttons at Oxford Arts (another gem of a gig made possible by ATP) but Pierce and his ensemble of session musicians appeared bored and lacklustre throughout the majority of the show.
Really, the problem lies in Pierce's new exploration in mediocre songwriting and his relentless obsession with gospel songs about Jesus, the Lord, his heart and soul being on fire, and hurricanes inside his veins. I wholeheartedly acknowledge that Pierce has written some beautiful songs on said subjects, but the shtick is getting old, and the white-clad gospel singers he brought on tour injected the entire set with an awful amount of cheese.
There were a few saving - but not amazing - graces in songs such as 'Ladies and Gentlemen, We are Floating in Space', 'Come Together' and the awesome Spacemen classic, 'Take Me to the Other Side', but ultimately the interest level of this evening's performance was best gauged by the fact that "plus one" and I spent the length of an entire song discussing the possibility of Pierce playing a cordless guitar (we later spotted his lead trailing over to his amp: thank god that mystery was solved).
Aside from a short strobe freak-out and an onslaught of noise at the end of the set, this performance was very, very dull. Jason, you've recorded some of my favourite albums of all time, but you need to get off the middle of the road and take me to the other side.
Aimee-Lee Curran
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