CONCERT REVIEW: Charlatans/Stereophonics, New York City
- Wilson Neate
Although such a high caliber double-header is a rare enough treat, this was an extra-special bill insofar as it brought together representatives of two of the British "scenes" of the last decade or so: late-'80s/early-'90s Madchester (Charlatans -- or Charlatans UK for those of us in the US) and the currently happenin' Cool Cymru (Stereophonics).
At the start of their North American tour, Stereophonics guitarist/vocalist Kelly Jones commented, "I think we've got an audience here, it just takes time to find it." And he certainly found it last night at New York's Roseland where the hardest working band in Britain -- as they've been dubbed -- delivered a spirited set drawn largely from 1997's Word Gets Around and last year's Performance and Cocktails.
Before Stereophonics came on, the expectant crowd was primed with the sounds of Jones' boyhood heroes AC/DC, which provided a fitting overture for a band that reinvents both the anthemic highs and the no-nonsense, formulaic graft of classic rock in a short-haired, moderately alternative context.
While the simplicity of Stereophonics' music has prompted unflattering assessments of their "meat and potatoes" approach, that doesn't tell the whole story. The achievement of Stereophonics is their comfortable translation of the commonplace and the quotidian of Jones' lyrical vision into rock of epic proportions, without for an instant losing any of the intimacy or straying into the arena of the pompous.
Although the toils of Stuart Cable on drums and Richard Jones on bass are key ingredients, crucial to the mix are Kelly Jones's big, close-to-rasping, emotive vocals that almost single-handedly pull off an effortless compromise between the local snap-shot and a universal rock world-view in the Springsteen vein. Theirs is a kind of fanfare for the common person approach that makes bands like Oasis, who work on the same principle, sound very one-dimensional.
The fact that Black Crowes' frontman Chris Robinson was in the crowd last night and seemed to thoroughly enjoy the set gives some small indication of how convincingly Stereophonics reinvent the stadium sensibility.
A shining example of the effectiveness of Stereophonics' genre-blurring approach was last night's performance of "A Thousand Trees." No less inspiring were sing-along inducing renditions of "I Wouldn't Believe Your Radio" and, of course, "Local Boy in the Photograph." During many of their songs you could just feel yourself fumbling for a cigarette lighter to hold aloft in a moment of unashamed, earnest rockism. And if there were still any concerns over finding a US audience, "Just Looking," "Traffic," and "Hurry Up and Wait" were -- like everything else -- instantly recognized and greeted like already classic tunes.
Stereophonics topped off their evening with "I Stopped to Fill My Car Up" complete with a final, epic guitar flourish that bordered on the Zeppelin-esque. This provided a perfect segue into the Charlatans' set, given that their guitarist Mark Collins isn't himself averse to working in a few nods to Jimmy Page on occasion.
In addition to the friendly ghost of Zeppelin, other Charlatans' coordinates were particularly pronounced in the live context. The rendering of the Jon Lord/early Deep Purple organ sound that Rob Collins left behind -- and which Tony Rogers has rather ably made his own -- was especially noteworthy last night, taking the lead on occasion and just bubbling under the surface on others. But, like all of their musical citations, it's always perfectly situated within an overall package that, while it might pay homage to numerous others, is always uniquely the Charlatans.
The set was equally divided between tracks from 1999's Us and Us Only and from previous albums dating back to 1990's Some Friendly. As the newer songs confirmed last night, Us and Us Only continues the Charlatans'romance with the Stones of the early '70s, thereby emphasizing an alternative lineage for contemporary Brit-rock and pop -- Oasis' ongoing love affair with the Beatles notwithstanding. The stand-outs from the new record last night were "My Beautiful Friend" and "Impossible." While a respect for Dylan is articulated throughout much of the Charlatans' work, Tim Burgess's burst of harmonica on "Impossible" brilliantly crystallized, for a fleeting instant, the deep affection for Bringing It All Back Home through Blonde on Blonde period Dylan that permeates the latest album in particular.
As a frontman Burgess is physically idiosyncratic yet completely charismatic, albeit in an understated Liam Gallagher kind of way. Like Gallagher he follows the zipped/buttoned-up-to-the-chin dress code and is ungainly but totally cool. Unlike Gallagher he seems wholly well-adjusted and genuinely touched by and receptive to the overwhelming reaction his band gets. In the final analysis, whether he was lumbering around the stage in simian fashion or just stooped over playing what appeared to be one-handed air-guitar, Burgess was totally compelling.
While the newer songs went down well, the real crowd-pleasers were "Just When You're Thinkin' Things Over," "Just Lookin'," "Weirdo," "One to Another" and the instrumental "Area 51," during which Burgess graciously accepted a bunch of flowers -- gift wrapped -- handed to him by an adoring fan. As the crowd response confirmed, the Charlatans were most in their element on rousing renditions of "North Country Boy," "How High," and "Tellin' Stories" from the penultimate album.
For an encore they came back and wrapped things up with the oldest song of the evening, "Sproston Green." It seemed unfortunately low-key after some of the earlier highlights and you couldn't help thinking that "The Only One I Know" might have worked better. Still, mustn't grumble.
While this tour might be an attempt to break into the tricky American market, Stereophonics and the Charlatans were clearly playing to the converted last night.
