It didn’t need it, but it certainly didn’t hurt to be included.
They return for an encore, Tim Burgess bumbling something or other about heroes,
then out creaks Ronnie Wood, guitar in hand, face like the wind just changed.
This is at a Charlatans gig. Remember The Charlatans? Baggy also-rans,
wild-card Britpoppers, the-ones-least-likely-to, yeah? This collaboration
then might throw up little in the way of creative carots over its 3 song duration
(a cover of the Small Faces’ ‘Stay With Me’, a Ronnie favourite in ‘Just Lookin’
and traditional set closer ‘Sproston Green’), but it’s a reminder that The Charlies
continue to move in such a way that these kind of things do happen to them, and
that it really doesn’t seem untoward that they do. The aged ‘Stone gawps at Mark
Collins’ fret-board, stumbles a bit, throws in a blues lick here and a crashing
chord there, holds a pose and loses his concentration. The already burgeoning
atmosphere nonetheless vibes off him and Burgess looks truly happy as punch. They
do do climax very well, and they work at sustaining that. The Charlatans know
graft, in fact they ply it hard like it’s all they know. And Tim has been looking
happy as punch, truth be told, for the last 90 minutes. He’s never happier than
when freewheeling across his own loose vowels in the likes of ‘Tellin Stories’,
‘How High’ and ‘You’re So Pretty – We’re So Pretty’, spelling out tales with his
wandering fingers and distracted expressions. When not tied intently to his microphone
he’s off wandering aimlessly, across the far wings of the stage, down in the photo
pit, looking unsure of exactly why, but always out forging connections. The
feeling renews itself with every passing tour, but material old and new continues
to compliment its opposite twin, and aside from the odd off-number (tonight ‘Cry
Yourself To Sleep’ just won’t sit comfortably) every moment at a Charlatans show
is a celebration. But even though the night is mostly one long standing ovation,
complete with shake-n-add-beer collapsible Manc lad stereotypes, there’s no mistaking
what hits the right buttons. ‘One To Another’, ‘Love Is The Key’, ‘North Country
Boy’, ‘Weirdo’, ‘Just When You’re Thinking Things Over’ and even the new ‘Blue
For You’ sprinkle some kind of anthemic magic. Nobody ever expected them to change
the world, but they’re chipping away bit by bit and you hope they’re doing the
same when they get to Grandpa Ronnie’s age and you still need something to believe
in. Relevant sites:
http://www.thecharlatans.net/
James Berry for Crud Magazine 2004©
|
