Continuing a week of 80’s bands this time I headed over to Halifax’s Piece Hall. Rarely whenever I visit for one of their gigs the sun is cracking the flags and there’s not a cloud in the sky. I’m not saying it rains a lot in Halifax but I’m still counting on one hand the number of times I’ve left this truly wonderful and stunning building dry during gig season….
Blancmange
Second time in two years I’ve seen the semi local to Halifax Neil Arthur in support (he’s from just north of the border in Darwin), the last time he was with Howard Jones in the Bridgewater which was quite a civil affair as you might imagine in that venue, this time around the volume was turned up and you could feel the bass.
He’s fine voice too, much stronger than he was the previous time but I bet he was regretting his clothing choice, choosing to wear a black suit with a blue tee as the sun was beating down on the stage. The Piece Hall was a lot busier than usual so early on with a large crowd already arrived for his set even though he was on stage just after 6.30, dangerous as I doubt the average age of the crowd was somewhere around 50+ I swear I could hear nothing but creaking hips during as the crowd moved during Living On The Ceiling…
Tom Bailey
When this date was announced it was The Thompson Twins that peaked my interest the most but also with some concern as it was advertised as Thompson Twins’ Tom Bailey so was worried it might be him performing to a backing track but thankfully he was with a talented female multi instrumental backing band (who’s combined ages can’t be far from Tom’s these days!)
I was a massive TT fan back in the 80’s being a Halifax boy as is Tom so it’s a hometown gig for him. They were straight into Love On Your Side, Science Fiction but it was You Take Me Up that got the now substantial crowd singing along – I’m sure the crowd capacity has been increased this year after a slight layout change where the sound desk has been shoved into a top corner of the ground now instead of blocking a big section of the floor space previously.
We Are Detective followed along with Lay Your Hands On Me to which up above in the sky there’s a paraglider soaring above who tried to do a smoke trail but failed pretty badly with only a short straight line in the sky, was it the same person who was seen at Glastonbury and lately Oasis? Who knows.
They continued with King For Just One Day before an unexpected cover of The Talking Heads Psycho Killer then back to his own stuff and building for a big finish with Doctor Doctor and Hold Me Now which the crowd took over the song much to Tom and the girls delight and a humble Tom thanked the crowd for making the opportunity to play his hometown such a memorable one, honestly if he was the final act I don’t think anyone would have minded but we still had one more…
The Human League.
It’s probably a decade since I last saw these at Bingley Festival, back when it was in Myrtle Park and I’ll be honest they didn’t blow me away as most of the performance was flat and lackluster so the bar is set pretty low for me to begin with and them arriving a wee bit more than fashionably late – it’s had been an hour since Tim Bailey left the stage I was ready to write a scathing review slagging them off!
A clearly choreographed entrance with almost matching Keytars of the backing band kicks the set off before the girls make their entrance and then Phil fittingly starting with Sound of the Crowd. Thankfully it was clear the sound was so much better this time and Phil’s and the girls’ vocals defying their advancing years and sounding just like they were back in the 80’s. Mirror Man, Heart like a wheel and Open Your Heart quickly followed as did a change of outfit – Phil, not the girls. Louise slowed the temp down somewhat before Soundtrack To A Generation and Seconds and it was another outfit change for Phil,
I guessed the girls will be due a change too as they left the stage after Soundtrack and indeed the Girls returned for The Lebanon so the costume change update is Phil 2- Girls 1 and afterwards Susan told the crowd about technical and wardrobe incidents they have being having to deal with and how tonight Joanne only just managed to wear her pink dress for their entrance owing to one, hence their late arrival on stage.”I’ll shurrup now.” s
She ended with as they launched into One Man In My Heart during which local residents, the Peregrine falcons who have been nesting over the road from the Piece Hall in the Minster’s Spire decided to make an entrance flying above the crowd.
With Love Action its outfit change update time, Phil 3 – Girls 1, Phil’s was running away with this, Will I See You Again saw the Light stars fading and the aforementioned Minster’s Spire lit up creating the magical backdrop the Piece Hall gigs are renowned for. Fascination brings yet costume change, jacket off – Phil 4 – Girls 1 and after which we were treated to a somewhat 12” version of Don’t You Want Me to finish off the main set because, guess what…Yep another costume change, Phil 5 – Girls 1, Christ mate, even Kylie doesn’t change outfits this much per show!
Encore
Phil returned solo to the stage of debut single Being Boiled,oh and yes its now Phil 6 – Girls 1 before Electric Dreams ended the nights performance and It was a late Rallye as the girls put in a spectacular effort at the end, especially with Joanne’s Las Vegas Showgirl style headwear but the outfit score ended, Phil 6 – Girls 2…
So to summarise the day, it was an absolute scorcher. The crowd was by far the oldest I’ve seen at the venue which isn’t surprising considering The Human League started in the 70’s but the vibe was fantastic! Each act held their own, the evening was just wall to wall electronic bangers and not only did The Human League redeem themselves but blew me away with their performance, this night was one of the best times I’ve spent in the place and I’ve done quite a few, not just reviewing but for pleasure too!
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