The Shelter - 13/9/02, Detroit

Imacolata  (imacolatarules@hotmail.com)



oh man oh man oh man. What a great fucking show. What an incredible 
amazing show. What a super duper hell of a show.

The entire band had me entranced for the duration. I didn't want to 
talk to anyone, I didn't want to even know what time it was ...
I just wanted the band to play and play and play.

Martin was very witty and very fluid. He moves like water. When he 
sang, you felt the words he was singing were more than just 
words..he felt them, believed them, ,believed what he said was true. 
You would swear at some points, he was even crying. He looks at the 
microphone as an extension of his soul, looking, staring and smiling 
at it as if its a lover. He's coy, sticking his tounge out in 
playfullness. 

During a brief pause in between songs, you could hear the THUMP 
THUMP THUMP of the band upstairs and he was mock shooting a rifle 
through the ceiling...something about "the youth with their smelly 
hooded sweaters and their free spirits." He made himself laugh. He 
had fun. 

He mentioned that he was glad there was a bit of a space between the 
crowd and the stage (people were standing a bit back from the 
stage...if you were ever at the Shelter, you'd know the stage is 
almost level with the floor) ..and stated that he's spent a long 
time on the bus without a shower and "yes, even this queen poops." 
Much laughter.

He swivled his hips. With each thrust a shockwave of incredible 
sexuality burst through the crowd. After one particularly poignant 
song, during which he was looking very sad and hurt, he said "ah, 
I've just remembered why I've written that song, which I don't often 
do" or some such. It's so easy to love each song even more, when you 
know he loves them too. They're not bullshit words that sound good 
to the music.

The music.
It's so incredible to go to a concert and experience the song as it 
is on the cd. I'm not talking note for note replication of their 
cds, but they play live how they sound recorded. They are not a mock 
band ..built through creative use of synthesizers and digitizing. 
They are true. Even though it was loud, in the tiny basement 
called "The Shelter", they were pure. They were themselves. They 
were brilliant.

Martin and the band were in very good spirits, smiling and having a 
good time...even though the crowd was 1/4 the size that they are, 
I'm sure, used to. 

Before they came on stage, I was watching the stage manager guy set 
out the playlists. Oh how I needed one!!! They were handwritten! 
But, anyway, for your perusal here's the setlist:


1. For the Dead 
2. Never Walk Again 
3. Walking in the Shallows 
4. Haunted By You 
5. Yours For The Taking 
6. Speak To Me Someone 
7. Let Me Move On 
8. British Disease 
9. Georgia to Osaka 
10. We Could Be Kings 
11. Olympian 
12. Be My Light 
encore: Where are they now 
London, can you wait... 


I don't think I'll ever be at a more magical show in my life. I 
completely forgot my surroundings, nearly cried at two points and 
just fell 100 percent head over heels in love with the band. (if 
that was even more possible) It was beautiful. 

:)


www.lewisslade.com/genemusic