Thursday 25th May 06 - The Beautiful South at The City Hall with support from Aberfeldy (2/3) By Michelle Dee Photographs by Matt Rudd

(1/3), (2/3), (3/3).

Aberfeldy; a very attractive band with a lot to offer the listener. The lead singer and guitarist implied that the City Hall was perhaps too larger venue for them to play preferring the more intimate settings of the Adelphi and similar venues. Apart from the bass player being left out on the right wing somewhat I thought they filled the stage well.

They were warmly received by the capacity crowd and I look forward to hearing the forthcoming album.

As the lights went down for the second time, I sensed an air of excitement and anticipation as the tension in the audience reached breaking point. The Beautiful South walked on to an upbeat number that sounded to me like the music for a Kan Kan dance. The roar from the crowd grew to an excited crescendo. The stage was lit with differing spotlights that danced and shone on the audience.

The band opened with The Rose Of My Cologne the first track from Superbi. I'm afraid that as soon as TBS started to play I was transfixed throughout so without the aid of a set list I have no idea as to all the songs they played or the order they appeared. I remember that they moved into the earlier material pretty soon.

Paul adlibbed to the crowd saying sorry I didn't phone, half apologising for having left it so long since the last visit to Hull. He then launched into Song For Whoever and all the crowd sang along. Old and young, male and female voices all singing the hit song from the debut album Welcome to The Beautiful South from way back in 1989. Throughout the show, and it's only fair to call it a show, it was so much more than the gigs I usually cover, the atmosphere was warm, friendly and a real feeling of great passion and devotion to TBS spread through the hall. Yes you always get the die hard fans who have learned every little thing there is to know about the band, have the lyrics of every song committed to memory, and never miss a performance. Every band has these kinds of admirers.

But The Beautiful South's music is so much part of many persons life soundtrack. I was thirteen when I first heard of them and immediately liked them because I could hear the words and sing along. In particular I remember listening to Sail This Ship Alone at gone midnight under the duvet with the headphones on. And that's the thing everyone in that audience will have a special memory somehow connected to a certain TBS song. The brass section added to the atmosphere, high on the raised section of the stage bringing a big band feel especially on The Next Verse also from Superbi.

This was one of the numbers I had seen being carefully rehearsed that evening in particular the transition into the hand clapping at the end of the last verse. The band had practiced it three or four times to get it just right for the night, and tonight the horns combined with the clapping to great effect. I think it was at this moment I turned to my friend and said this is really special and it was.

Continued..... Next Page (3/3)

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