Weekly > Reviews
Doves - Carling Apollo, Manchester
So to Manchester, so much to answer for, according to The Smiths, to see Doves. Don’t know about you but I get a little bit giddy when travelling by train. This may be 1. I don’t use trains very often or 2. Because I’m probably going to be drinking, not really practical in the motor. Although, as Bernard Manning once said, nothing worse than having a smash when you’re stone cold sober . This is a joke by the way, well almost.
British Rail, or whatever its privatised successor is called, managed to dampen this enthusiasm (almost literally) pretty sharpish as there was nowhere to sit and a toilet door which wouldn’t shut. Couple of characters on the train (aren’t there always), a girl who was leaving work to become a Trolley Dolly and a train trolley dolly who turned out to be a crossword genius, once he’d grudgingly handed over 4 plastic glasses for a quick JD hip flask livener on the train.
Little did we know that the city of Manchester would soon be capable of such great beauty. Kiki Musampa’s last minute winner against Liverpool and then little Wayne Rooney setting up both Norwich’s goals later the same day. Nice one, once a ….always a….. And then they got sunk by dunc and one of Neville Neville’s kids comedy sending off. Oh why can’t it always be like that.
Anyway, er yeah, music. We were all really looking forward to seeing Doves and I think had all been pleasantly surprised how well their latest album Some Cities compared to their previous offering, the classic Last Broadcast
I like the Apollo and couldn’t wait to hear what [B[Pounding, which I would describe as Doves signature track, might sound like. Not long to wait, they played it first. It sounded good but I figured they may have wanted to save it until later. Doves don’t really seem to be like that though. Making a racket isn’t really their thing, mean, moody, magnificent is more their bag.
They were quickly into their stride with another Last Broadcast classic Words and followed this up with Almost Forgot Myself. For me, this is the best track from Some Cities and sounded really polished on the night. Regular readers will know that Some Cities is the only album owned by BBC Sport. So where had I heard this track recently, yep, the US Masters coverage on BBC2. Maybe I should write one of those why oh why oh why letters to Points of View if it’s still going. I also used to love the letters which started (always read out by a dead posh woman) Dear BBC, Football, Football, Football……
The lads seamlessly flicked between the old and the new with Sky Starts Falling, Where we’re Calling From and the totally brilliant New York.
My recollection of the exact playlist gets a bit hazy now but I do remember the new single Snowden. This is a great track, a real grower and is even more spooky and atmospheric live than it is on CD, which is still pretty spooky. The guitars sounded a little like Radiohead’s Street Spirit which, of course, can only be a good thing.
- Doves
- Carling Apollo, Manchester (6 April 2005)
- Category: Live
- Label: Heavenly Recordings
- Support: The Magic Numbers
- Reviewed by: Graham Cookson
- Published on: 28 May 2005
- Photography by: Jonathan Dumpleton
- Comments: 0
- Beat Surrender Rating:
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Add to favouritesA quick mention for the support band at this stage, The Magic Numbers. It’s a quick mention because I didn’t see them although I’ve heard they are dead good. That said, my non-attendance probably qualifies them to go on to be bigger than The Beatles and Jesus put together. I had a few near misses in my time, but the nah, I’m staying round the tent instead of seeing an up and coming band at Glastonbury was probably the worst. Ladies and gentlemen – Oasis.
Anyway, Doves rattled through the pleasing One Of These Days and then one of the stand out tracks of the night, the dreamy and hypnotic Satelite.
You really couldn’t fault the band but the set was probably a bit too mellow. There are not many bands where you can stand 3 from the front with no chance of spilling any of your pint. A big contrast to the mosh fest that was Primal Scream at the Apollo. In an attempt to liven things up we attempted to hoist the smallest of our group on to our shoulders and then onto the stage. He was the night’s only crowd surfer. I used to wonder what happened when someone hit the stage, answer, they just get re-cycled into the audience. So we sent him forward again, back into the audience, although this time with a yellow card. It was a good week for Lee, with his infamous no horse with single figure odds ever wins the National quote.
Rest of gig gets a bit sketchy but it ended on There Goes The Fear and this did get the crowd jumping. Great track, great finish. Melancholic but triumphant epic rock is how Doves have been described in some quarters. And this rousing finale lived up to the description perfectly.
So a good time was had by all. Strange climatic conditions continued as we heading home (after a seemingly endless wait for a cab) in sub zero temperatures.
So would I go and see Doves again, yeah. They are probably a bit too mellow to be perfect, you could almost imagine sitting down in a comfortable chair in a theatre, with a glass of wine, watching them and it still being enjoyable. Rock and roll? Well kind of, but definitely worth a look.
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