Seattle was fortunate enough to have Gavin Rossdale perform last week at Showbox Sodo to support the release of his first solo cd,Wanderlust. Rossdale, formerly of the British band Bush, has stayed true on this cd – it's perfectly crafted and there's nothing pretentious about it. The first single, Love Remains the Same, was a really sweet and tender song – and there is everything right with that. Frontline and Can't Stop the World were also extremely accessible. If I have to pick a favorite though I think This is Happiness has really cool emphatic guitar work in it. I like the lyrics in it too: pleasure comes in all disguises/to each their own their devices.

The aggressive Machinehead, off Bush's cd Sixteen Stone, started the show and my suspicion was right – that the songs Bush made do sound great live and they stand on their own. In total Bush released four cds – Rossdale gathered several songs off these cds and perfectly blended them with his newer material. This is a tricky thing for any performer to pull off. Everything Zen, Comedown and Glycerine also off Sixteen Stone sounded so fantastic – as did Swallowed off Razorblade Suitcase and The Chemicals Between Us from The Science of Things. Rossdale formed a band after Bush called Institute – and I was surprised and happy that he also did the songs Bullet Proof Skin and When Animals Attack off their cd, Distort Yourself.

Rossdale as a performer is very catlike – this is a good thing. He has an exuberance about him that is actually fun to be around while watching him onstage. So often I see his vocals described as a growl and though maybe that's a good way to describe them there's more to it than just snarling or gnarling or however you want to word growling. His voice has a richness to it that punctuates the lyrics and always sits just right with the music. Thursday's event was part of the Samsung AT&T Summer Krush and a large-scale tour is in the works for later this year. Wherever you can see him, go!

To see photos I took please click here.

The intensity of Nine Inch Nails' Trent Reznor is so strong you can really feel it radiate through a gigantic stadium, and that is a gift. This intensity even poked through an awe-inspiring and strange electrical curtain used through much of the show.

Reznor has composed – and I use this word on purpose instead of written – essentially classical and terror-laden songs of pain and beauty. Listen to Downward Spiral and notice the leitmotiv that Closer carries. Go back to Pretty Hate Machine, one of the best albums ever as far as I am concerned, and feel what the songs convey. Pretty Hate Machine came out in 1989 and has absolutely maintained its relevancy and importance – as has Nine Inch Nails. If, for whatever silly reason, you stopped listening after the debut you've missed a lot.

The vocals were the clearest I have ever heard at a concert. You could hear every word no matter how loud the instruments were. Reznor's delivery was aggressive and brutal – at other times a whisper – and he managed to get every single line across with his body as well. Several times he stood with his arms outstretched and also raced across the large stage with a bold energy. I remember watching him walk from the back of the stage to the microphone as Closer began, then drop to his knees, then begin singing the opening line while pulling himself up by the microphone. This seemed so intricate and yet so simple – but the opening lyric is You let me violate you, you let me desecrate you and his emphasis in the lyric I want to fuck you like an animal was so strenuous.

Other standouts of the 2 hour set for me were The Warning,The Beginning of the End and The Good Soldiers, tracks from 2007's Year Zero as well as With Teeth's Only and The Hand That Feeds. March of the Pigs from Downward Spiral was appropriately violent – as was Wish from Broken, and Head Like a Hole and Terrible Lie off Pretty Hate Machine were superb. They changed the beat somehow in Head Like a Hole, or maybe it just sounded different so loud, but Josh Freese's drumming was really amazing. Nearly everybody sang along with Hurt – and that is something to hear. I enjoyed hearing men yelling for Trent throughout the show. The material off The Slip starting off the show, 999,999,1,000,000,Letting You and Discipline confirm there's still greatness on its way.

The stage itself used what appeared to be chains or glass rods (I am not sure how they did this) that showed changing scenes – my favorite was a beautiful bamboo garden during the Ghosts and Piggy section. I also liked the warped live video footage of Reznor singing. He's backed himself up with an elegant group of musicians, including Alessandro Cortini on synth, Josh Freese on drums,Ima Robot's Justin Meldal-Johnsen on bass and the return of Robin Finck on guitar. They were all compelling – that's rare.

I have had a major soft spot for Judas Priest ever since I saw the videos for Heading Out to the Highway and You've Got Another Thing Coming – they are one of the few bands I would describe as majestic. Their music, enormous and powerful, crosses over into varied tastes. People who don't even like metal embrace the instantly recognizable and distinctive Judas Priest.

I think the affection I have for this band stems from several things: Singer Rob Halford has one of my very favorite rock voices plus the guitar playing of both Glenn Tipton and K.K. Downing just knock my socks off. Another big bonus for me has always been the look of this band. Quite apart from their music being so unusual, they created an entirely new appearance. I might be wrong on this but I think they brought the whole leather and biker thing to the forefront of music. And they're still doing it and doing it so well.

The material off the new cd Nostradamus sounds fantastic. Prophecy and Death were stunners. But they didn't disappoint with their impressive catalog either. Everything from Electric Eye, Breaking the Law and Eat Me Alive were gruesome fun live and Halford came out on a motorcycle for Hell Bent for Leather. Green Manalishi was so beautiful and really a special moment. They closed with You've Got Another Thing Coming, a song that's really difficult to describe just how meaningful it is to me. It's so perfect.

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To check out more of my Judas Priest photos visit: page 1: & page 2

I saw Your Vegas open for the Bravery in January. Right away I loved their sound and as a photographer it really is great to see this band - they are all stunners. Fortunately they actually sound great too - their debut cd, A Town and Two Cities is a brilliant mix of instantly gratifying tunes and elegant songwriting. I talked with singer and lyricist Coyle Girelli last week. Though he lives in New York, I can tell Girelli has a love of his hometown. He's also got a fascination with sharks - I would say probably because he's cool like one.

Q: You're originally from Otley?

CG: Yeah, that's right - outside Leeds in the Yorkshire Dales.

Q: They shoot Emmerdale there?

CG: Yeah - you did some research. They shoot Emmerdale and another program called Heartbeat there as well.

Q: I've seen a little bit of both of those shows.

CG: You can sort of get the vibe from them.

Q: So it's pretty small?

CG: It's pretty small - a lot of sheep, a lot of hills - not very much else.

Q: Sheep are cool.

CG: Sheep are cool - chilled out.

Q: Are you aware that there are a lot morris dance teams in Otley?

CG: Yeah, definitely. Whenever there's a festival they put the maypoles up and the Morris dancers come out with their faces painted and bells around their ankles.

Q: They're pretty incredible.

CG: They're pretty incredible. They're scary to be honest - some of their face paint is scary, really freaky. There's also a day called Victorian Day, which is in the second week of December every year. It's a day where the entire town, for whatever reason, dresses in Victorian clothes - including the police, hospital staff and everybody. The children put fake coal dust on their faces and wear shorts and little caps. Very strange. It's a strange town - something in the water's not quite right.

Q: Kind of like League of Gentlemen?

CG: Exactly. You don't know what's in the meat in the butcher's.

Q: You've written children's books?

CG: Yeah, I am actually talking to a few publishers about them. I think I'll use another name. They're very strange, about flying lips. Very trippy. They're quite cool for kids. I have a little sister, who's four now - that's where that came from.

Q: What do you like listening to?

CG:. Springsteen, Dylan, Tom Petty, U2 and Jackson Browne - Simple Minds and Depeche Mode. There are phases, I guess. I went to Graceland in Memphis so I think I'm about to start an Elvis phase.

Q: I haven't been to Graceland.

CG: It was amazing actually. You imagine someone like Elvis living in a palace, but it really wasn't - it was just a house. It feels really lived in - it's not too big. It still looks as it did. You can feel Elvis in the building. You can't go to Memphis without seeing Graceland.

Q: You're finishing up your second leg of the tour with the Bravery?

CG: Yeah, we finished in February and they took us out with them again, which was quite nice. We've been on the road with them for like four months. We've been everywhere - amazing scenery. Very cool first tour of America, great crowds as well.

Q: I saw you guys at Neumos in Seattle.

CG: That was our very first gig of our very first (American) tour. We were all really nervous.

Q: It was an amazing show though. I saw some history.

CG: Thank you very much. We got very lucky with the weather in Seattle. We were there for two days and it was gorgeous sun the whole time.

Q: We just tell people the weather's bad.

CG: To scare people away?

Q: Yeah.

Q: Where'd you come up with the line Like Cats Lying in the Sun?

CG: I was brought up with five cats so . . . there are a couple songs with cats actually. I've had cats all my life so I'm used to seeing cats lounging around. I'm a cat person.

Q: Good! Do you have a cat now?

CG: My mum has three of the cats left that I grew up with. Long distance cats. I have a long distance relationship with my cats.

Q: Speaking of long distance - why did you move to New York and not, say London?

CG: We were at crossroads in the UK. We needed a label to release our record. We were on an indie and it didn't have the backing to properly release our record. I popped over (to NY) with an acoustic guitar and a load of demos and that was it. It happened pretty quickly - I bumped into a couple people who became our lawyers and that was it. It was pretty much done after that.

Q: Wow.

CG: The rest of the guys came over and we got an apartment. We've been there ever since.

Q: What's been one of your favorite shows so far?

CG: We had a really great one in Ventura the other night. We've really started to have a lot of people in the crowd that are there to see us. People sing along to the songs.

Q: I saw the video of In My Head that just came out. How did that come about?

CG: It's our very first proper video and we wanted it to be almost an introduction to the band. So people can see what everybody does and see what we're about. We wanted to keep it quite simple and quite basic - to give it a classic feel with the black and white imagery - a Beatles Help type vibe. We're not trying to be weird with our videos.

Q: It's very crisp.

CG: Thank you.

Q: Is the US how you pictured it being?

CG: We've been very warmly received. Americans like our accents, which is nice. Who would have thought?

Q: It's true. We love British accents.

CG: New York's an amazing place - I could walk around there for hours and feel very at ease and at home. The country is unbelievable - the scenery we've seen, it's ridiculous. The last drive from LA to Colorado (was) like being on Mars in some places. Canyons.

Q: Have you seen any sandstorms?

CG: No, we've seen the odd tornado - not massive ones.

Q: What's your favorite drink?

CG: As in alcoholic drink? My liquor of choice is tequila. I quite like red wine. Whiskey makes me feel sick but I am starting to drink whiskey - which is worrying. I like Vodka. Everything is the answer to that. I usually order a beer but then I get full. Vodka and cranberry juice? I know it's quite girly.

Q: That's good. I think Vodka and Cranberry is actually good for you, too.

CG: Might as well balance it out with a little vitamin c.

Q: What's an item of clothing you have to have with you?

CG: My black leather jacket. I haven't played a show yet in America without it on. I guess that. I'm scared now - I'm superstitious so I'm probably going to be wearing it for the rest of my life.

Q: I read you like watching documentaries - nature shows, shark week?

CG: I'm obsessed pretty much. The History Channel and the Discovery Channel are the most watched channels in the hotel room. I have a shark obsession. I think I was either killed by one in a previous life or will be killed by one in this one. It's a weird obsession I have with sharks. It's a primeval thing.

Q: They are amazing. They keep moving don't they?

CG: They're the perfect predator. My fear of them is quite irrational - in fact it's completely irrational. A gym I used to go to had a pool with metal bars (inside it). A few times I had to get out of the pool because I'd gotten it into my head that the bars would lift up and a shark was going to come out - like a James Bond thing.

Q: You never know.

CG: I can't go into the sea because of it. I also watch every program there is with sharks in it. I love the Great White. Then there's the mako shark - a nasty piece of work.

Q: They're the ones that attack for no reason?

CG: Yeah, they're crazy. Bull sharks are pretty crazy as well. They can swim up river. Their gills can take in salt water and fresh water. I think that's where Jaws comes from - a story about a Bull shark that swam upriver and ate people in the early 1900s.

Q: That's one the best movies ever.

CG: I mean the shark looks ridiculous but if you can get beyond that . . . It's pretty awesome. When I was a little kid I used to have a toy shark and I'd put a red (felt tip) in the tub so the water would go red. Kids are weird aren't they?

Q: Your parents must have been worried.

CG: Yeah, I was a weird kid.

Q: Have you seen Survivorman?

CG: Is that the guy that they drop in the middle of nowhere and he has to find his way out?

Q: Yeah.

CG: He's awesome. There's an English guy but he's got a camera crew - that's cheating. I prefer the American one - he's hardcore.

Q: Your worst-case scenario would be being left out in the water?

CG: With sharks. Have you seen the film Open Water? It's a low budget film - a true story actually. They go scuba diving in the Caribbean but the boat leaves a couple behind. They both get eaten by sharks. They were really unlikeable characters so you weren't that fussed when they get eaten. They were just arguing and bickering. They weren't very nice. We played a couple dates with a band called Civil Twilight, from Cape Town. Obviously my first question was Cape Town? Shark Alley? And they were like we used to go surfing out there. You're crazy, there are great white sharks eating seals - and they were like yeah my friend got killed by a shark . . .

Q: And they'd still go out there?

CG: Yeah, the thing is it's not the shark's fault. He thinks it's a seal. If you make yourself up to look like a seal . . . It's like people with pet tigers and they get attacked. Same sort of thing. I have no sympathy.

Q: And then they go and kill the animal for doing it.

CG: It's not the shark's fault. Shark Week - I'm just gone. You don't see me for a week. We were mixing our record during Shark Week.

Your Vegas will start their tour in support of Duran Duran April 29th in Vancouver, Canada. Until then you can see them with the Bravery. And here is the video for In My Headand I got a few pix of them last time round - more on their way:Your Vegas at Neumos
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-This review originally appeared on my Seattle PI Blog, Beat Back.-

-This review originally appeared on my Seattle PI Blog, Beat Back.-

Wanderlust, Gavin Rossdale's first solo album, has just hit stores. This is good news for all Bush fans - I really think if you like Bush you will love this cd. And if you don't like Bush perhaps there is no hope for you - but you just might like this cd instead.

Rossdale took some time to talk with me before his show in Seattle. He played a show as part of Samsung Summer Krush and it was a great runup to a planned fall tour. I was struck by how intelligent and modest he is. He's never taken a break from music since Bush began and has ventured into acting as well. He's a very busy man.
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Q: Are you interested in doing more acting at some point?

Gavin Rossdale: I don't know. Everything is so great with the record that you've got to enjoy doing the record and playing and concentrating on the music. It's kind of sod's law that it probably will mean that because I am so busy with music that something will come along that's interesting.

Q: Did you feel like had more control on the solo album?

G.R.: I don't want to say this in the wrong way but, no. When you come from bands, especially if you write the songs in the band. We had a rule in Bush, if you loved something it would win out, you could even convince the other three. Since I'm such an emotional person I could often win out. A bit of a cheeky democracy really. It worked the other way too, if someone really felt something, we'd all go, okay. We'd choose our battles. All that kind of electronic stuff - the band hated all of that. I was always interested in trying to progress it. My biggest mistake throughout my career was trying to move forward. I think if you have something successful you should repeat it, just do the same songs in a different order. It's always been my downfall and maybe if I reflect on it sometimes you don't understand what the nature of your success is. With rock music I was always more interested in being a band on Touch and Go rather than being on a major label, which is ironic. When that went a bit belly up (signing to Atlantic) it was like . . . I'm not signed to Matador.

Q: What's some of your favorite work from Bush?

G.R.: I think every album would have a few songs that I would love to have another go at, that I could improve. Every record has certain moments that I think I are really interesting and I'm really proud of. It just depends. It depends on how you view music and how you view things you make. If you view things you make based upon their success then maybe you'd look at your hit singles and say that's the best thing I ever did. But for me it was what I felt most excited about driving away from the studio and listening to. There's one song, Communicator, which is on Razorblade Suitcase, which the band really never liked so they would never play it live. I always loved it. I was so happy with the riff - I just thought it was really underrated. Science of Things was a record I really liked - there's a song called Land of the Living, off Golden State . . . there are songs everywhere . . . English Fire, which I did on Science of Things. We played it one time in London. It's not really complex but it's a quite demanding song, and I remember our manager saying to me afterwards - we were playing a few nights in London, because we were very successful there, contrary to popular folklore - and he goes, English Fire, maybe don't play that one tomorrow night. Give the audience a break. And I was like, I fucking love that track. I don't choose the singles - I get everything wrong. I played that song for Tom Morello one time and he said if he ran (the) label that would be the single. I was like, yeah! On this record I really felt like every where my voice should go in, it went . . . I felt really connected to the songs and there are certain songs where I've felt like that throughout my career. There are other songs I play where I'm like, why didn't I rework that lyric? It's annoying. . . . I heard that Kerouac said something about first thought, best thought. I'm sure it worked for him. I never used to be into that. I do go through the words quite a bit. There are certain songs throughout my career where I know I could do a better lyric if I'd had a bit of more time with it, but I was into that whole stream of consciousness stuff so I didn't want to betray that redundant idea.

Q: I've always liked your lyrics.

G.R.: Thank you.

Q: You started writing on a bass guitar?

G.R.: Yeah, it was the first instrument that I played. My sister's boyfriend gave me a bass. I didn't have an amp or anything, it was just kind of fun because growing up I thought Sid Vicious was cool. My Way. . . stab your girlfriend . . . die of a heroin overdose, it's cool. Firework life.

Q: Was that some of the first music you listened to?

G.R.: In my house my mum had about four records: Queen, Roberta Flack, Abba, and Carole King - on permanent rotation.

Q: That's an interesting mix.

G.R.: Yeah it was really nice. Roberta Flack - those records had some of the best musicians ever, the smoothest musicians. And Abba - fantastic pop music. Queen, you know, great drama - and Carole King, sort of introspective. So it was a really weird four pieces. I probably know their music pretty good without realizing that I do. If you put it on I could probably start singing it, like an out of body experience. And of course the whole punk thing was really exciting. It was the clearest defining era of antiestablishment, anti-authority, anti-parent . . . that was the perfect music for youth.

Q: How did your father select the name Rossdale?

G.R.: I think it was originally Rosenthal - it was Russian/Jew. My family is Russian/Jewish on my father's side and my mother's side is Scottish. And it's weird because the Scottish really don't like the English - I'm half English and half Scottish. I'm such a mass of contradictions, it's no wonder that I slightly overthink things and I'm slightly paranoid.

Q: Some paranoia is good.

G.R.: It keeps you nimble, keeps you looking over your shoulder. You rarely get self-satisfied, that's for sure. Every time I think anything positive, something in me tells me something else. I don't even know what the word is - self-cynical? For every action there's a reaction.

Q: Do you ever think about studying Judaism?

G.R.: No, I have an entirely different mindset. There are so many books that I want to read and so many films that I want to see . . . there's so much to learn and so much to think about without going into a study of faith. I'd rather read Richard Dawkins. I like Buddhism. I like lifestyle systems more than faith-based systems. I do love the theater of faith. I think places of worship are beautiful, absolutely.

Q: What do you remember about making the video for Glycerine? It's such a beautiful video.

G.R.: It was strange because I didn't know much about doing videos. All I remember about doing that video - which was the same when recording the song - was no drums - it's so weird. So doing the video it was kind of like the band sat in the trailer for most of the day. It was the first taste of the separation between us because they're not strictly on it. There's guitar from Nigel[Pulsford] but that's about it. I love that song. I remember playing it for them for the first time in London actually and I remember them talking over it and I was like, I think this song's got something. For me it was a great song for us. I always remember it as their beer and cigarettes time. As soon as I'd start singing there'd be plumes of smoke from the stacks. Time off. Do Glycerine, play it twice. English people are very cynical. I was in a very funny band - funny for humor.

Q: I read that you like to cook. What do you cook?

G.R.: Probably a combination of English and Italian. I'm all about the ingredients. I seem to have a knack for it. Miles Davis said every musician should be able to cook because it's a combination of things. I don't do that much outside of music and hanging out with people I like and I think eating together is really convivial. Whenever I made records I would always make everyone eat together. You break bread and you drink wine together, it's a very unifying process. From a really young age, when I started living on my own in flats with lots of friends, I'd always have loads of people over for dinner before you go out. It's a really good way of starting the night. It's got kind of a bourgeois idea to it but it's cool when you break bread and drink wine - it takes the bourgeois out of it.

Q: What do you see of yourself in your son, Kingston?

G.R.: Individuality. He doesn't want that much help - he'll tell you when he wants help. You can't interrupt him. If he's in a process or if he's on his way somewhere he doesn't want you to crowd him, which I totally relate to. He likes people, he really enjoys it when people come around. He's very social. He likes girls. One of my favorite things is him coming to the shows. I never thought about being at a show with him. It's just such a shock, even two years in, to have a child and be responsible for him. He came to Del Mar - I played at this sort of racetrack - he'd seen the show in LA and he got really upset when he saw me onstage. He couldn't understand why he couldn't come on the stage. He was running around while I was doing soundcheck and he came on the stage so I could hold him. Then when I played the show he was on the side of the stage, and his foot was going in time to the music. It's shocking, he's got really good rhythm. He was in a group of about 20 people on the side of the stage and every time a song would end (there were like 10,000 people there) he would bow.

Q: That is so cute.

G.R.: No one taught him that. It's been really great playing again. I am so looking forward to coming to Seattle again. Obviously there's clear history for me, the whole connection of rock music from Seattle and when I first played there, I think it was Mo's or something, and it felt (like I was) in the backyard of where the music was at. When I first played there I thought is this going to be really difficult? It was amazing. I remember the show. I remember getting super trashed the night before. I was taken out by the label and for the first time I drank - and I think the last time - 50-year-old whiskey. I couldn't even see straight. I was so done in and I was trying to play this show, and I was trying to be good and was so nervous but I got a really warm welcome. Then I did some recording up there in Seattle at Robert Lang Studios. He's got a regular house - this was when it was being built so Lord knows what it's like now - but he had trucks of dirt at his house and he built down into the mountains. He was like Dr. No.
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Click here to read my review of Rossdale's show and here for photos.

-This review originally appeared on my Seattle PI Blog, Beat Back.-

Alison Goldfrapp is a goddess. She has done it again and released a super sexy cd with her co-composer Will Gregory. Goldfrapp's is as surreal as it is consoling with dreamy tunes and cool vibes.

Starting off with Clowns - complete with bird sounds and easing into the fairy tale of Little Bird - Seventh Tree recalls their Felt Mountain. This is a good thing. I really love all tracks on this cd - Happiness has an oompah beat and the vocals are breathy and sexy. Eat Yourself is melodic and hauntingly sad; A&E is a key track - a paean from a mental ward and I just think the concept is brilliant. It even has frog croak noises in it. Perhaps the real center of the cd is Cologne Cerrone Houdini. I am not the only one who has long-hoped that Goldfrapp will snag the next James Bond theme. It is a high honor and I think this track in particular of almost anything they have done screams the Broccoli people need to sign this band up. Fast. Her voice will make the difficult title of Quantum of Solace hot.

It's a cleverly put together cd ending with a poppy Caravan Girl and the love song Monster Love. I am always amazed by how Goldfrapp brings strange sounds together and makes them even more different than I can expect.

Check out the video for A&E and photos I took of Goldfrapp at the Showbox.

Last night I saw a band called Switches. Here's their myspace page:
Switches on Myspace. Now, maybe I am partial to great music and cute British boys. I don't know. But they were great and no one here in the cowtown that can be Seattle knew about them. If you live in Los Angeles though you have two chances to see them next week. Bastards. Pix and interview soon.

It's been a good music week in part because I got this: the new She Wants Revenge song:
Written in Blood
Sounding cruel and moody.

First thing I am going to say about Jet is that their second cd, Shine On , is brilliant. Second thing is that they are fantastic to see live. The new songs blended in seamlessly with the older ones – this does not always happen with bands.

Lead singer and guitarist Nic Cester is a star who knows how to involve an audience. Cester walked around in the audience twice, and the band seems even musically closer since the last time I saw them when they opened for Oasis . Mark Wilson is a fantastic bassist, Cameron Muncey is what I would describe as a cool, calm and collected guitarist, and drummer Chris Cester is an original.

I have many favorite Jet songs. Cold Hard Bitch still sounds fresh and dirty. Their new song Rip It Up is luscious; Take It Or Leave It is just super, and Look What You’ve Done Look What You’ve Done . . . is so touching.

To see more of my Jet photos, click here


Jet's Nic Cester, Seattle 2006

Angels and Airwaves, formed by singer and guitarist Tom DeLonge , put on an energetic and passionate performance. This was their first visit to Seattle and I will see them anywhere, anytime they return.

DeLonge has a gorgeous stage presence with amazingly unique body positions – truly great to watch. Their songs were generously appealing and DeLonge, in a black militaristic outfit, reached out to everyone in the large arena. I am never one to underestimate the effect of lighting as well, and this set had absolutely stunning lighting.

All songs sounded great, but Do It For Me Now , Valkyrie Missile , and particularly Distraction were especially intense. Distraction is perfection.

Click here for more AVA photos.

Tom DeLonge, Seattle 2006

Goldfrapp’s following in Seattle is tremendous. The fans not only sold out the show, they came dressed up and ready to dance. Goldfrapp knows how to create and sustain a sexy mood and Alison Goldfrapp appears a bit like an indifferent dominatrix in the best way meant. Watching her up close - hearing as well as seeing, yes I said seeing - that voice come out - it’s all kinds of beauty and colour.

More artists should do as Goldfrapp chose to do that night - be the only band. No openers, no filler, none of that. Just what people came to see and hear. I got the feeling that the audience would have been insulted by any opening act, that they wanted Goldfrapp and they wanted no other. It’s electronic, it’s got a chanteuse, it’s a rock band . . . it’s many things.

Singer/Composer Alison Goldfrapp really was in superb, slender form, dressed in a black zip up cat suit and black heels tied to her small feet. I could say something silly about her tininess belying her large persona . . . but that’s kind of cliche. Though she is a sleek and precious picture for sure. Her voice filled the Showbox smoothly and the band kept up throbbing and loving beats. She did that thing she does of playing her portable theremin between her legs. Strict Machine, Number One and White Horse were favorites of mine and I found some space to dance. Which brings me back to the dancing. Most of the audience was dancing - many like it was a huge disco floor, though yeah some of us tapped our toes. This was a great thing to see and rare to see at any concert.