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___
___ BEAT
MUSIC______
TEENAGE FANCLUB - OLYMPIA, DUBLIN (14.11.1997)
Teenage Fanclub's
Norman Blake walks more or less unnoticed onto the stage at the Olympia Theatre.
It's not until he straps on his guitar and is joined by the rest of the band
that most of the audience in the three-quarter-full venue catch on. Trying
to make up for their oversight they cheer a little too hard, creating an awkward
atmosphere that never quite goes away.
Not that
the fan club could be blamed for not recognising their not-so-teenage heroes.
Smart shirts, pants and stylish haircuts have replaced the leathers and long
hair of yesteryear. It's not only the music that has matured.
Formed in
1989, Glasgow's finest released two critically acclaimed albums and looked
all set for major success. However, their 1993 collection Thirteen bombed,
both with the music press and the record-buying public. The band soon disappeared,
and few people expected to see them again.
Two years
later, however, they did return, confounding their critics with the classic
Grand Prix album. This was recently followed by, the not quite as good but
better selling, Songs from Northern Britain. Both albums have helped Teenage
Fanclub re-established themselves as one of the UK's most respected outfits.
Tracks from
the two most recent collections, plus a brace from 1991's Bandwagonesque made
up the entire Olympia set (leading one to the conclusion that the band themselves
would rather forget Thirteen).
They would
possibly want to forget about tonight's performance too. Despite several moments
of complete and utter bliss - such as the brilliant harmonies of this Summer's
hit Aint That Enough, old favourites Starsign and The Concept, plus the magnificent
Neil Jung (surely the best piece of guitar heaven this side of eh', Neil Young)
- there were just too many sloppy moments.
Some songs
from the new album, particularly Your Love Is The Place Where I Come From,
were a complete mess, though they will undoubtedly improve as the tour continues.
As for Norman's continuous between-song banter, there's a lot to be said for
the silent approach!
The mood of the evening was best captured by the guy in the audience whose
shouted requests for Everything Flows became increasingly desperate, as he
slowly came to realise he was unlikely to hear his favourite song. He didn't
Tonight's performance was disappointing rather than bad. But when you make music as truly inspiring as Teenage Fanclub you have to be forgiven the odd off-night. To the crowd's credit, they tried their best to make up for the band's shortcomings. Unfortunately, they too were less than convincing!
John Prendergast ©1997