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Jason Pierce definitely ain’t a people person. His ex-partner in Spacemen 3, Sonic Boom, famously labelled him a "conniving cunt" in a Melody Maker interview, and his bloodthirsty hiring and firing policy rivals The Fall’s Mark E. Smith. He plays, sat down, back to the audience, with an almost contemptuous air, like a modern-day Miles Davis. Standard behaviour for the 21st century visionary rock poet, you might think, but I’ve always thought that Pierce’s vision doesn’t stretch quite far enough for him to get away with it. His genius has been too intermittent over the years to convince me that he is anything more than a competent revivalist with a ruthless streak.
I’ve seen Spiritualized twice before, and on both occasions they bored me to tears. I say to tears, because I genuinely love much of Pierce’s music, and to see it rendered with such lifeless disregard felt like an insult. The critical salivation which occurs in the rock press every time Pierce straps on a Telecaster convinced me that I would have an epiphanic experience, which never materialised.
My feelings before the show, then, were fairly ambivalent. Three strikes and your out, Pierce, I was thinking. A fiery opening run through 'Electricity' allayed some of this fear, but when the thunder-rolls of feedback which engulfed the song’s climax broke suddenly, like sunshine through the storm-clouds, into the beautiful slide refrain of 'Shine a Light', a shiver went down my spine. That Spiritualized feeling had finally arrived.
The show was a dynamic, rock’n’roll masterpiece. The three-guitar attack was awesome, the perfect formula for Pierce’s unique garage-gospel. Crucially, the new line-up look, feel and sound like a real band, not just a gang of hired hands. Old songs (including a spirited run through Spacemen classic 'Walkin’ With Jesus') were re-aligned to fit the new blueprint, and sat comfortably alongside the fierce material from the recent 'Amazing Grace' album. A laidback, almost funky take on 'I Think I’m in Love' actually had people dancing! At a Spiritualized show! Jason still didn’t move a muscle, of course.
In a non-stop show lasting more than two hours, the hits just kept coming. 'Let it Flow' had me grinning like a maniac, and 'Broken Heart' was gorgeous. One of the best songs about getting dumped ever, the removal of the melodramatic string arrangement brought out the understated desperation of the lyric ("Though I have a broken heart/I'm too busy to be heart broken"). If I could write a song that good, getting dumped would feel like a small price to pay.
Ultimately, the highlight took us right back. I don’t think I’ve ever heard 'Take Your Time' played better. Pierce has relentlessly revisited and reshaped the song throughout Spiritualized’s long life (the track originally came out on 'Lazer Guided Melodies' in 1992). "You know I’ve been thinking ‘bout not coming down," a phrase he’s repeated so many times in the last twelve years, never sounded more terrifyingly real as it did tonight. Consider me back on board, Spaceman. I’m sorry I ever doubted you.
