| delirious?
Brixton Academy, London. 9th May 1998 By James Stewart "We'd just like to welcome all those from the industry who are here tonight." Probably not the most subtle of comments that Martin Smith, lead singer with delirious?, could have made, but certainly a testament to the growing interest in this band from all areas of the British music industry. This was delirious?'s second proper UK tour -- they'd previously played a huge number of one off-dates across the country, but after the success of King of Fools and its related singles, they decided that it was time to take a more professional approach and organize tours of some of the country's finest venues. Brixton Academy is certainly one of those, having played host to a huge range of bands (most big acts have played there at some time or another). The venue sold out almost two months before the concert, and the atmosphere was electric. Unfortunately, that excitement meant that there were a lot of people talking through the support act, a woman called Cathy Burton (a member of a band called Blueberry) playing solo acoustic. That was a real shame; Cathy had a great, emotive voice, and while the guitar parts she played weren't much competition for her voice, in a smaller venue she probably would have been a most engaging performer. She carried her set off with good humor and tolerance, and I will definitely be seeking out Blueberry's EP. The audience changed focus as soon as delirious? took the stage. They had a confidence and a level of showmanship which made it difficult to tear my eyes away from the stage. They used the huge video screen behind them to good effect -- with the music videos for the singles, shots of the band, the odd cartoon and other graphics, and at one point, the view from a video camera attached to Martin's microphone. Overall, both the stage show and the music were extremely reminiscent of U2, especially their Joshua Tree era. When in good form, delirious? are a tight outfit, and they were in good form this evening. Martin's vocals were probably the weakest part of the whole -- cracking at the end of "Heaven" -- but it was a thoroughly entertaining show. Most of the band's most popular tunes were played, majoring on King of Fools material. They brought out a sofa at one point to play a couple of stripped-down numbers -- the highlight of the evening for me was probably when Martin was left alone on the stage to perform "Lord, You Have My Heart," and the whole place (well over 2,000 people) joined him, singing harmonies, as well as the melody. It was a great tribute to where delirious? have come from, and the God who has guided them. The one new song of the evening was "Heaven" (although "Touch," and "Summer of Love" have so far only appeared as b-sides on the Deeper re-release). This takes the band into new territory -- it opens with an almost techno-rock sound, with the electronic beat strong throughout. When the band left the stage, a huge sheet descended from the ceiling. They hadn't yet played "Deeper," so it was obvious to me that they would return. Return they did, and played silhouetted behind the curtain until halfway through the first song of the encore when it fell to the ground. There were weaknesses, and the sound wasn't groundbreaking, but the show as a whole certainly made for an entertaining evening. Set list (not in order)
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