| About Rish... | A Nottingham boy, I went to my first match at Wembley to see Jemmo knock in the winning goal against Oldham in 1990, and have held a season ticket for all except two seasons (when I was living away from Nottingham) since 1992. I sit in the Upper Trent End, with my brother. Cut me open and I bleed red and white! |
This gig was one of the most magical I have been to. Faithless are not my favourite band, for many years I could take them or leave them. But there is no doubting that songs such as "Insomnia" created a blueprint for a whole new type of dance anthem that has never been recreated by anyone else. Armed with their unique sound, the band took to the stage, comprising of Maxi Jazz on vocals, Sister Bliss on keyboards, plus a guitarist, bass player, drums and extra percussion, with two additional vocalists popping on every so often. The band started with a short instrumental, before Maxi came on and they launched into "Insomnia". The crowd went mental – the sound of several thousand people shouting "I can’t get no sleep" has to be heard to be believed. Although the band were excellent, and all the musicians were fantastic (especially the drummer and guitarist), the real star of the show was Maxi Jazz. I don't think I have ever seen such a charismatic frontman in the flesh. That guy really knows how to work a crowd. And although backing singer LSK made a decent effort, it just wasn't the same when he was doing lead vocals and Maxi was off the stage. Unfortunately it wasn't all plain sailing this evening. Firstly, support band Crazy P were very disappointing. They put in some effort, but their songs were forgettable, derivative and unoriginal (culminating in a clichéd and poor cover of "U got the love"). Secondly, is it possible to go to a gig without some drunken bloke threatening to ruin the evening? The guy behind us first fell over his seat and almost sent my girlfriend flying into the row in front, and then did it again, this time sending my friend's shins into the seats in front. What an idiot – to do it once was stupid, to do it again ridiculous, to not even offer an apology was unforgivable. But we realised that there was no point confronting him about it, as none of us had any desire to get involved in a punch-up. Anyway, back to the main event: I had always said that Faithless would make a really good "Greatest Hits" band, and the big hits were undoubtedly the real crowd-pleasers. Highlights were "Insomnia", "God is a DJ", a powerful rendition of "Bring my family back" (with some incredible drumming), and "We come 1". It is worth mentioning that the latter was just an incredible experience. Maxi would shout "We come…", and the lights would illuminate the crowd, just as we all lifted our fingers in the air, and scream "ONE!" I have been to a lot of very enjoyable gigs, and seen some great bands (Radiohead and REM spring to mind), but I have never seen crowd interaction on this level (it reminded me of Queen doing "Radio Ga-Ga"). Nor have I seen a frontman with as much presence as Maxi Jazz; it is a big stage at the Arena, but he seemed right at home. He also seemed very genuine, wanting to interact with the crowd, singing our praises and he really seemed to be enjoying himself. When he talked to the crowd, you really did feel as though he was talking to you personally. A great gig, a great frontman, a great band! What more could you ask for? |
