Review by Mick Conmy: Seeing The Waterboys is a bit like going to 3 concerts. They start out as regular stadium rock act, all big sound and epic songs with a cinematic sweep, switch to a folk rock combo with jaunty Irish jigs, all bucolic fiddle and mandolin, then suddenly morph into prog rock with elongated self indulgent guitar solos. It’s all a bit bewildering. Mike Scott, still a new age maverick, knows how to work the crowd, having been touring for 25 years, he goaded the sometime soporific New Theatre audience into standing up, dancing and yelling song titles at the stage. Their audience clearly holds them in affectionate high regard, with several heartfelt screams of “I Love You”, all has been forgiven for not showing up at Cornbury last year. In some ways they are a bit of a period piece, big sound, big hair on a big stage, high kicking like can-can dancers. Most of the material was from the new album “Book of Lightening” which is very much a throwback to the Mike’s 1980’s raggle taggle sound. His stock in trade remains fuzzy mystical spiritualism with references to elevated literature. Perhaps he still hasn’t found what he is looking for. The voice is crystal clear, every syllable is precise and discernable in his clipped Edinburgh brogue. Steve Wickham, the stalwart violinist still sets the standard for wall of sound folk rock and somehow manages to make this instrument cool. Their classic “Whole of the Moon” is steeped in the mood and feel of the 20 years ago, as is “Old England” and their finale of “Fisherman’s Blues” remain etched in the psyche as soundtracks to the 1980’s. Other familiar songs were “Sea of Iona”, “Medicine Bow” and “Glastonbury Song”. Nothing new here to set the pulse racing, but it’s fun to wallow in nostalgia nevertheless. |
