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Mostly Autumn

O2 Academy, Newcastle

7 November 2009

The main thing to say about this gig is that the set list was totally brilliant, the best they've had for years. Probably because they are no longer touring "in support of" a new album so there's plenty of room to include more older songs.

That's not saying it was an "oldies" show — every album was represented, up to and including Glass Shadows — but it did include things I haven't heard live for years. Shrinking Violet, Half the Mountain, Pass the Clock, The Last Bright Light... seriously, I think I last heard The Last Bright Light in 2001! It even seems like years since I last heard Mother Nature, something you used to hear every single gig!

The "small room" at the Academy wasn't as small as I thought it would be, and a good-sized crowd filled it nicely. The main downside of the venue is a tiny stage (that the band could only reach by battling through the crowd!) and the restricted visibility that always comes with a standing venue. But the sound was good, better than it often is in that kind of venue, and miles better than in the big room downstairs. So overall I wouldn't mind if it became their new regular venue in Newcastle... particularly if it means getting two visits a year again, like we did in the early years.

Hmm, what else? It's almost not necessary to say how well everybody played, and how happy and relaxed the band seemed on stage. That's just normal for a Mostly Autumn concert.

So, overall, was it the best concert I've ever seen? Let me think... Shrinking Violet, Pass the Clock, Mother Nature, Simple Ways...

Yes, of course it was