by markmono » Thu Oct 13, 2011 12:59 pm
Turned up to a half-empty room halfway through the support band who were, well, pretty dreadful. Had to fight off wave after wave of nauseating nostalgia as I spent more than I could afford on a t-shirt only to decide I wanted another one more (Have done this at every Poppies show I've ever attended.) and the place was wallpapered with faces from the last two decades. (At this point I was pretty sure the high point of the night was going to be feeling good about still having all my own hair.)
The room filled up nicely post-support though, taking their time to arrive as they obviously had to get babysitters first.The sound was pretty dodgy for the first couple of tracks, and the sound from Graham and Mary's radio mics was horrible. Still, somewhere between Oldskool Cool and Cape Connection I really started hearing the Poppies and my feet moved me from the bar down into the forefront of the crowd.
The last third of the set was happy, headbanging, bouncing joy. Jason, Tim and Davey played a near flawless set, noticeably far tighter than the original line-up have been any time I've seen them, and Mary and Graham were as acerbic and comical together as I'd hoped they'd be. Mary falls over. LET'S SEE A REPLAY.
It really changed my perception of the band. Part of me had been hoping to see the band I'd seen before. But that was never going to happen. I started seeing the Poppies as a fresh band, eager to road-test and prove their reinvention.
I could quibble over the setlist, but to tell the truth the new songs were the highlight of the evening. Not that Preaching To The Perverted and Their Law weren't amazing.