Snooker Loopy
Lord knows what line up number this is for The Fall (they have something like forty ex-members!), front man Mark E.Smith has a habit of firing the rest of the band at regular intervals and as such they are a band that has courted success and disaster in equal measure. The Radio 1 tent is far from packed but Smith gets a great reaction when he takes the stage; it has to be said he's starting to look more like an older Alex Higgins as the years roll on.
There's a bit too much top end on the vocals early on, which makes them harsh and therefore difficult to decipher. Never the most energetic of front men Smith doesn't do much apart from amble around the stage occasionally and the rest of the band are fairly immobile as well meaning it's not the most exciting of visual performances. The lack of movement does however make for a tight musical performance and the music is pretty much spot on with songs like 'Pacifying Joint' coming across well. Another track included from their 2005 album is 'Fall Heads Roll', 'What About Us?' is one of the livelier numbers but most of the songs revolve around a relentless, repetitive riff and whilst they do get a hypnotic groove going at times they are one of those bands that you either love or hate.
There's no between song banter and they waste no time before going into the next song. They go down well with the core of fans in the middle and they do get better as the set progresses but at times I struggle to see just why they are cited as being so influencial.