Brix was a pivotal part
of many of The Fall's best creative periods. The thrill of her
returning to music, with intentions to publish an autobiography, is still reverberating. A moot point for some, but for me this club gig
with other former Fall members outstrips anything the Mark E Smith
group have done in a decade. While Kicker Conspiracy, CREEP, Hit The
North, Dr Faustus, LA, Big New Prinz, Totally Wired, Cruisers Creek
are songs that wouldn't fill up a usual Fall setlist nowadays, they
are played resoundingly powerfully tonight – and are all we could
wish for and more. It's not the hankering for the old, but hearing
these songs fronted by the almighty and wonderful Brix in such a
commanding manner.
Whilst Brix is clearly
reliving the glory of 80s and 90s Fall, and must have a lot of great
memories, she is also buoyant about the present moment, being
frontwoman, innovating a cracking set of songs. This is a new and
absorbing experience. Certain Fall fans faithful to Mark E Smith as
centrifugal overlord are wrongly wary. Questioning Brix's credentials
is not an option: she has nothing to prove. Hearing this batch of
songs and many more from those years, emphasises her imagination,
ideas, contributions through several crucial epochs of The Fall. In
the interim between her departure from the MES-led Fall and this
current venture, Brix had a pop career – Adult Net, a
sunny sounding rock act with gentle, lovely vocals that represent a
different side of her – now she's here playing her
favourite old Fall songs, and she's singing with more fierce force
and power than Mark E Smith. Her voice is deep and dark. The intent
in her delivery is full of sure-fire strength. Wilful ignorance or
gendered contempt from a certain kind of Fall fan is not to be
tolerated. Pining for MES ('it's not The Fall without Mark!') is
tiresome. How about instead opening your ears and mind to a positive
alternative from someone who was equally a key player in the finest
Fall achievements? Mark E Smith is a great, but it must be admitted
that the live shows have become poor: continual celebration of
frothy, drunk mutterings as spectacle becomes hollow and sad (Mark
can be sharper, and all the better for it).
Brix's confidence and
control show her seriousness of purpose. With the celebrated Hanley
brothers on bass and drums, and Fall Heads Roll era Steve Trafford on
guitar, this is no tribute: this is still the music of legend very
much alive. Lay of the Land is a surprise highlight of the set, and
that classic, crunching, tight, rhythmic sound so definitive of early
Fall kicks up a storm. Likewise, 2 X 4 is a surprise and heavyweight
addition. We are spoilt with Hit the North and Mr Pharmacist - and
Big New Prinz, possibly Brix's defining moment (from The Fall's most
overlooked LP, I Am Kurious Oranj), is the perfect closer to a
compelling gig. Brix shouting the lyric: 'He is not
appreciated!' seems at odds and feels poignant (she must be
appreciated!). This isn't about nostalgia because the new songs sound
beyond worthy in comparison, and the old stuff has been enlivened
anew. If Brix and The Extricated are to be a long-term concern, they
threaten to surpass current Fall standards by a long shot. These are
invigorating times.
Setlist:
U.S. 80s-90s
Feeling Numb
Leave the Capitol
2 X 4
(a new song)
LA
CREEP
Cruiser's Creek
(2 new songs)
Hotel Bloedel
Dead Beat Descendant
Totally Wired
Lay of the Land
Hit the North
Mr Pharmacist
Big New Prinz
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