Live

Groove Armada, No support

Joe Coyle 15/10/2009

First off here are the positives from the gig: great Sound, Groove Armada were on top form with the new material casting an 80s electro feel in places. Musically you couldn't really fault the band. Visually the band have added a further dimension in the shape of 'Saint Saviour' who can only be described as a front woman/art instillation with great vocals and outlandish dance moves. The light show is amazing with smoke and lasers flying everywhere it really is a joy to behold. Then you chuck in a couple of hits in the form of Superstyling and Song for Mutya and you think the night would be perfect… well, almost.

Now it is time for a little rant. The new material is excellent but when showcasing new material to fans it's always good to get the setlist right. On too many occasions this evening the band let the crowd get away from them. It was a case of peaks and troughs. The audience on occasions was driven to the point of unison and dancing along in a feverish state, only for poor setlist planning to let the crowd down again, at times to the point of frustration, because the band were, as I said, very, very good tonight. Superstyling, At the River and Chicago were all greeted by the crowd like cherished old friends .You just got the feeling that the crowd wanted a few more of the hits - and with the relative shortness of the set you can't really understand why the band didn't put a few more in.

In summary, the band were on top form musically and visually and when the crowd were engaged the band were truly transcendent. It's just a shame that the quality and level of level of the set list didn't back it up as well as it could.