Delamere Forest is a wonderful setting for a gig providing the weather is good.
The last time The Charlatans played there torrential rain was a main feature, but the five-strong rock group had nothing to fear last Sunday as Britain enjoyed its hottest weekend of the summer so far.
There are many plus points about putting on a gig at Delamere Forest, as well as the beautiful surrounding it’s just the right size for an outdoor gig.
Because the stage is at the bottom of a fairly steep bank even the smaller people who have suffered for years at gigs by not being able to see a thing actually have a decent vantage point!
The View provided the main support act and they could barely contain their national pride as fellow Scotsman Andy Murray had won Wimbledon just hours before.
Manchester’s Beat Boutique DJ’s mixed tunes between performances and did a sterling job in creating the perfect mood for a gig in the evening sunshine.
The Charlatans took to the stage with Tim Burgess sporting white jeans, a white jumper and a blonde bowl-haircut.
He managed to carry this off in a way that only this classic front man can.
Opening with 1999’s Forever, straight away the crowd were seduced by The Charlatans and the sound of their well-oiled machine.
Tim beckoned the audience towards the front of the stage who duly complied. The whole scene looked like something from Ken Russell’s film adaptation of Tommy where Tommy’s disciples swarmed forwards to follow their leader.
Only this was a lot more down to earth and was purely for the purposes of creating a better atmosphere…
Pete Salisbury, formerly of The Verve, was on drums as Charlatans drummer and founder member Jon Brookes is currently recovering from surgery linked to a brain tumor.
Salisbury did a sterling job and played his own part in creating the big smiles on the faces of those in the audience.
There was a sense of The Charlatans being the sort of band, like The Rolling Stones, who will never call it a day.
In the same way that the Rolling Stones are cherished by the generation who grew up with them, for those who were teenagers in the early to mid-nineties, The Charlatans are a constant in life that will always be loved.
Tim Burgess announced to the audience: “It’s all ‘Bangers’ tonight!” and indeed it was.
Just When Your Thinking Things Over, North Country Boy, Then, Just Lookin’ and Jesus Hairdo all followed in quick succession and a selection of favourite album tracks were also thrown into the set.
Flower and Toothache being particular highlights, even if Mark Collins did fluff the guitar line of the former, much to keyboard player Tony Rogers’ amusement.
The Charlatans were not 100% watertight, possibly due to the absence of Jon Brookes, but that said, it was very rock ‘n’ roll in the true sense and the fact that musically they could have fallen of the edge of the cliff at any moment made it all the more exciting.
The crowd roared with delight when an extended intro to The Only One I Know kicked in and even though they have had higher charting hits over the years, this classic is the song they are most closely linked to.
More ‘bangers’ came in the shape of Can’t Get Out Of Bed, Tellin’ Stories and a storming One To Another and with a set-list like that, on the day of the Wimbledon final, it was as if The Charlatans were serving their own kind of aces.
Sproston Green, forever The Charlatans closing number, was dedicated to Drummer Jon Brookes.
As Tim Burgess sat on the drum stand looking out at the audience on a beautiful summer evening, I wonder if he was thinking that the world is a better place for The Charlatans being in it?
Because we were.
Image courtesy of thecharlatansnet via YouTube, with thanks
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