Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating 8.5/10
Mike Scott offers so much of himself on stage that the decency of the man shines through with the glow of warm African sunset and the truth of a great Scottish artist.
Returning to Liverpool as part of their latest tour and to what should be considered a natural home for The Waterboys, the band played a set that was both outrageously enjoyable but also deeply conscious of the audiences wishes to be entertained and informed, to not just be the type of gig in which the flickering neon lights glaze the eyes but instead offer a type of natural absolution to the day, the warmth of that deep African sunset illuminating the thoughts with effortless wisdom.
In recent years the band have excelled themselves, the bubbling volcano of performance smouldering away with charm and wonderfully persistent adoration from the Merseyside crowds welcoming them back time and time again and as The Empire Theatre audience rose as one to acclaim the night, yet another deeply scored notch of thrilled expression was grooved out with the patience a band such as The Waterboys expects.
Mike Scott was arguably in such good spirits that it was possible to see the young man of old rise slowly down through the years and inhabit the master lyricist’s body once more.
Opening the night with the tracks Destines Entwined, Still A Freak and A Girl Called Johnny, The Waterboys took the crowd on an exploration of lyrical ideas and shining examples of musical pomp and only once took the foot off the pedal when an errant microphone decided that the groove was just to good not have to force the issue of repeating a great refrain again.
The Fall of The Modern Blues may have been the set lists combined force, however there was no fall in this modern example of deft musical security and tracks such as We Will Not Be Lovers, the excellent Nearest Thing To Hip, Wonder of Lewis, The Return of Jimi Hendrix and the searing epitome of dynamic cool in The Whole of The Moon being performed, there was only one way to finish the evening and it was with a sense of gratified marvel that it was freely given by the Liverpool crowd.
A welcome return to the city for The Waterboys, never a dull experience, never a gig to be missed, the Liverpool Empire offered one of its best nights of the year.
Ian D. Hall