The Music
Brixton Academy, London
04/08/2011

Brixton Academy is filled with more northern testosterone tonight than an Oasis homecoming gig. Though many had assumed from their lack of recent presence on the scene that The Music had already waved a fond farewell to the industry a while back, it is only tonight that the send off begins, with the first of two UK shows to celebrate and salute the band’s ten year career.

The atmosphere in the crowd is contagious, The Music’s amalgamation of rock and dance providing the perfect scenario to get people moving, and for once in the capital, they really do move. Hands are in the air and chants of “Music Music” disseminate appreciation towards the stage as ‘The Dance’ opens the show with basslines and drum beats of epic proportions. And it’s not just the crowd moving – Harvey’s uninhibited dancing on stage makes The Fly question the singer’s cited reason of “not enjoying it anymore” for the break-up.

As the band churn out hit after hit with ferocious energy, the air of celebration becomes tangible. It’s tracks from the self titled debut album which elicit the greatest response tonight; the crowd project the chorus of ‘Take The Long Road And Walk It’ over and above any vocals coming through the speakers, whilst ‘The People’ and ‘Getaway’ get every person in the building moving. This doesn’t mean more recent tracks get a bad reception though, ‘Bleeding From Within’, which sees the band’s rhythm section triple in size to add layers of snare to the punchy track, is also a major crowd pleaser.

Between tracks come some of the most genuine messages of thanks to the fans The Fly has ever witnessed – messages that are no doubt reciprocated straight back to a band who are definitely ending their career on a high tonight.

Christine Peart