GIG REVIEWS

The Polyphonic Spree
@ The Leadmill, Sheffield
19th October 2002
www.vanguard-online.co.uk

 The Polyphonic Spree file on stage, all 23 of them, looking for all the world like a school nativity play. They launch into a rerun of the beginning of the album while they warm up, stretching the lunacy muscles until, leaping around in ecstacy, they fly off into the sun, taking the Leadmill with them. An hour and a half of madcap dancing and singing follows in which the audience becomes a congregation and Tim Delaughter a cult leader. The tightly rehearsed instrumentation is the key. 2 trumpets, a French horn, a flute, a trombone, a theramin, 2 keyboards, a harp and 2 drummers. Then there are the chorus, seemingly barely drilled, jumping about and hanging on to the songs as best they can, vibeing off surprise. Half the fun is watching the chorus having a party. The other half is watching the grinning faces round the audience and the third half is the mighty Aquarian vibe of it all. Rhythmically perverse, with cross cutting rhythms, the 2 drummers turn some sharp corners but can't fling us off; not even when the whole band makes a left turn into what appears to be a Mersey rehash of Bend Me Shape Me. The French horn player gets so excited he spends some time singing into the theramin. Tim's brief lyrical concerns are thin but irrelevant, concerning the sun, love, etc. The finale had a chorus of 'the trees wanna grow'. The crowd is utterly absorbed - if Tim had handed out Jonestown laced koolaid, we'd've drunk it. For an encore we got Bowie's Five Years and the sight of the band's 23 members having to line up to file off stage - hey, don't forget to take the baby jesus out of the manger....

Ross McGibbon