No Photos; No Phones
Matt Johnson, or The The, was never given the credit or praise he deserved in mainstream music media back in the day.
This may seem a strange statement given his 15 UK chart singles and three top rating albums but he deserved so much more.
New Wave to prog pop via punk rock gave birth to the unique The The sound and such masterpieces as the ‘Mind Bomb’ and ‘Infected’ albums.
Matt is the constant in all guises of The The whilst Rock n Roll royalty such as Johnny Marr assisted with the project at various points.
Fast forward to the present day and Matt brought the latest version of The The to the Usher Hall in Edinburgh to promote the new album… “Ensoulment”.
The grand old venue was sold out to a mainly older audience with the promise of a double set of the old and new The The discography.
Large banners at stage side boldly declared that mobile phones should stay safely tucked away; the show should be enjoyed in real time and not via the small screen of a phone.
More power to whoever made that decision; mobile phones being held aloft in the crowd for the full duration of a show really are royal pain in the butt!!
The first set was a live performance of the new album – ‘Ensoulment’.
A polished performance of the new tracks was expected by such a talented band and a frontman of such pedigree; they didn’t disappoint.
A short interval allowed a pit stop for band and audience alike…
There wasn’t a long wait for the second set which, let’s face it, was why most of the audience were there!
The number of huge songs in the second set defied belief… massive tunes such as ‘Infected’ and ‘This is the Day’ were an absolute pleasure to hear live.
Seeing The The in the flesh is an experience every music fan should have on their bucket list and tonight was an opportunity for many to do just that in the grandeur of Usher Hall… there can’t be many more grandiose venues than the Edinburgh home of the Royal Scottish National Orchestra.
Outstanding from start to finish…
The The… take a bow!
Review and Photographs by John Brown Photography
