12th December 1998 - International Centre, Bournemouth, England

My second collision with the Massive’s punishing "Mezzanine" tour itinerary is probably best described by highlighting the few differences between this performance and their Manchester concert in April. Advance publicity suggested that the previously pregnant Liz Fraser was now in tow, which happily proved to be true, her singing on "Teardrop" and "Group Four" - both significant additions to the Massive’s slowly expanding canon of fabulous tunes - providing the kind of shimmering, glacial angel frosting that Deborah Miller’s performances at Manchester just couldn’t touch. Elsewhere I logged the addition of a post-punk guitar wigout-style intro that seemed as though it would be more at home somewhere on "Unknown Pleasures" and the subtraction of Horace Andy’s stage-ranging prowling that once made "Spying Glass" even more sinister than it was tonight. "Unfinished Sympathy" was merely good rather than terrific - at Manchester Deborah Miller’s shattering soul diva singing deservedly earned applause at the end of each verse: here reaction was a degree more muted, possibly due to the fact that (according to my mate with the subscription to "Sound On Sound") the sequenced strings were one bar off kilter, resulting in a sound more pudding-bowl than powerhouse. Still, set-closer "Group Four" was as unbelievable as ever, its metallic closing riff getting faster and faster as it juggernauts towards the tsunami of bass that the Massive seem to like ending gigs with. In conclusion, no surprises and little I hadn’t seen or heard before, but when you’re watching one of the best bands to emerge from the cultural wasteland of post-punk Britain it would be churlish to complain. A live album (a la recent excellent releases from Portishead and Spiritualized) would round proceedings off rather neatly...if they can be bothered, of course.

A few brief words on the support: David Holmes demonstrated thirty minutes’ worth of enviable DJing dexterity and seamless mixing - the only way you could tell one tune from another was by the three second gaps between them...and Monkey Mafia had one cool idea, namely sampling the intro from The Doors’ "Soul Kitchen", but that aside seemed to sound like just about every other guitar band with decks.