The The

The The
Other Stage
20:00 23rd June 2000

The The emerged to a medium sized crowd (and that largely due to Moby being on next) basking in a the evening sunshine. Maybe it was the time of the day that meant it was difficult for them to really warm up the audience but more likely it was (unsurprisingly) the lack of use of the back catalogue that the more mature audience than usual were expecting.

The initial focus was on the new album, Naked Self, which in some ways betrays Matt Johnson's punk beginnings and boasts a stripped down sound with little intervention from any electronic gismos. The result is an intense and angry sound, which probably needs a little listening to before it's fully appreciated. Subsequently large chunks of the audience were left bemused for the first half of the set. It's not that the sounds aren't melodic but that the audience were clearly not familiar with the new album and the latest approach.

The second half did feature some classics resulting in a warmer reception particularly for renditions of 51st State, Infected, This is The Day and Armageddon days. Somehow though it was all a little flat, which is perhaps a bit unfair but it certainly won't bother Matt Johnson.