Simple Minds sparkle in the rain

After a journey which includes many narrow country lanes we finally reach our destination, the beautiful grounds of The National Trust's Blickling Hall. The stewarding is very organised & they are well informed where everything is. The staff are also refreshingly polite & helpful. As this is a National Trust estate you are encouraged to bring chairs, tables & even gazebos which are set up to the right of the arena, which given the terrible weather conditions is a very handy thing to have brought. The arena is full of people with chairs creating a typical English summer fayre affect.

The Stranglers had already started by the time we had arrived, seems due to the atrocious weather the organisers have decided to bring things forward by 15 minutes. Their set includes the singles Get A Grip, Peaches, Nice & Sleazy and a crowd pleasing Golden Brown, when the singles run out they performed a couple of covers including The Kinks All Day & All of the Night. This proved to be a good idea, judging by the crowd's reaction.

Simple Minds have had a good year so far with their latest album Graffiti Soul breaking top 10 and the single Rockets breaking into the top 40 a feat fellow rockers U2 failed to do with their last single, could the competitive tide finally be turning between Simple Minds & U2??? Even Frank Black sang their praises at this year's Isle of Wright festival where they played a very well received set.

Simple Minds intro music lasts for a few minutes when they do finally appear they get a great reception & launch straight into the bombastic Waterfront from 1984's Sparkle In The Rain album. Then we steam into the nineties with a rare outing for She's A River. The stage set for a large park is very minimal with no video screens and no stage back drop. The lightshow as you would expect from Simple Minds is very good & the light technician did a great job of matching lights to song mood.

I last saw Simple Minds on their 30th Anniversary tour last year where they decided to play the whole New Gold Dream album from start to finish, thankfully for tonight's show that has been dropped & instead we are treat to hits from the majority of their albums, Love Song being a highlight from the early 80s European travelling era. Rockets & Stars Will Lead The Way from latest album Graffiti Soul are well received. The classics New Gold Dream, Big Sleep & Glittering Prize get a great reception from the crowd who seem to be well versed in the Simple Minds back catalogue.

Jim Kerr's crowd interaction is very limited tonight with the odd "Let me see your hands!" During Don't You he tells the crowd "You can sing this... COME ON!!!" as people suddenly rush from the toilets at the back of the arena to join in with the fun, the fans duly obliging with a long lasting la la la la. As Kerr sings, "Rain keeps falling" it finally does stop raining.

The pomp from many a previous Simple Minds gig seemed to have been left on the tour bus with many of tonight's songs not lasting very long & the long winded songs NOT even getting an airing including their only number 1 Belfast Child, along with crowd favourites Sanctify Yourself & Ghostdancing. For me this made tonight's set so much more refreshing and interesting compared to the last previous couple of tours. The bands don't even appear for an encore, ending on the obligatory Alive & Kicking which gets the majority of the audience onto their feet & their arms swaying side to side.

Simple Minds played a cracking set which given the terrible weather conditions, made the rain a lot more bearable tonight. The choice of venue was also inspired and is well worth a visit on its own another time.

Set List:

Waterfront
She's A River
I Travel
See The Lights
Love Song
Stars Will Lead The Way
Rockets
Big Sleep
Don't You (Forget about Me)
Hypnotised
Promised You A Miracle
Glittering Prize
Someone Somewhere In Summertime
New Gold Dream
Alive & Kicking

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