The annual Bristol Xmas gig notwithstanding, this is the first live dates, and tour from the Aeroplanes for what seems like forever, and thankfully they made a pit stop up North in Sheffield.
Sheffield is not unknown to Gerard Langley, as he and Wojtek went and met at Uni here a few decades earlier, and the decent turnout in the back room of the Leadmill were anticipating a night of classic tunes, and tracks from recently released new album Welcome, Stranger!
The night began with the customary spine tingling intro of aeroplanes passing overhead, before the band kicked things off with new track Dead Tree, Dead Tree! A surefire future live favourite and almost immediately the audience is swaying along.
It’s at this point that I realise that I’m here watching the Aeroplanes on a tour....at last, a tour, and they are playing as tight and rehearsed than I’ve seen for years and years, and what a joy that is. Wojtek is doing his thing, both on and off the stage, and he’s getting a lot of attention from the first timers in the crowd, who are mainly here with the your girl who opened the night.
The set is a mix of old favourites, with some surprises such as Missy Lane, which I’m not sure I’ve heard live before, and the wonderful And Stones, sounding as vibrant as it ever has, but the main message of the evening is that this is the Aeroplanes mk plenty, and this mix of young and not so young, talented musicians are elevating the band to new heights.
It’s clear the band are really enjoying themselves and after new album favourite Here Is The Heart of All Wind Things, it’s time for the main set to come to a close, and we all know what’s to come from the encores...
Mixed in with old live favourite Fun, and new gorgeous album closer Poetland, are 2 covers. Dylan’s I Wanna Be Your Lover, and the epic, iconic Tom Verlaine cover Breakin’ In My Heart. Like Jacket Hangs, an (almost) ever present in the set. The band are going nuts on stage - Mike and Bec are playing guitars on 2 platforms stage left and right, Wojtek is on and off the stage like a whirling dervish, while the rest of the band are shuffling restlessly around each other back on stage. The track, and the night ends with the last chord being played by Mike as he launches himself off the bass drum.
Exhilarating, exciting, refreshing, and almost tear inducing to this long time fan. The Aeroplanes are back, back, back, bigger bolder and brighter than ever, with some killer tunes that sit alongside their back catalogue as if they were recorded 20 years ago. With the promise of another album and tour later in 2017, this is going to be some year to be an Aeroplanes fan.
Keith
@kjsmith4082
