The Spaceman Cometh, pt. 2

Hot, humid, Cleveland, my hometown, my birthplace, thirtysome odd years later, here i was standing on a platform waiting for the train, the first bit of vitamin p entering into my system washed down with a few beers in me dad's apartment, the imaginary boy safely tucked away at his grandma's and the beautiful summer night unfolding in front of me as the train carried me past W.117th to W. 98th past W. 25th and into Tower City, into an air conditioned bliss and a need to piss, out the doors and into Public Square for a smoke and the walk to the club, a couple of beers at the Wonder Bar and some conversation with some strangers who are also going to the show, a bit more of the vitamins and Roger Houston we have lift off, skip the opening band and amble into the club and wait for the curtain to go up...

Spiritualized will blow your fucking doors off, it never fails, if you've never heard them i think you might be missing some of the most beautiful music ever made, Spaceman is fucking brilliant, both grandiose and simple all at the same time and so the curtain went up and he opened with Amazing Grace, the traditional version of it, just him and a bit of guitar and his two female gospel singers blazing through it, if you want to make yourself a sampling of this band i say go to the local download store and download this setlist, as close as my chemically enhanced mind could remember but pretty close nonetheless, --- You lie you cheat, Shine a Light (for the uninitiated think the Floyd at it's peak), Cheapster, Electricity, Soul on Fire, Sweet Talk, Sitting of Fire, Walking with Jesus, Oh Baby, Lay Back in the Sun (good dope, good fun), Death Take your Fiddle, Rated X, She Kissed Me, Come Together/Take a me to the Other Side, Enc. Lord Can You Hear Me.

The build up on Shine a Light made me tingle and Walking with Jesus was brilliant as well but the version of Lay Back in the Sun with the girls singing behind Spaceman was pretty much ecstasy, the finale of Come Together and Take me to the Other Side was a mind melting 15 or so minutes that was a complete noisy mindfuck with the melody still sunk somewhere in the background that then slowly crept up until it basically exploded out, unbelievably good, then they took the short break and walked out for Lord Can You Hear Me, sung by a man who almost died a two years back and from the mind blowing noise to the most fragile, beautiful music and lyrics that had grown men with tears in their eyes and jaws dropping, i say god damn...

When it was over i was so blown away that i walked outside and sat on the curb and smoked a cigarette as the heat lightning crept over Lake Erie, i wandered a bit, had a beer and tried to process how good the show was, literally electric, felt like i was buzzing off the ground, high on the pure adrenaline of great music. Then i caught the train back to me Dad's apt. and passed out on the couch. Gorgeous.