Happy Mondays

08/07/07

I must've been to a dozen gigs by the Happy Mondays over the years but tonight is just about the tightest I've ever seen them.

No matter how enjoyable their gigs were, in the early days you always got the distinct impression that the band were having twice as much fun as the audience - though this translated to sloppy, uneven, couldn't-care-less performances which rarely matched the quality of their recordings.

They're a changed band, not least because only Shaun Ryder, Bez and Gary Whelan remain from the original line-up. They're older and wiser - although with someone like Bez these things are entirely relative.

They have an unending number of absolutely fantastic songs from their back catalogue but, happily, new material like Uncle Dysfunktional sound every bit as good as classics like Twenty-Four Hour Party People.

Shaun chain smokes throughout the performance, encouraging members of the audience to light up too. Naughty, naughty Mr Ryder. What kind of example is that?