Mansun must be a very hard band to support, having such a hardcore fanbase. How will the punters take to the opening acts tonight?
Well, Sunna should possibly have been on the Papa Roach bill on Tuesday, as they seem somewhat at odds with Mansun's army of tiaras. Still, they efficiently punch out dark rock, with a Neanderthal edge at times, and oddly touching at others.
Will King Adora be more to the glitter girls' taste? They certainly talk the talk, as anyone who's ever read an interview with the Brummie four-piece can attest. But can they walk it? They blaze their way through crowd pleasers such as 'Big Isn't Beautiful' and the charmingly-titled 'Super Muff Diver'.
At first glance, it's enough to get you interested. The cracks begin to show when you look a little deeper (surely you should still be able to do that with music? It hasn't become such a post-modern, ironic art form that you have to take everything at face value?).
They have been favourably compared to the Manic Street Preachers and The Pixies. It's one thing being influenced by somebody, but they sound as though they are trying to emulate them. The lyrics are a bit dubious too. Take the refrain; "Skinny is sexy, big isn't beautiful". Hmm. But at the end of the show, singer Matt throws his guitar on the floor, so it must be rock n roll. The crazy mother!
The Sex Pistols are played mercilessly between the bands, which gears everyone for Mansun's arrival. So are Mansun going to show their punk side tonight, rather than the other two sides of their coin (just bare with the three-sided coin bit), prog and pop?
In truth, they reach so many people by not playing it safe and falling into one of the categories which are open to them. After being treated to both 'Being A Girl' and 'I Can Only Disappoint You' quite early on in the set, they play a cover of Magazine's 'Shot By Both Sides' and it slowly begins to make sense. They have such courage and conviction, and they have been given the space to grow.
You get the impression that they really do do as they please, and that's why they've continued to develop and make three albums of such diversity. With Mansun you get your unashamedly rock guitar solos in 'The Chad Who Loved Me', sexy, challenging pop with 'She Makes My Nose Bleed' and the slightly Spinal Tap moment (dramatic pauses, bombastic drums, hand clapping) in the middle of a rousing 'Taxloss'.
By the encore of (what else) classic single 'Wide Open Space', which still sounds fresh and exciting today five years after its release, it dawns upon you that Mansun are masters of their craft. Pop with an edge, with a meaning, and with a life of its own. Long may they grow.
