Gig played on 19/04/2001
Venue: Underworld (London)

Teenage Fanclub go krautrock to the collective amazement of a packed Underworld, who see that after all these years the band's gorgeous harmony-laden pop has been a mere front for the creative depths the band wish to plunge.

Actually that isn't what happens at all. What happens is the Fannies renege on their promise to play the last of this three-night London residency sans guitars. Instead, they plug in and play things old and things new and, in all honesty, it's infinitely preferable to what might have been.

The capacity crowd collectively swoon as 'The Concept' follows 'I Need Direction' and serve a telling reminder that this band has been responsible for some of the most immaculately crafted tunes of these times.

For an encore, they pick up mandolin, marimbas and trumpet, in a belated attempt to enter into something of the original spirit of the gig. It matters not, though. Sometimes the wheel just doesn't need to be reinvented.

by Simon P Ward