Quantcast
 collapseboard

The Dismal Spectacle of The Fall at Jeff Mangum ATP, Minehead Butlins, March 2012

Decrease Font Size Increase Font Size Text Size Print This Page

The Fall live - pic Valerio Berdini

By Karren Ablaze!

I am afraid of Uncle Mark. Blatantly inebriated, this pixie-faced old man roams the stage like an imperious foreman. His sweating band of workers are well-trained. They understand that to resist his tweaks and pinches could result in dismissal, perhaps with added violence, and so they make Getting On With It a virtue, focussing on the middle distance, hammering it out. After all, they are The Fall, 2012 version.

Today Mark is angry about microphones. There’s the unmistakable thud of dense metal on painted wood as he hurls down his appointed mic before grabbing the guitarist’s, and you know that somewhere a soundman is frantically scurrying to replicate the levels. The volume increases, there’s a bunch more moaning, and it’s not too long before he aims the one in his hand at the heads of his most dedicated fans.

‘Theme From Sparta FC’ is the highlight, the treat for the ones like me who can’t be arsed ploughing through decades of albums in search of hits. Elena Poulou – Mark’s inexplicable wife – tolerates his rubbish keyboard interventions and so do we, for the sake of the remnants of a pristine football fable. Yet The Fall is no remnant, it’s a cloth still flying off the looms and will doubtless do so until MES falls down dead. I’m just not sure I want to keep watching.

Photography: The Quietus

Related posts: a reprint of a review of the last Fall album, because I’m tired, and someone mentioned it on Facebook

2 Responses to The Dismal Spectacle of The Fall at Jeff Mangum ATP, Minehead Butlins, March 2012

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.