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The Charlatans and Ride, a British double-bill, hit Atlanta nearing the end of a winter U.S. tour. Both bands are of the same era (beginning in 1988) and the same area, Manchester. They each found success , starting in the late 80’s and capturing audiences in the 1990’s and into the 2000’s.
Ride took the stage first and played their debut album, Nowhere, in its entirety. Fans of “shoegaze” should recognize the band as a foundational influence in that subgenre, although they moved away from the in subsequent albums. It’s quite the journey for those familiar with the album to hear it live, taking the familiar but presented in a more muscular, rock show. Fans know there’s a slight lull in the sequencing of songs (“In a Different Place” through “Dreams Burn Down”), but with the band’s punch, it was not nearly as noticeable after the first two songs. Except… except that the remainder of the songs were likewise better live.
The set continued with “Lannoy Point,” a favorite from their 2017 album, Weather Diaries, which was their first since the band had broken up in the mid 1990’s. “Peace Sign” followed, from Interplay, which is due to be released in March. This was a really good song and went down well with the crowd. And finally, the band finished with “Leave Them All Behind” from their second album, with an extended keyboard intro and a lengthy, fitting selection to showcase how good a rock band they are.
Singer/guitarist Mark Gardener carried the duty of chatting with the audience suitably, and though he dips his guitar occasionally, that’s the closest to rock star posing that can be found in the band. It’s about the music, and the band was visibly focused on playing it very, very well.
Setlist:
The Charlatans, saddled with a “UK” notation to clarify to US audiences that they’re not a 60’s psychedelic band from California, shouldn’t have to do that. It’s 13 albums to 1 in their favor, after all, but I’d wager there’s a capitalistic attorney keeping an eye out for name infringement. Like Ride, they played one of their albums, Between 10th and 11th (1992), skipping two songs in the middle (“The End of Everything” and “Subtitle). Tim Burgess would later remark that they were going to play some “choice cuts,” so apparently those two were expired. Still, it allowed the band to cover favorites from Some Friendly (their debut album), their eponymous album (1995) and Tellin’ Stories (1997). That’s more than a fair trade.
“Choice cuts” was an interesting choice of words. One could easily add “choice guitar,” “choice keys,” “choice bass” and “choice drums.” I’d probably highlight the keyboards as most choice, as they didn’t just accentuate the songs but were clever, melodic and engaging. The rhythm section was outstanding, with the driving bass of Martin Blunt and drums by Peter Salisbury (formerly of The Verve for Ashcroft fans). And guitarist Mark Collins, like Ride’s Mike Bell, served up the licks that crowds want to hear live.
Singer Tim Burgess was a different type of band leader. Although the songs rock, Burgess has a relatively soft voice and gentile delivery. But the songs also have a groove. Burgess would raise his hands at times, encouraging the audience to do likewise, and he otherwise sways around the stage with both hands on the mic, rotating them like… he’s mixing cake batter? It’s different, but over time, you just get where he’s at. It works.
While Burgess clearly brought the better stage presence and crowd interaction, I don’t know that anyone could leave the show not liking either band, a lot. A general observation was that fans knew the songs of both bands. Both brought their best, playing well and particularly loud (ear protection recommended, kids).
Setlist:
