From bhatt Sent Sun, May 17th 1998, 23:17
From bhatt Sent Sun, May 17th 1998, 23:17
Bjork/Muziq Concert at the Worcester Palladium, 16th May The concert was very good. The Bjork part was better than the Muziq part. Bjork started it all off by introducing Mike Paradinas as "a most creative creature who she was honoured to introduce". The crowd was basically polite to him. There were moments when people got into what he was doing (Approaching Menace) but overall the show didn't exactly catch fire. All throughout his set, I felt the bass was set too high and I could barely hear the melodious parts of his music that I like a lot. He played many things from Lunatic Harness. And then at the end he just switched off his gear and quietly walked away. The crowd applauded, perhaps a bit too enthusiastically. However, compared to the usual fate of an opening act, I think Muziq did quite well. Then Bjork came on backed by a small chamber orchestra (which is supposed to have on it a famous Icelandic violinist. However, according to the two Icelanders I was at the concert with, she wasn't present) and Mark Bell. My only gripe with the show was that there were several points at which I could barely hear Bjork's voice - esp. during Pluto during which almost no vocals could be heard. What really made up for that was Mark Bell's music. It was powerful and really beautiful. Every time his music came to the fore, the crowd went wild. After the concert, I heard many people asking "who was that guy". I liked all the songs but the new versions of Human behaviour and Hyperballad were specially excellent. Play dead had some excellent beats too. The lighting/light show was very good - the lights were able to transform the otherwise rather tawdry looking curtain into several beautiful surfaces which reminded me of the inside artwork of the Homogenic CD. And finally, Bjork's so sweet - the way she addressed the crowd with her lyrics esp. during "5 Years" (You just can't handle love) and "Possibly Maybe" was quite something. Songs played: Headphones (first song) Venus as a boy, Human behaviour (new version), Come to me, Possibly Maybe, Immature, Hyperballad (new version), You've been flirting again (in Icelandic), Isobel, Bachelorette, All Neon Like, 5 years Pluto encore: Joga, Play dead np: Mezzanine - Massive Attack