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Well, I'm back from my mad trip….

A couple of weeks ago i decided that, no matter what the cost, I had to catch at least one of these shows, and, so, packed a bag and hopped on a plane to New York. What an adventure! And what amazing shows! It's been “six lonely lifetimes” since I last saw The Church, thanks to the fact that they haven't been to Britain since 2007. But i genuinely wasn't prepared for what i was about to experience. That first night in Philadelphia, the first thing that i thought was "how can this band possibly have got any better"? And then "how can they possibly have improved so much!?!" They were staggeringly good... I had decided that, if i was going to travel all that way, i might as well go to more than just the two New York shows, so i booked tix for Philly and Boston as well. And, as it turned out, that first incredible show in Philly wasn't just a one-off. The next night in NY was even better - and the following two nights were just as good! Unbelievable... I'm still buzzing, and i know i will be for weeks to come. My long-suffering girlfriend hardly recognised me when i got back home - i was still grinning like a fool and floating around somewhere near the ceiling - despite the jet-lag!

U23 was amazing, absolutely amazing. They glided through the songs like they'd been playing them for decades. I still get chills just thinking about "Operetta". Truly unbelievable. Peter's guitar in that song - wow! And "On Angel Street" - they really brought that track to life. Steve was mesmerising. What a performance. "Pangaea", "Happenstance", "Lunar" - words cannot possibly describe just how magical these songs sounded.... As for "Anchorage" (my favourite on the album), well, as you've probably read, they brought Wes and Tiare on to help out, and with Craig, (who was excellent throughout the night), on bass, they became a seven-piece Church. And what an amazing rendition of Anchorage! Steve’s performance was astonishing, he practically lived every word! My jaw was on the floor in amazement - and to think that the band kept that energy level up night after night, playing such long sets! Wow! Oh, and talking about Tiare, I can’t emphasise enough what an amazing job she was doing of organising the tour (and everything and everyone involved in it!). If you ever meet her, make sure that you show her your appreciation, (and while you’re at it, ask her to bring the boys to Europe, as well!)

As for P=A - well, that was my main reason for flying all the way there to see them. I couldn’t stand to think that I might miss out on what might well be my only chance to see those songs being played live… And then, when Craig played the opening keyboard chords to "Aura" i was in absolute heaven! It was then that it finally sank in - in sheer disbelief i realised I was about to witness the band actually perform these incredible songs - live - on a stage - and actually right there in front of me! Talk about being overwhelmed! But "Aura"….. my goodness! Between Marty's astonishing guitar scree, that hypnotic, insistent beat and Steve's incredibly focused, intense performance, they completely blew me away! They made me drift up and float - even before they'd played a note of "Paradox"! Speaking of which, "Paradox" is just simply one of my favourite Church songs ever, (you should try skiing to it!!), so i was a little disappointed when it didn't quite hit the mark that night, (although, by the time they played BB Kings at New York they had perfected it, and were absolutely spot on!!)... Ripple - such subtlety and power and dynamics... Lustre - unbelievable to hear that song live! And then... AND THEN! The incredible quadruple whammy that is "Feel" "Mistress" "Kings" and "Dome". I have never been so enraptured at a concert in my life! “Feel” was an unexpected highlight each and every evening (I do love the song, but I never expected it to get quite the rapturous applause that it did, and deservedly so!). “Dome” was mesmerising…  "Kings" was majestic! Astonishing! What a stunningly excellent live song – who would have expected that?!? And Tim absolutely shone on that song. He has come on enormously as a drummer, and was immaculate right from "Cobalt Blue" through to "Hotel Womb" - and he played like that every night! How could he have been so good so soon after having had surgery on his arm? I was blown away! The patterns he played on “Mistress” – unreal…      "Chaos" and "Film" were every bit as good as you would expect - beautiful songs played with passion and grace, both evoking atmospheres that took us all miles away from the confines of the venues. Time and time again i couldn't believe that i was just sitting down at a gig.

Why aren't these guys huge?!?!?!?

But my god.... "The Disillusionist"... A song that has always intrigued me, and which stands out (alongside "Witch Hunt") on the album as being a bit of an, er, oddity - well, on this tour it took on a brand new lease of life. Everything you've read is true. In fact, take what everyone else has said and double it - triple it, even! I was astonished, amazed, dumbfounded and absolutely gobsmacked by the live version. The amount of blood and guts that they put into that song every single evening was staggering. Steve was totally captivating. He brought each word to life with the kind of fervour and conviction that you couldn't begin to imagine. He was part Iggy Pop and part Laurence Olivier! I was speechless, and could barely clap at the end of it... And not for the only time that night… Also, the way the band faded their instruments right down towards the end of the song to leave Steve singing the last few lines acapella was really really cool....

What was interesting for me was the way that different, unexpected songs stood out on different nights. For example, at the second NY show "Swan Lake" was possibly the highlight of the evening, and in Boston it might've been "A New Season"… I was lucky enough to meet the band after a couple of the shows and they were quite interested to learn that. Actually, it was a pleasure to talk to them - they were as friendly and receptive as you might've expected, despite being absolutely drained. How they kept the energy up, i'll never know. We were all still in the club until 4am in New York, and they still had to embark on an hour's drive north in the direction of Boston before bedtime. Actually, the Boston show did start a bit slowly, (they were performing at 95% instead of the usual 150%!), which didn't surprise me at all (i'd only had one hour's sleep myself, so i could sympathise!) - but largely thanks to absolutely fantastic audience reactions, when they came back from the break to play P=A, they hit new levels of unremittingly wondrous genius that even Wordsworth would have difficulties describing! Unbelievable!!! And talking about the audience, i have to say, Church audiences are amongst the nicest people that i've ever met. I got to talk to so many cool people night after night.......

And so on to Starfish... "Destination" was as good as i've ever heard them play it, skyscrapingly good... "In the space between our bodies", etc - wow, what a work of art - and so well played. Absolutely spell-binding.   "NSE&W" and "Reptile", as you might expect, were truly breathtaking, fiery, impassioned... Other songs that really stood out were "A New Season", “Lost”, "Antenna" and "Spark" which was incredible (esp at the Highline Ballroom!!). And man, were they tight on that song! What an honour and a privilege to see them while they are in their prime like this. I may well have to live on air and water for the next few weeks thanks to the pounding that i gave my credit card, but the memory of these unbelievable, vital, passionate performances will sustain me for months! As you can tell, i'm still on Cloud Nine! Anyway, i'd better wrap this up - so sorry about the long post, but believe me, i could keep writing about these shows FOREVER!

So… Last but not least, "Hotel Womb". What an amazing song! One of the best songs they’ve ever written, and that’s in a repertoire filled with absolute classics. Marty’s guitar break in the middle sounded like fireworks shooting from a speeding comet – sheer magnificence. All in all, Hotel Womb was wonderful, absolutely magnitudinous! A perfect way to end a perfect evening, (actually, make that four perfect evenings!)…