MUSIC IN MANCHESTER

"How the f*** did YOU mange to get a photo pass for New Order" Well Alex, since you ask, I like to think that it was in recognition of my photographic abilities. The truth is less comfortable and is the usual "friend- of-a friend" routine, so Jon, eternal thanks

So today is a bright sunny day in Manchester and the ice cream sellers are doing a brisk trade. What? Did I write " bright sunny day in Manchester"? Something must be wrong, but a quick sanity check reveals that it is not. For the Move festival, everything have come together for the last day.

Elbow begin show that they are now ready to build upon the recorded success of "Asleep In the Back" with a display of haunting fragility without sacrificing any of the subtlety, so often a problem for bands making the transition from toilet venue to arena.

The Bunnymen plough through what is effectively a greatest hits set, which indeed contains some great moments, including "Rescue" & "The Cutter", but perhaps it was just a bit too padded out

Was the really nail varnish that Anthony H Wilson was wearing? If it was, then he needs to seek advice from Lynette, because it did not go with his shoulder bar

And who were the pair exchanging fisticuffs during a back stage scrap?

Doves not so much as take to the stage but embrace it, embellish it, then throw out a shimmering beauty of a soundscape for the delectation of an eager audience. The use the video screens to relay the videos that accompanied previous singles, whilst showing they are not afraid to include items from their previous incarnation of Sub Sub, and they close with "Space Face"

I'll come clean and own up to the fact that I am biased, old enough to remember being given a free ticket for a concert by New Order as a way of getting the punters in to a rapidly dying Hacienda back in `83 Yet after all this time, the excitement of seeing them again is still there, and it's reflected in the crowd, a mixture of 30 something's relishing the freshness of the sound, to the youngsters having heard the records & their mum/dad natter on about

"..it doesn't matter how old you are, good music will always be timeless" and

" never mind that Eminen (sic) shite, this is what you call music"

Well this is the day that the old buggers put forward one of the strongest bodies of evidence to support the case. "Love Vigilantes" & "Crystal" open the show before they become the second band to embrace tracks from their past, this time from the Joy division back catalogue, with "Transmission"

When a band comes on and says "We're going to play our hearts out for you" , as New Order do, without an single jot of falsehood, the hairs on the back of your neck prick up with expectancy.

No stage is big enough to limit Hooky as he goes on walkabouts, and he is as determined to enjoy the "Atmosphere" as much as anyone else fortunate to be here tonight.

A smile occasionally breaks out on Hookies unshaven face as he recognises faces in the crowd. Having recently played different venues in different countries in a short space of time, a degree of lethargy or tiredness could be understood, but is nowhere evident, and the crowd respond by surfing, singing and sliding their way into joyful oblivion.

And as the sun sets on Manchester, it not the only thing that is glowing    

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