Anathema Glasgow Cathouse 10th Feb 2011

Anathema Glasgow Cathouse 10th Feb 2011

Yes seven years, seven bloody years since 2003's Natural Disaster and the band’s latest release Where Here Because Where Here. Everybody in tonight's sell-out show is expecting miracles, especially since the band prior to the tour letting it be known that they would play the whole of their new album in it's entirety and hearing live an album that had been mixed by Steven Wilson (Porcupine Tree),who has described it as “definitely among the best albums I've ever had the pleasure to work on.” Opening with ‘Thin Air’ it paints the picture of what is to become certainly in my 30 years of gig going one of the finest club shows I have ever had the pleasure of witnessing. 'Summernight Horizon' follows, it is every bit as impressive as its studio incarnation with the formidable talents of Les Smiths piano and John Douglas driving drums underpinning Lee Douglas ever present harmonized vocals alongside Vincent Cavanagh’s throughout the song, befitting any good set list and highlighting the dynamics of having light and shade in equal measures, next up the emotive piano driven strings enhanced 'Dreaming Light' simply a stunning ballad possibly the best the band have ever come up with. “Everything” is still an exhilarating, catchy and beautiful tuned mosque of a song, while 'Angels Walk Among Us' (which eventually concludes with the Cavanagh spoken word follow uptrack 'Presence' ebbs and flows towards 'A Simple Mistake' its varied layering of vocals giving way to the injection of a heavier guitar presence in the latter half of the track. “Get Off, Get Out” is by far the first half of the sets heaviest tracks with Danny Cavanagh- Lead guitar powering in with some weighty stuff, while the slower paced Pink Floyd-like “Universal” drifts along effortlessly; we end up finishing the first half of the set (exhausted) with the Enid but with Dave Gilmour on guitar like, instrumental 'Hindsight' (beautiful).

Seconds out, round two and 'Deep' from the Judgement album kick starts the run for home and resonates well with by this time bonkers crowd, 'Release' from a Fine Day To Exit segway's nicely into the double whammies of 'Lost Control' &'Empty' from Alternative 4 as well as 'One Last Goodbye' and 'Judgement' from the Judgement album. The plaintive 'Temporary Peace' from Hindsight slows things down nicely leaving it's album counterpart 'Flying' to pick up the pieces in a crescendo of Spanish guitar runs. 'Are You There' from A Natural Disaster, shimmers and evolves to encompass a Danny Cavanagh acoustic solo, then easing into 'Closer' from A Natural Disaster, culminating into what for a 6 piece and on a stage far to small to leave and come back for an encore as to what to do next(?), well easy(!), they plough on with the laconic haunting vocal of Lee Douglas for the intro to 'A Natural Disaster'; climaxing the show with in hindsight the perfect ending of 'Fragile Dreams'. To summarise, a performance sounding nothing short of stunning.

Stewart Eadie: Words