Author: Silke
I remember reading an article quite a few years back which argued that rock's best partnerships always end in tears. From what I remember the article argued that the songwriting partnerships of the likes of Lennon and McCartney, Morrissey and Marr, Butler and Anderson, Townshend and Daltrey had all hit turbulent times at the height of their creativity, but that at the same time many of music's greatest songs had been penned within bitter rivalries.
At the time I agreed and now I can't help but smile at the statement that rock's best partnership always end "in tears", as Brett Anderson and Bernard Butler (the duo who co-founded Suede) have found a way back together and have formed The Tears.
When Bernard Butler quit Suede during the making of 'Dog Man Star' I was gutted. The album itself turned out to be my favourite album of all times for a long time to come, but things were never quite the same for me. As a big Suede fan I of course continued to be interested in their new material. But none of it really touched me the way their self-titled debut album and 'Dog Man Star' did. It was as if that volatile relationshop between Brett Anderson and Bernard Butler made the magic of Suede for me and when their working partnership ended the sparkle faded.
Needless to say when I heard that Brett and Bernard were reforming as the Tears I just couldn't believe it. It was as if time was turning back to the days of the ultimate Suede. It was just like a dream.
I actually thought I had missed out on tickets to their debut gig, thinking it was their London Heaven gig which was sold out before I was even near a computer. But then it was announced that they were actually going to play another gig (the true debut) in Oxford and I was glued to the computer screen and had my credit card at the ready. I managed to get tickets and couldn't believe my luck. The tickets never went on general sale and the venue (the cosy Zodiac) was small and intimate, so this felt like one of the most special gigs ever... and I was going to be part of it.
Arriving at the venue I kept thinking: 'This can't be real'. Even when I felt my heart skip a beat as Bernard and Brett walked on stage after the rest of their new band, I still had to pinch myself... to check it was actually happening: I was seeing Bernard and Brett reunited. During the gig I behaved like a giddy child. I was jumping up and down and screaming (until I lost my voice) and was completely in awe of what I was witnessing, a new band that I felt like I instantly knew really well. With no single or album released, their set was made up entirely of new songs and despite the fact that I was experiencing a brand new sound I sensed so much familiarity.
The opener was 'Brave New Century' and it rocked with wicked guitar riffs and vocal harmonies. After this amazing start to the gig Brett modestly asked the crowd whether it was alright. When the crowd cheered like crazy Brett grinned like a Cheshire cat at the reception (and continued to do so the whole gig รข€“ maybe he couldn't believe what was happening either!). The gig continued with the catchy 'Refugees' which had guitar riffs that reminded me a little bit of Bernard's solo song 'Not Alone'.
I loved '2 Creatures' which felt a bit like the old 'Dog Man Star' material especially lyrically as it is about two people in love running away together. But my favourites of the night were probably Apollo 13' (a song that Brett announced as being "about a doomed relationship" and which had a great chorus and certainly great comeback single potential), 'Autograph' (which kind of sounded a bit like the Smiths and had a beautiful melody) and 'Imperfection' (which was the probably best example of Bernard new role of doing backing vocals). I wasn't all that keen on 'Beautiful Pain', maybe because it felt too 'A New Morning'-esque, but I was quite taken in by 'Fallen Idol' which Brett introduced by saying it was about Pete Townsend. In the middle of the song Brett got out a recorder-piano-thing which made me laugh so much.
One thing that was quite disconcerting though was the fact that Brett continually gesticulated at the sound guy to adjust his vocals, but I guess he was just keen to make sure the sound was just right.
The encore was the beautiful 'A Love As Strong as Death' and it felt like Brett and Bernard were trying to keep in tradition with their habit of ending their albums on a piano ballad (like 'Still Life' and 'The Next Life').
At the end of the gig Brett announced: "These are the only songs we've got, so we can't play any more really" and I was upset to see them leave as they had delivered a truly shining performance which made me so excited about hearing their new material. In 'Co-Star' Brett sang: "When we're together my co-star and me, the stars come out to shine". Let's hope that these co-stars don't give up on working together so that we can continue to see that sparkle.
Admittedly I have been a little bit worried about them splitting up again, especially as during the gig the two of them barely exchanged a single glance. But maybe they've just realised that some musicians are born to work together and that they don't need to be the best of friends to keep up a brilliant creative partnership. Let's hope so.
The set list:
Brave New Century
Refugees
Imperfection
2 Creatures
Autograph
Co-Star
Fallen Idol
Feels Like Monday
Beautiful Pain
Apollo 13
Lovers
A Love As Strong As Death
I remember reading an article quite a few years back which argued that rock's best partnerships always end in tears. From what I remember the article argued that the songwriting partnerships of the likes of Lennon and McCartney, Morrissey and Marr, Butler and Anderson, Townshend and Daltrey had all hit turbulent times at the height of their creativity, but that at the same time many of music's greatest songs had been penned within bitter rivalries.
At the time I agreed and now I can't help but smile at the statement that rock's best partnership always end "in tears", as Brett Anderson and Bernard Butler (the duo who co-founded Suede) have found a way back together and have formed The Tears.
When Bernard Butler quit Suede during the making of 'Dog Man Star' I was gutted. The album itself turned out to be my favourite album of all times for a long time to come, but things were never quite the same for me. As a big Suede fan I of course continued to be interested in their new material. But none of it really touched me the way their self-titled debut album and 'Dog Man Star' did. It was as if that volatile relationshop between Brett Anderson and Bernard Butler made the magic of Suede for me and when their working partnership ended the sparkle faded.
Needless to say when I heard that Brett and Bernard were reforming as the Tears I just couldn't believe it. It was as if time was turning back to the days of the ultimate Suede. It was just like a dream.
I actually thought I had missed out on tickets to their debut gig, thinking it was their London Heaven gig which was sold out before I was even near a computer. But then it was announced that they were actually going to play another gig (the true debut) in Oxford and I was glued to the computer screen and had my credit card at the ready. I managed to get tickets and couldn't believe my luck. The tickets never went on general sale and the venue (the cosy Zodiac) was small and intimate, so this felt like one of the most special gigs ever... and I was going to be part of it.
Arriving at the venue I kept thinking: 'This can't be real'. Even when I felt my heart skip a beat as Bernard and Brett walked on stage after the rest of their new band, I still had to pinch myself... to check it was actually happening: I was seeing Bernard and Brett reunited. During the gig I behaved like a giddy child. I was jumping up and down and screaming (until I lost my voice) and was completely in awe of what I was witnessing, a new band that I felt like I instantly knew really well. With no single or album released, their set was made up entirely of new songs and despite the fact that I was experiencing a brand new sound I sensed so much familiarity.
The opener was 'Brave New Century' and it rocked with wicked guitar riffs and vocal harmonies. After this amazing start to the gig Brett modestly asked the crowd whether it was alright. When the crowd cheered like crazy Brett grinned like a Cheshire cat at the reception (and continued to do so the whole gig รข€“ maybe he couldn't believe what was happening either!). The gig continued with the catchy 'Refugees' which had guitar riffs that reminded me a little bit of Bernard's solo song 'Not Alone'.
I loved '2 Creatures' which felt a bit like the old 'Dog Man Star' material especially lyrically as it is about two people in love running away together. But my favourites of the night were probably Apollo 13' (a song that Brett announced as being "about a doomed relationship" and which had a great chorus and certainly great comeback single potential), 'Autograph' (which kind of sounded a bit like the Smiths and had a beautiful melody) and 'Imperfection' (which was the probably best example of Bernard new role of doing backing vocals). I wasn't all that keen on 'Beautiful Pain', maybe because it felt too 'A New Morning'-esque, but I was quite taken in by 'Fallen Idol' which Brett introduced by saying it was about Pete Townsend. In the middle of the song Brett got out a recorder-piano-thing which made me laugh so much.
One thing that was quite disconcerting though was the fact that Brett continually gesticulated at the sound guy to adjust his vocals, but I guess he was just keen to make sure the sound was just right.
The encore was the beautiful 'A Love As Strong as Death' and it felt like Brett and Bernard were trying to keep in tradition with their habit of ending their albums on a piano ballad (like 'Still Life' and 'The Next Life').
At the end of the gig Brett announced: "These are the only songs we've got, so we can't play any more really" and I was upset to see them leave as they had delivered a truly shining performance which made me so excited about hearing their new material. In 'Co-Star' Brett sang: "When we're together my co-star and me, the stars come out to shine". Let's hope that these co-stars don't give up on working together so that we can continue to see that sparkle.
Admittedly I have been a little bit worried about them splitting up again, especially as during the gig the two of them barely exchanged a single glance. But maybe they've just realised that some musicians are born to work together and that they don't need to be the best of friends to keep up a brilliant creative partnership. Let's hope so.
The set list:
Brave New Century
Refugees
Imperfection
2 Creatures
Autograph
Co-Star
Fallen Idol
Feels Like Monday
Beautiful Pain
Apollo 13
Lovers
A Love As Strong As Death
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