October 22 2008
Touring in November — The Charlatans
posted by Steven Shaw at 11:18 am
The Charlatans, coming to NZ in November (Photo: Roger Sargant)
The Charlatans, one of the UK’s coolest bands, are coming to NZ next month to play at the Southern Amp festival in Christchurch (9th November) and the Powerstation in Auckland (12th November).
They were standing in the shadows during the Britpop wave of the mid-1990s, but the Charlatans are still knocking out great albums and delivering intense live shows. This is a band at the peak of its game — in 2007 they opened for The Who and the Rolling Stones.
The Hammond organ driven “The Only One I Know” was a UK top ten hit in 1990 and their organ sound has really defined the band throughout their close to two decade history. Tragically, original keyboard player Rob Collins was killed in a car crash in 1996, during the recording of fifth album Tellin’ Stories. But The Charlatans battled on, drafting in Primal Scream keyboardist Martin Duffy until permanent replacement Tony Rogers joined the group. The lineup is Martin Blunt (bass), Tim Burgess (vocals), Jon Brookes (drums), Mark Collins (guitar) and Tony Rogers (keys).
Ironically, their steady survival in the music industry game is probably because they didn’t reach the same heights as bands like Oasis or Blur. They’re closer to Primal Scream — able to change their sound and experiment from one album to the next. 2001’s Wonderland was packed with dance-oriented singles like “Love Is The Key” and Tim Burgess discovered a love for Curtis Mayfield-inspired falsetto vocals. They followed that up with Simpatico (2006), which dips a toe into reggae and dub sounds. And like Radiohead, The Charlatans’ latest album You Cross My Path was made available via free download earlier in the year.
“We have been playing constantly all over the UK and have been out to Europe several times and in front of massive crowds at festivals all summer,” says Jon Brookes on the Charlatans’ website blog. “The live set is a tear up of the new album with a slight change of direction regarding some of our older tunes. The Charlatans are a band without equal on stage right now and we enjoy and play every gig like its our last. That is the only way we can keep up this level of intensity we’re caught up in.”
Check them out at Southern Amp, Christchurch, November 9th — or the Powerstation, Auckland, November 12th, supported by Luger Boa — tickets available from www.ticketek.co.nz or Real Groovy.
Video: “Oh Vanity” from The Charlatans’ 10th album You Cross My Path (2008)