Possibly spurred on by a support slot by The Wurzels, BRITISH SEA POWER refuse to begin the show in earnest as they race through five consecutive singles in either a dynamic entrance or a statement of intent.
Being as no one seems to know what British Sea Power ever intend on doing, we'll stick to the former. Bringing their eccentrically endearing wicker man charm to the Forum, it's a show as close to legal vandalism as you're likely to get.
The foliage is there, the kestrel is there, Eamon's even rocking ye olde cider jug as well as a hard hat come video camera and the obligatory marauding tom. BSP have turned the tumbledown and the haberdash into a body of songs of some very real artistic merit. 'Open Season' one of the albums of 2005, rounded the edges and polished the corners of the previous freewheel of 'The Decline of' but thankfully any sense of conventionality has not been inserted.
They rip through 'Apologies to Insect Life', the rasping riff driven 'Spirit of St Louis' and 'Remember Me' as an introduction and then as you'd expect it all goes a little awry. Eamon fresh from his Brakes antics resembles one of the outpatient from 'One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest' as he takes to his drummer boy role to heart and rambles from the stage to the balcony upstairs, only stopping to shout incoherencies and hit any bystanders on the
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head. On stage it isn't any less subdued as the rest of BSP are led by a yelping stamping Yan as snow falls from the ceiling for a particularly festive ' Oh Larsen B' and the general greenery begins to wilt under the boot of guitarist Noble. But you wouldn't really expect anything less would you?
Shift the focus from their quirkiness and idiosyncrasies and you have a band of genuine ingenuity despite the ramshackle chaos of the set. Immediately identifiable by their unique choice of stage layout, it's easy to overlook the quality of the music. 'It Ended On An Oily stage' afforded them mainstream success yet they've retained a credible cult status.
The devotion instilled in their fans is nothing short of feverish and as the show climaxes in a flurry of snow, a frenzied dismantling of the stage and the decapitation of a scarecrow. Elbow finally emerged over the parapet so let's hope British Sea Power are next.
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