The Christmas season generally makes an unwelcome start some time in November with early office parties and some non-entity turning on a few meagre bulbs in your nearest town centre. It somehow steals something from the main event having had it rammed down your throat for the preceding six weeks. But then most years, CSS don't play Christmas shows.
It has been quite a year for the Brazilian band. They kicked off 2007 as part of the NME New Rave Tour; a ticket I firmly regret not getting hold of back in the days when I was cynical of the arrival of yet another pointless scene. This was followed up by a tour of pretty much every festival in this country and all over Europe, and even a nice snap-shot with Paris Hilton (who may or may not have heard 'Meeting Paris Hilton,' but in any case would probably have been too dense to realise that it was about her). This tour has been something of a celebration of a year well spent, and a year when many people have fallen for CSS's charms.
Pre-show, Christmas tunes (and remixes of) are played out and it's still not really cool – even if it is meant to be ironic. Making the sound guy dress as Santa, however, is a good move – especially as he seems about to collapse under the heat at any moment. The impression is that we're in for a very festive evening.
Surprisingly, they don't arrive on stage to the sounds of 'CSS Suxxs,' instead they dance around dressed as Christmas presents before shedding the costumes and launching into 'Fuck off is not the only thing you have to know.' The party starts right here.
Live, they are still funky as hell, but the guitars are turned up, and Lovefoxxx has more of an accent. She is also very aware that she is in Manchester – for she must say 'Thank you, Manchester,” 'Good evening, Manchester,” or any prefix followed by 'Manchester' thirty times. More importantly, they know how to please a crowd and this is one full of, ahem, wide-eyed anticipation. They are a band who could have released virtually any song off their debut album as a single.
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'This Month, Day 10' is a particular highlight, not in small part due to Lovefoxxx's (resplendent in a body-suit with hands over the breasts, one of three bodysuits she wears that evening) sync-dancing with a woman dressed up as a Christmas tree. 'Alcohol' is less Playschool, and more of a rock stomper. It's welcomed rapturously; not bad for a single that barely grazed the charts.
Tonight is a highly enjoyable evening with a band who are loving being a band, and who really want to put on a show. It's like a lo-brow arena performance – inventive in the way that Super Furry Animals always prove to be. It's all about having fun and enjoying the music – a bit of a spectacle that leaves you feeling you've seen something special.
The night, of course, ends with 'Let's Make Love and Listen To Death From Above,' as it has to, a moment that raises the (admittedly already dodgy) roof of the Academy. If you want to know how to make a cynic dance, this is possibly the answer. The set is just short of an hour and ends in glitter bombs and flying paper.
The new songs suggest a slightly rockier direction, but this might just be because the live show is rockier. They fit into the set perfectly and they have the potential to be classics of the future. Let's hope for a new album in 2008. For now though, Christmas has come a little earlier than most of us would hope for, but this gig could have been in July and I would have left wanting to make a list and check it twice.
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