Feeder

It's a bad state of affairs when you look around at the crowd and realise you're one of the oldest there, especially at my age. This was about the seventh time I had seen Feeder perform, and I rank their performances as one of the best live bands I've had the opportunity of seeing.

Feeder seemed to have undergone a bit of an image change. Lead singer Grant Nicholas looked particularly smart today, shedding the rough rock star image in favour of a well groomed suit. Bassist Taka Hikrose looked noticeably calmer, perhaps he's decided to give-up his trademark jump after it was boycotted by Busted.

The band opened with 'Feeling a moment', a mild, uplifting tune that fits singer Grant Nicholas' vocals perfectly. They cruised through Comfort in Sound before playing one of the new albums most promising tracks, 'Pushing the senses'. It sounds like a calmer version of Insomnia, but live had just as much energy. The band followed on with the first single from the same album; 'Tumble and Fall'.

Throughout the gig I couldn't help realising how much of a tribute to the late Jon Lee Feeder had become. There was powerful background imagery of contorting arms, with their wrists slit. There was a message that appeared on the screens telling the crowd to value and hold onto life. All this is a reflection of the bands current direction. There is no denying that the tragic death of Jon Lee has left a huge impact on the rest of the band, and this comes across in both the lyrics, and Nicholas's appreciation of the crowds support. The new songs, 'Frequency' in particular, are mellower, but far more meaningful. This poses the question: Have Feeder mellowed into soft rock specialists or have they just grown up?

One of the best moments of the night was 'Descend', an early track from their 'Polythene' days. This has firmly established itself as a fans favourite, but the crowd at the Glasgow Academy looked a bit miffed by it. The lights dimmed to a grungy orange and Nicholas belted out the chorus. It sounded fantastic and came to an end with a thrashing guitar crescendo. If only Feeder's new material sounded as good. They generally ignored their first two albums, choosing to showcase songs from the latest 'Pushing the Senses' album instead. This wasn't necessarily a bad thing, but if they had played with the sort of conviction usually associated with the band, the gig would have been much better.

Of course, no Feeder set list would be complete without the addition of 'Buck Rogers', instantly appealing pop rock in a jar, which lifted the enthusiasm of an otherwise comparatively placid crowd.

Feeder returned for their three song encore to play 'High', 'Forget about tomorrow' and what else than 'Just a day'. It was the perfect note to finish on. Feeder still looked grateful to be here, and I don't think there is a sliver of arrogance in Grant Nicholas' body but their set today wasn't quite as adrenalin fuelled as previous years and I felt that I may have been spoiled by their earlier performances. Either Feeder are getting older, or I am.

FUTURE GIGS

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