Gig review: Stereophonics

Published on Wednesday 3 March 2010 18:03

STEREOPHONICS ** SECC, GLASGOW

REAL rock for real people played by honest, grafting musicians – does it get any duller? The 20,000 people who responded vociferously to the defiantly meat-and-potatoes Stereophonics rocking the SECC over two nights this week appeared not to find it dull at all.

Barring some intermittent kaleidoscopic graphics on the big screen, Stereophonics have little truck with the stagecraft possibilities of an arena show. Instead, they are all about the music – which works out fine if you actually like their pedestrian, often joyless sound. The voices – and arms, and mobile phones – raised in unison to the anthem Just Looking summed up the unaffected passion of their fans.

In contrast to the ardour of the crowd, there was little indication that the band were doing anything other than going through the motions. Bassist Richard Jones and guitarist Adam Zindani exchanged the occasional matey smirk, but frontman Kelly Jones maintained his usual frowning presence.

After more than a decade of success, he still appears uncomfortable with the idea of bantering with the audience or putting on a performance, even when the band loosened up and came out of their safe zone with hi-octane glam rocker Trouble or their brisk encore double whammy of The Bartender and the Thief and Dakota.

Rather, his voice is his currency. Jones is blessed with a natural gravelly rock tone. Sometimes his delivery is so laboured that you just want to throw a pack of lozenges onstage but there were glimpses at this gig of a fluent vocal ability which could be put to better use on less conservative material than the forgettable likes of Same Size Shoes and Have a Nice Day.