The Magic Numbers
> Glasgow Barrowlands
> Sunday December 3rd 2006
On a sodden and blustery Sunday evening, the first of two consecutive nights at the Barrowlands, its with an effervescent and synchronised self-assurance that The Magic Numbers throw themselves into “This is a song”, first track from their new album “Those the brokes”. It’s a song that takes more musical chances than much of their material and serves as a suitably attention-grabbing introduction.
The Magic Numbers were obviously paying attention in class during that lesson about the Holy Grail of live performance: “start strong, end strong”. They cram two of the singles from “Those the Brokes” and two favourites from their eponymous Mercury-nominated debut album into the first twenty minutes and, predictably, the crowd are buoyant.
These are the jingles that have resonated down the cones of both daytime and evening radio for nearly 18 months. After all, not just anyone is allowed to hang a twenty-foot high banner of their faces across a stage these days.
However, The Magic Numbers are very much kept afloat by their singles. Six songs into tonight’s set, they venture into album-track territory and, though it’s not hostile terrain, it’s certainly more barren. Ugly comparisons to The Beautiful South begin to suggest themselves. The crowd’s enthusiasm wanes. Raised hands drop and many an opportunity is taken to visit the toilet/bar/merchandise stand. It’s only some time later, with set-closer and hit-single “Love me like you”, that they shrewdly reel everyone back in, once again securing the waving arms and en masse backing vocals of the grinning Glaswegian assembly.
Given their current favour in the media, it should only take another couple of albums before The Magic Numbers can fill such testing gaps with more singles and I’m sure their Greatest Hits tour will prove to be very good value for money when it eventually and inevitably arrives.
> Chris Cusack
> Sunday December 3rd 2006
On a sodden and blustery Sunday evening, the first of two consecutive nights at the Barrowlands, its with an effervescent and synchronised self-assurance that The Magic Numbers throw themselves into “This is a song”, first track from their new album “Those the brokes”. It’s a song that takes more musical chances than much of their material and serves as a suitably attention-grabbing introduction.
The Magic Numbers were obviously paying attention in class during that lesson about the Holy Grail of live performance: “start strong, end strong”. They cram two of the singles from “Those the Brokes” and two favourites from their eponymous Mercury-nominated debut album into the first twenty minutes and, predictably, the crowd are buoyant.
These are the jingles that have resonated down the cones of both daytime and evening radio for nearly 18 months. After all, not just anyone is allowed to hang a twenty-foot high banner of their faces across a stage these days.
However, The Magic Numbers are very much kept afloat by their singles. Six songs into tonight’s set, they venture into album-track territory and, though it’s not hostile terrain, it’s certainly more barren. Ugly comparisons to The Beautiful South begin to suggest themselves. The crowd’s enthusiasm wanes. Raised hands drop and many an opportunity is taken to visit the toilet/bar/merchandise stand. It’s only some time later, with set-closer and hit-single “Love me like you”, that they shrewdly reel everyone back in, once again securing the waving arms and en masse backing vocals of the grinning Glaswegian assembly.
Given their current favour in the media, it should only take another couple of albums before The Magic Numbers can fill such testing gaps with more singles and I’m sure their Greatest Hits tour will prove to be very good value for money when it eventually and inevitably arrives.
> Chris Cusack
