GIG REVIEW MANSUN Bury St. Edmunds Corn Exchange
31st July 2000

Although the band were over one and a half hours late for their signing session that afternoon in Andys Records due to soundcheck problems (VERY rock n roll, fellas), you would never have known it.
Support act King Adora succeeded only in making most of the audience yawn simultaneously, the only mildly interesting thing about them being their frankly odd drummer, and the single Big Isnt Beautiful getting the best reaction. They appeared to be trying to ape the early Manics, only without the talent.
Mansun, however, were a different kettle of fish. The opening Take It Easy Chicken was a great crowd pleaser and they took it from there. Bassist Stove King allowed Paul Draper and Dominic Chad to steal the limelight, while Andie Rathbone ploughed away at the back. There was much throwing of Draper-Juice, and even the occasional bout of Rathbone-Juice, much to the audience?elief.
They played only two songs from the last album Six, they being Special/Blown It and Being A Girl, which disappointed the audience somewhat, but they made up for it with a veritable plethora of new, mellower material, playing four or five songs from new album Little Kix. The new songs mostly went down well (apart from one guy next to me who shouted Aaaargh! It?ucking Embrace!!! at the beginning of Electric Man.) and served to provide a backdrop, contrasting well with the earlier material ??e Makes My Nose Bleed, Taxloss and Stripper Vicar in particualar showing that Mansun can create up-tempo mad art-rock as well as placid mellow sounds.
The shambolic encore of Drastic Sturgeon made us all chuckle and the audience went home mightily pleased.
8/10

by Energetic Kennedy