As Primal Scream amble onto the stage with that ' oh so wasted' look that they have taken many years of being 'oh so wasted' to perfect, a bouyant Mani (ex Stone Roses and professional Mancunian for the uninitiated!) rushes to the microphone to celebrate the fact that he is in the city that produced one of the world's currently biggest R'n'B stars, and in his best Avid Merrion, gives us all a 'Craaaaaaaaiiiiiiiig Daaaaaaavid'. Then straight into a selection of 'Evil Heat' and ' Xtmntr' tracks we go. And despite Mani, they aren't messing about. Bobby Gillespie has a good old swearing fit at a few people who are chucking plastic beer ' glasses' at the band - and rightly so - after all 'The Scream' deserve respect! I think that "Evil Heat" is actually a very underrated album. If tracks like ' Miss Lucifer' and 'City' don't make you want to jump around, you have no soul. Tonight, these tracks really hit home. Also on the menu we have a run through tracks such as 'Swastika Eyes', 'Rise', 'Kowalski', and there seems to be no let up on the intensity of the performance. This is a Greatest Hits Tour and, of course, the biggest cheers are for the most instantly recogniseable songs. 'Rocks', 'Movin' On Up', 'Jailbird' and 'Loaded' get the Southampton Crowd's mass approval as soon as the opening bars are played. The main set is finished in fact with 'Loaded'. Bobby sings the chorus to Stone Roses 'Love Spreads' at the end of the song. Mani then goes to the Microphone as they walk off stage and with a cheeky grin shouts 'Goodnight PORTSMOUTH, you' ve been great'. A few people boo but most laugh. All is forgiven when they all come back on stage for the two encores, anyhow. The last song is a cover of the Johnny Thunders track 'Born To Lose' which is the perfect end to a good night. You could be forgiven for thinking that there are only two members of Primal Scream, but it has to be said that the musicianship is of a very high standard. Sure the front two have the charisma (and bearing in mind one of them is the bass player, a minor miracle!), but I think that Duffy, who hides in the background behind the keyboards, keeps everything very much together and the guitarists (particuarly Robert Young who I noticed the most as he was the nearest guitarist to where I was) make the band look as well as sound like the Rock'N'Roll monster that they are. Anyway, a great night was had by all. I was particuarly pleased that I happened to see Mr Gillespie after the show and was able to shake his hand and mention that I had enjoyed the gig. I would definitely recommend them to anyone as one of the best live acts around, and I have seen a few.


Ric Mansell


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