Star rating: *****
The history of rock and roll is littered with questions such as "why Elbow and not Doves?"
Doves have followed a remarkably similar path to their northern brethren and are, on the evidence of the new material played here, on the brink of comparable success.
It has been four years since the trio - Williams brothers Andy on drums and vocals and Jez on guitar and vocals, together with bassist/vocalist Jimi Goodwin - last toured and there must have been concern that both time and the paying public may have passed them by. However, this show was sold out and the band has been doing brisk business across the country. The fans have remained loyal and the new album, Kingdom of Rust, will pull in more.
The irony is that while they play largely anthemic, hugely uplifting songs, the lyrics deal with mid-life crisis, social deprivation and economic collapse. Much of this was illustrated by the video images projected behind the band. There Goes the Fear, for example, featured a fairly disconcerting video which superbly underpinned the overwhelming sense of fear and menace. Black and White Town, which tackles the widening gap between rich and poor, fairly romped along, illustrated by images of a faded suburban landscape. But the line of the night was from the track Ambition, from their Some Cities album. "Ambition cuts you down", they sang. If only our erstwhile financial leaders had listened to that.
