Current affairs

Band reunions are often sad affairs, at least for the audience. British legends Wire are an exception. They have earned themselves a good reputation for their live show, even 30 years after their initial rise to prominence, and have even eked out a couple of well-respected post-heyday albums. A decent-sized crowd turned out on Monday to see them in the flesh, and were not disappointed.

First up were local band The Suppositories, whose minimalist style fit in quite well with the headliners. Their set was really excellent, and a fair number of people bought a copy of the band's soon-to-be-officially released album, Moments of Square Violence, myself included. They appropriately ended their set with a tune called Wired.


The Suppositories, Barrymore's, October 6, 2008

As for Wire, they played a dynamite set, and even came back for three encores. Even short founding member Bruce Gilbert they provided an exciting run through their catalogue, though I dare say at least one person was disappointed by the omission of I Am The Fly.


Wire, Barrymore's, October 6, 2008

Graham Lewis, Richard Gotobed and Colin Newman are joined live by well-known guitarist Margaret Fiedler-McGinnis (who incidentally founded one of my favourite bands, Laika). They started at 10:30 and finished up past midnight - that's a lot of minute-and-a-half songs ...

• Show reminder: Two great shows to choose from tonight, depending upon taste. Laura Barrett, Ghost Bees and Giant Hand play Mavericks, while Thomas Function and Weapons of Mass Seduction rock the Dominion. The Painted Birds and Red Light Saints also perform at Irene's. Stephen Hedley plays The Avant-Garde Bar.