Mercury Rev - T In The Park - Sunday 11th July 1999

Picture of Mercury Rev at T In The Park courtesy of Brian Corr

This could be the end. After several months of being able to anticipate more Rev gigs in Scotland, this really looks like it will be the last one before the new album is recorded and the band disappear from public view. Therefore attendance at a festival JUST to see the Rev is pretty much compulsory, expensive but compulsory. And what a long bloody day to get to the gig - 2145 seemed a long way a way at even 1700 but I'm here and I'm still standing (just). And it's been worth it. The Rev are scheduled to play for an hour, but for once that'll probably do me as the heat and tiredness are taking their toll and I've got a real headache developing.

It's difficult to see how full the tent is from the front, but it was certainly filling up nearer show time. More or less on time Lamacq bounces onstage to introduce the band, who receive an ecstatic reception. The sound seems fine after the worries earlier in the day but first impressions prove to be misleading. The opener's a no-brainer, "Funny Bird" (do they ever open with anything else these days?). Every time I hear this song live it sounds perfect and tonight is no exception. Jonathan's looking in a cheery mood and he even introduces "Tonite It Shows" which seems a little less intense than usual, in truth, a feeling borne out by the whole set. "Delta Sun" is next, perhaps throttled down a notch from the last tour, but in my skull all is not well. Bopping is making my head split - that guy clutching his head down the front is me.

First surprise of the night is "Isolation", which sounds great, but its inclusion is worthy of comment given the songs omitted. Then "Holes" which just sounds plain weird. Maybe it's my headache, but the organ, very much to the fore in the mix, sounds like it's being played in a different key to the guitars. No-one really seems to care but Adam looks a lot bemused at the end. "Frittering" signals the beginning of the run for home (already!) and Jonathan's vocals seem to be sliding deeper and deeper into the mix. The song segues straight into "Syringe Mouth" which as usual is a real blast. "Goddess" is next, not the most transcendental version I've ever heard them play, but still pretty damn wonderful. And "Opus 40" surely the set closer? It is although this time it's shorn of the "Once In A Lifetime" quotes. A point of controversy perhaps - I definitely preferred the version they played in January to the May/July one because if the sound isn't too great (as it turned out it wasn't tonight) a lot of the keyboards are lost in the mix and you can just hear Jason and Jeff plodding along for long sections of the song, despite Jason's best bass god pose at the front of the stage. For my money the song takes too long to hit the gear change for the freak-out at the end on nights like these (it was pretty much the same in Aberdeen) and Rev gigs should NOT have the word 'plodding' asociated with them at any costs. OK the headache may be clouding my judgement here but I still preferred the last version.

I'm in a minority of one as no-one seems to mind but they do mind when the band quit the stage in less than 50 minutes. There had to be an encore surely, but I could see them all walking way along the walkway out of the tent. They turned round pretty quick though and were back on stage, although in some disarray. Bizarrely Grasshopper has re-emerged WITHOUT SHADES. (So that's what he looks like!) No-one seems quite sure what to play. Well it has to be "Cortez" . It is but the version played reinforces my impressions of the gig being a little less intense than usual. Nonetheless this was still an awesome blast to finish with (particularly compared to the Young version on "Weld", which I'd dug out the night before.)

My personal circumstances were probably one reason I didn't enjoy this quite as much as usual and the other principal reason was its brevity. But has the constant touring of the last 10 months blurred the attack slightly? Or was this down to a less than brilliant sound, even allowing for the festival setting? Whatever, they still remain in the catch 'em while you can league - a year plus without Mercury Rev looms and that isn't much of a prospect. Thanks guys anyway for the last nine months.

Setlist:-

1. The Funny Bird 2. Tonite It Shows 3. Delta Sun Bottleneck Stomp 4. Isolation 5. Holes 6. Frittering 7. Syringe Mouth 8. Goddess On A Hiway 9. Opus 40

Encore - Cortez The Killer

Rev Index **** The rest of Sunday at T in The Park