TV21 Edinburgh, Cabaret Voltaire - Friday 23rd September 2006 For me at least, nostalgia based reunions tend to have a short shelf life. Witness the Pixies reunion and even the decreasing returns from the likes of the Bunnymen whose shows increasingly show up the paucity of the recent LPs. It's a point TV21 have obviously considered. As I've said before the three previous shows, whilst treading old ground, have been far from predictable as they have been packed full of surprises from their back catalogue (and there's another one here). But the introduction of a new 21st century TV21 song marks a significant change of gear for this particular reunion. A new TV21 song in 2006? It's the sort of thing I can worry over. How many bands reform with new material which fails to live up to past glories? After almost 25 years can TV21 still write TV21 songs? And are they any good? Reassuringly the answer to both the latter questions appears to be yes. There is one just new tune on display this time round (although there are apparently more in the works), and it's called 'Last Man Standing'. As a statement of intent, it's not slipped in anonymously in the middle of the set, rather it's put very much up front and given the honour of opening the set, a job it does magnificently. 'LMS' manages to pull off the trick of retaining some obvious TV21 hallmarks, yet still managing to move things on. Ultimately it sounds like it belongs and it's pretty damn good too. 'LMS' sets the tone for the best show so far. Not only is the ante raised by new material but the band continues to sound tighter with every show. It helps that, for the most part, the sound is excellent and once again the 11 song set is packed with highlights. 'End of a Dream' has never sounded better, whilst both a taut 'This Is Zero' and a ringing 'It's Me' seem to get better with every show. The surprise? Well, for the first time the Shame LP is raided. The majority of that LP is stylistically different from TV21 (at least recorded TV21) but a stomping 'When Cole Was King' proves a good fit in this context. You'll have noticed that I haven't even mentioned the singles yet and the killer double punch of 'Snakes & Ladders' and 'On The Run' continues to close the set. But perhaps topping even those two was a simply splendid encore of 'Shattered By It All'. The basic facts haven't really changed since the first show. This is a band playing to enjoy playing and the more they play the better they get. Simply put there is a vibrancy about the band at the moment which makes a nonsense of any "out of date old pros" comments. IMHO. New songs suggest things are getting taken a little more seriously now. It's a statement that this band is not content just to trawl the past. However the best guarantee of continuing quality is that the whole enterprise remains based on the band members continuing to enjoy themselves. And there's no doubt that, on this evidence, that continues to be the case.	TV21 setlist Last Man Standing End of A Dream Ambition This Is Zero Something's Wrong When Cole Was King It's Me Swimming Snakes and Ladders On The Run ------------ Shattered By It All Links for this show TV21 index TV21 Official Site TV21 Myspace Site Evening News review (To quote the late Jimmy Sanderson - "Caller, were you at the game?") Ross McIntyre's TV21 site with photos from this and other recent gigs