The Beautiful South, BIC, Bournemouth
YOU'VE got to hand it to the Beautiful South - they know how to put on a show.
Backing tracks and the odd session musician might suffice for some singers, but the vocal triumvirate of Paul Heaton, Alison Wheeler and Dave Hemingway are supported by a full complement of eight accomplished musicians, most of whom have been with the band since the late '80s.
No half-measures, either, with a 105-minute set - including two encores - leaving the packed BIC crowd howling for more even though they knew there wasn't much more to give.
Dutiful renditions of a couple of new tracks from album Superbi were politely received, but the band have never begrudged the fact that it's the old stuff people have come to hear, and as the third song began a trawl through 17 years of back catalogue, the cheers grew louder.
And with top-notch vocals, brilliant musicianship, and a plethora of toe-tapping numbers, there was plenty to cheer.
Their catchy pop rhythms mixed with lyrics expressing Heaton's wryly sour take on life make for a unique sound. And it's certainly one that appealed to the crowd of mostly 30-somethings and above.
Dorset band Air Traffic - a guitar and piano-based rock quartet in the vein of Coldplay and Keane - broke with support act convention by actually being very good indeed.
They'll have to work hard not to vanish amid the morass of similar bands, though, and for that they can do worse than look at the main act.
Because love them or not, there's no-one out there remotely like the Beautiful South. They stand alone. Quite superb(i).
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