An unexpected email from long-time buddy, JJ, led to my live music review year starting on such a high that I suspect other bands will struggle to match it in 2005. I live in hope but the Frames a few nights ago threw down one massive challenge.

JJ has been working full time at Liverpool’s premier dance venue, The Krazy House, adding even more loot to the club’s overflowing money chest. He’s been so busy he hasn’t had time to go to gigs, and when he succumbs to band managers proclaiming their bands as the ‘next big thing’ he usually survives for about two songs and disappears. And that’s the sort of guy he is; won’t take shit and calls a spade a friggin’ shovel. So when he actually shows real enthusiasm to attend a gig I move heaven and earth to accompany him. On this occasion he wanted to know if I had tickets to see the Frames at the Lowry…

I’ve known of the Frames since 1999 following receipt of the band’s second album DANCE THE DEVIL and subsequent attendance of a live show in Liverpool. I was blown away. I have never, ever, seen an unknowing audience stop a band leaving a stage and then smother them with affection after the show was finally over. I then saw them play in Ireland several times and then back in the UK a further three or four times.

In 2002 the band released FOR THE BIRDS that stormed the Irish charts and finally cemented the band’s position at home as the country’s most popular and accomplished live band. In 2003 a storming live album was released called SET LIST - a classic Irish live rock recording. Over the last two/three years the band has toured relentlessly in overseas territories, and especially Eastern Europe, the USA and Australia. In recent years touring the UK has been put on the back-burner due largely to our dormant music media.

Just before Christmas I received the band’s latest and greatest album BURN THE MAPS, due for worldwide release in early February 2005. The band has also signed to the important underground Anti label that hopefully will lead to an extensive UK tour at some point in 2005. Over the years I’ve dragged JJ along to Frames gigs until finally he admitted that it is certainly one of the world’s great rock bands - hence the email.

The Gallery Theatre at the Lowry Centre in Manchester is a wonderful seated venue with a capacity of around 600, tiers of galleries climbing skywards and superb acoustics. As I entered to see the support act the theatre was about half-full and I didn’t think many more punters would appear.

Ella Guru is a rather unique band from Liverpool whose haunting music is delivered in hushed, unhurried tones. The band’s first album (appropriately called THE FIRST ALBUM) is a beautiful, understated, moving and melodic piece of work that we included in our best-of-2004 selection. The band comprises of lead vocalist/guitarist plus two backing singers/multi-instrumentalists plus drummer, keyboardist, double bassist, guitarist and brass blower.

This unpretentious bunch of musicians delivered a skilful live performance but I have to say I prefer listening to their recorded music. I found that live the songs sounded pretty much the same, while the ultra laid-back style was akin to one of those rather amiable and inoffensive English folk evenings. I prefer some edginess, some anger, and certainly a little more diversity. Occasionally the lead singer would mumble a humorous observation that went right over my head and could hardly be heard. A pleasant performance but one which lacked the level of audience involvement that the main act deliver in truck-loads.

That said, the band’s fans lapped it up and provided generous and genuine applause. Ella Guru’s performance was also an ideal foil for the Frames and I became impatient for the raw passion for which the band is renowned.

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Just minutes before Glen Hansard and Co took to the stage the venue still looked a little barren but suddenly and magically the place start filling up almost to capacity. And by the time the band strolled onto the stage empty seats were hard to spot. Now this was a thing of wonder to me. Few should know this Irish band as they rarely tour here and their records are not the subject of media hype. So how and why did this crowd suddenly engulf the venue? I questioned one older member of the audience who told me he had all the band’s records but hadn’t seen them perform live. He loved their music and had been introduced via a friend. I advised him that he was in for a rare treat.

It was a very mixed audience covering every age bracket with a fair sprinkling of young females. As I continued to marvel at what was happening, with little ceremony and a quick ‘hello’, Hansard started with a song from the new album. With him were band loyalists Colm Mac Con lomaire on fiddle and Joseph Doyle on bass guitar. Almost hidden over in the flanks was ‘new boy’ guitarist Rob Bochnik (at least I think it was him as it looked like he had been given a major rock makeover and has lost weight), and a new drummer who I did not recognise.

It was a low key opening that seemed as if Hansard was testing the waters with this multitude of strangers in front of him. There seemed to be more formality that is the norm in the performance, and I had noted for the first time that a set list had been casually deposited next to Hansard’s mic – not stuck down mind you, as is usually the case. Even stranger was that Hansard actually looked down at it, albeit it in a manner that suggested that he was not about to follow it to the letter, and sure enough….

The new album, BURN THE MAPS, is a thing of wonder and is already a strong contender for our album of the year. Like the band’s previous music it is chocker with strong melodies, heartfelt sentiments and uncompromising raw power. The opening session consisted of several songs from the album including the glacial paced and threateningly bass-driven Happy, and the fast and epic Finally where Hansard really let go vocally. With the ecstatic audience response he seemed to relax into his stride and I’m pretty sure that he too was surprised at the nature of the audience response.

Dream Awake is another new song that Hansard almost whispers into his mic. It’s a beautiful song with the most subtle of instrumental backdrops. But as the song progresses the voice and instruments become louder and more aggressive before sinking back to virtual silence. I can’t be sure of all the new songs performed but I believe that the distinctive and contemplative A Caution To The Birds was included. Early on in the performance I noted that the band sounded tighter than I have ever heard before and I suspect that the current band line-up contributed to this. In particular I noticed that the drums were a much stronger feature and were played with great power, discipline and precision.

One new song I did recognise was the amazing Suffer In Silence that has the stamp of greatness written all over it. It also signalled the point at which the band was at its best and feeding off the massive audience acclaim. An almost invisible guitar chord opens the song as Hansard quietly sangs to a magnificent swaying tones of Colm’s fiddle. The song creeps along in a way that you just know that a nuclear time bomb is pretty well guaranteed to detonate very soon. The song builds and builds, grows louder and louder with Hansard becoming more animated as he began to attack his guitar strings. Colm on fiddle and Botchnik on guitar then came into their own, backed by angrier drum beats, and within seconds the detonation arrived. It was a very special segment of the show and one I will cherish.

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Then it was time to play some old favourites and with this segment came my biggest surprise of this quite extraordinary performance. It was one thing to see such a packed and enthusiastic auditorium, but it was quite another to witness punters singing choruses. But that’s precisely what happened and I was totally blown away by it, as no doubt was the band.

Lay Me Down signalled one highly participative moment while the classic Revelate drew huge crowd acclaim and a rowdy singalong. I was still down at the stage front with my cameras and was able to look behind me to see the crowd reaction and JJ literally bouncing out of his stalls seat. Now the latter is very, very unusual and I have never seen him in such enthusiastic mode before. Both songs are of course permanent fixtures in all Frames performances along with another favourite in Star Star.

Hansard is not only a supreme performer but is able to communicate with his audience comfortably and warmly, while injecting genuine humour. In fact if he ever gives up rock, he could be a comedian. At one point he explained to the audience that the band had to go directly from the show to the GMR radio station for a live session and so wouldn’t be available to talk to punters. He then proceeded to put on a typically American DJ voice in announcing several times “this is GMR radio.” The crowd were in hysterics. At another point a punter shouted for the band sing a particular song to which he replied with a curt “no”, but with a cheeky glint in his eye as he turned away. Later in the show he asked for requests and was literally bombarded with demands from all parts of the venue, and appeared genuinely taken aback by the response.

Another interesting side to Hansard is his ability to lead his band. I mentioned the set list earlier and sure enough it was treated as a framework for the show rather than gospel and was eventually ignored in response to the audience reaction and demands. A nod, a look, or a guitar chord from Hansard signalled to the band members what was coming next and they slotted in perfectly. On the odd occasion he would saddle up to Doyle to discuss the next song. This show effectively had no script with content ultimately dictated by the audience vibe – a quite unique phenomenon in my experience.

When the inevitable encore arrived the audience was treated to a further three or four songs accompanied by a declaration from Hansard that the show had been the band’s best in the UK (in over twelve years of touring here). I have witnessed literally hundreds (perhaps thousands) of gigs in my reviewing career but what happened at the conclusion of the show is a very rare occurrence. As the band were about to leave the stage for the last time every single member of the audience stood up in one of the most moving displays of appreciation I have ever seen at a rock concert. And if the band ever needed encouragement to tour the UK more extensively and regularly, then this was it.

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Over the last five years we have introduced many great new acts to UK and world audiences through the pages of our magazine. These have included David Gray, Damien Rice, Carina Round, Ryan Adams, JJ72, Muse, The Dirty Three, Moby and several others. And we do it on the basis that the acts offer something very special, something very distinctive, music that communicates with sincerity and passion played with consummate skill. We will continue to champion the Frames because we believe that it is one of the world’s greatest and most audience-friendly musical acts. And we are not alone. Our artist of 2004 Damien Rice recently declared that the Frames and Radiohead were his two major music influences. This performance was the best I have seen from the band; it combined the band’s involving and raw quality with a tad more formality; and underlined the unique quality of songs that stay cemented in head and heart.

All who witnessed this show will agree that it was one of the truly great rock performances, and one that will live in our memories forever. And it coincides with the imminent release of new album that deserves universal critical acclaim. Perhaps now the UK music media will take notice…