At the Gang of Four gig at San Fran last Wednesday night, the only original band member still in place was guitarist Andy Gill, who represents just one quarter of the band’s famed foursome of Allen, Burnham, King, and Gill. That’s the Gang of Four who made the band’s most feted album, Entertainment!, back in 1979. The album we were all there to celebrate the 40th anniversary of, all these years on.
The venue was nonetheless packed. A sell out, some nine months on from when the gig was initially scheduled (and postponed due to Gill’s illness). A planned second Wellington gig on the Thursday was also in the process of selling out (and may well have done so).
As it turned out, my “rule” was exposed for the nonsense it probably is. Gang of Four were super impressive on the night, and the “new” band members - Thomas McNeice (bass), John Sterry (vocals/melodica), and Tobias Humble (drums) - all added a lot of life, energy, and love to a set of tunes that have stood the test of time.
The fractured funk rhythms of ‘Anthrax’ kicked things off in no uncertain terms, offering an early taste of the pulverising basslines that tend to dominate the band’s best work.
We then got a procession of the politically-motivated tunes that have always best represented the beating heart of Entertainment!, with stand-outs (for me) including ‘Not Great Men’, ‘At Home He’s A Tourist’, ‘Guns Before Butter’, and ‘Damaged Goods’, before a raucous take on ‘I Found That Essence Rare’ took things to a mid-set peak and a curious (yet brief) interlude.
After the short break, the band then set about ticking the promised “other hits” box, a pick and mix assortment which basically amounted to a “best of the rest” of non-Entertainment! cuts. Highlights included ‘I Love A Man In Uniform’ (off Songs of the Free), and the closing track ‘What We All Want’ (off Solid Gold).
This segment also included energetic vocalist Sterry taking to a strategically placed on-stage microwave with a rather large piece of wood, something which might be considered a bizarre turn of events were it not completely aligned with the band’s well documented anti-consumerism stance. In this instance it seems a poor microwave was deemed the night’s symbol of capitalist repression.
Shortly before 11pm, after something close to 90 minutes (all told) the gig was done, and Gang of Four exited the stage without an encore – or even any requests for an encore. It’s odd perhaps, but that seemed about right for this gig; surely nobody would have felt short-changed by what they'd just witnessed, and Gang of Four have always been about breaking those time-honoured pesky rules.
No regrets from me either that I’d broken one of my own rules in order to attend. There are certain bands and albums that transcend any level of ridiculous rock-snobbery. I’ve been regularly listening to Entertainment! for roughly 35 years, so original band or not, I wasn’t going to pass up the rare chance to see it performed live.
And maybe it’s a rule that I’ll need to be more flexible with in future?
(Support had been provided by veteran local post-punkers the Uncools, but I caught only the tail end of that set, walking in to hear the closer (and Snapper cover), ‘Buddy’, which immediately had me questioning my tardy arrival time and wondering what else I may have missed.)
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