The Divine Comedy
Albert Hall, 27 Peter St, Manchester M2 5QR
Friday 19th October 2019
Tonight was practically a religious experience – The Divine Comedy, in a building that looks suspiciously like a church with stained glass windows with crosses, and a church organ behind the stage, Neil Hannon preaching to the faithful from on high, and the faithful hanging on to every word. There was even a bit of a choir going on for “Stranger Here”.
From my vantage point I was able to watch the audience as well as the band, and it was clear from the looks on people’s faces that they were having a ball.
When Neil announced “Psych Evaluation” one lady near me yelled “Oh my f**king god” with an ecstatic look on her face. It got me thinking, there’s not many nights out that can match the sheer joy of one of your favourite bands playing one of your favourite songs. I mean nobody gets that excited at the cinema, or going out for a meal (unless you go to Costco and have never seen the size of their pizza before, of course) It’s a reminder, if any was needed, of how music can bring people together and touch their lives.
The set consisted of a crowd pleasing set of songs from the brilliant current album Office Politics as well as the classic hits such as Generation Sex and National Express. The stage was decked out in Office Politics regalia.
The band played for around 90 minutes, the sound was great and the sold out audience were clearly loving it.
The Divine Comedy are right at the top of their game.
