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INSPIRAL CARPETS
31 March 2023
@The Junction, Cambridge
Now I’m a big fan of Madchester music and was lucky enough to
have lived near Manchester when it had all happened back in the late
1980s and early 1990’s. I’d seen The Stone Roses and The
Happy Mondays play many a time, I’d frequented The Hacienda and
The Boardwalk clubs as a regular, and I’d even been to Spike
Island - but I’d always missed out on seeing the Carpets back
in the day. So I was super excited to get this chance to finally see
them ‘up front’ as Clint Boon would say.
The venue was sold out and full mainly of balding white middle aged
blokes in t-shirts which I guess was to be expected, with the odd
female accompanying them and a few younger student types scattered
around on the revival vibe. The atmosphere was expectant and as Clint
Boon led out the band they were met with the customary chorus of applause
and ‘Mooooooos’ (easily mistaken for ‘boos’ to
those not aware), as they scooped up their instruments.
“How long has it been since we last played Cambridge?” asked
Clint Boon of guitarist Graham Lambert as they entered the Cambridge
stage. “I think it was 1992 mate”, replied Graham, as the
eager Generation X crowd listened into their conversation via the
mics. So it had been a while, but now, the Mancs were back!
They kicked off with ‘Joe’ one of the first songs ever recorded
by the band back in 1987, a track that we all worshipped as Carpet
fans, and then straight into ‘Generations’, an upbeat stomper
of a tune made even more bouncy by the expert beats provided by new
drummer Kev Clark. We were then met with some classic bangers as the
band turned out two big hits from the ‘Life’ Album of 1990,
‘She Comes In The Fall’ and ‘This Is How It Feels’
– the latter being the first Carpets song to enter the UK Top
40 Charts back in the 90s and one that, for many, even if not a fan
of the band, was immediately recognisable when heard on the radio.
As the set progressed Clint Boon would interject in between some songs
to chat with the audience and his pleasant and sociable nature came
across as he did so. At one such interlude Clint went on to introduce
the band and eventually even the current roadie, who he introduced
as the ‘next Noel Gallagher’. It’s a well-known fact
that before Noel Gallagher got involved with Oasis, going on to form
one of the most successful rock bands in history, he was in fact the
main roadie for the Carpets. Noel had toured around Europe with the
Carpets back in the day and had learned his trade as he did so. This
got me thinking because here I was, looking at two of the original
main driving forces behind this band, Graham and Clint, without which,
there may never have been an Oasis! It struck me how instrumental
these particular two aging punks were to the story of the British
Rock and Pop scene over the past 3 decades.
They continued with one of my favourites, ‘Two Worlds Collide’,
a song that the audience were happy to join in with and sing to their
hearts content. These were ollowed by some lesser know tracks to the
main stream ‘Let You Down’, ‘Caravan’ and ‘Find
Out Why’.
As the band took a quick breather their was a moving tribute to ex-drummer
Craig Gill. This came in the form of a video projected onto the giant
screen, which the band members acknowledged as they walked about on
stage. You could sense that the experience of this tour was bound
to be an emotional one for the current band members. Their UK tour
dates have been billed as a chance to commemorate Craig’s life
as well as a celebration of the music they’ve all created together
over the years.
Lead Vocalist Stephen Holt, a veteran of the band, was bang on form
and you could see how much he was buzzing from the experience as he
jumped down from the stage to mix it up with the fans at the front.
He excelled with two mosh pit favourites ‘Directing Traffic’
and the classic ‘I Want You’, supported on backing vocals
by Boon. And then the anthem song that always gives me goosepimples
‘Uniform’ which again was a real crowd pleaser. As the song
finished Clint turned to the crowd and asked in his Mancunium twang
“We’re back aren’t we?”, seeking confirmation,
of which the audience were more than happy to loudly agree!
Clint Boon continued to chat with the crowd when he had opportunity
and was gracious in thanking those he needed to for their support,
and commented on how good the tour had been thus far. As we approached
the end of the set it felt like it was finishing all too soon, but
all good things must come to an end. The 90s ravers’ audience,
now sweaty and out of breath on blood pressure pills, had been satisfied
by the performance and the energy provided by the Carpets on this
night. It had been so magical to hear those classic tracks from that
classic period still sounding so good.
‘Commercial Rain’ got the encore underway with outstanding
work from new bassist Oscar Boon, before Dad Clint started on ‘96
Tears’ - from 60s garage band The Mysterians who were a big influence
on the Carpets. The band thanked the crowd once again before the traditional
set closer ‘Saturn 5’ really took the roof off. Let’s
hope it doesn’t take another 30 years to pass before we see these
Mancs back in Cambridge again!
Words and Pics by Dan Sly
www.chockyboyzmedia.com
Big thanks to Rob at Sonic PR for arranging this
for us.
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