The Academy was far from full for this years Fall gig but those in attendance would testify that Mark E Smith and his gang know how to put on a show.

First up were evil regent who’ve recently changed their name (it worked for the Kaisers) and could be on the road to fame with anthemic pop tunes delivered with Gusto – another new Oasis perhaps?

Next on were The Nightingales who plough the field first planted by Beefheart and formally tilled by The Gang of Four and Stump. I wonder how popular they were in their hayday and what prompted them to start over again? I have their 1986 “In the good old country way” LP which got a dusting off today & has some great guitar licks on it. Roberts Lloyd vocals seemed a bit too quirky for quirky’s sake for me and with his penchant for waving his arse at the audience, I doubt I’ll be rushing out to see them again.

When The Fall took to the stage I was delighted to see the same band as last time (and the time before – possibly a record!). Our pigeon chested hero gets a little more eccentric with time, as Digger put it “Going to Fall gigs over the years is like watching someone slowly disintergrate”.

Loads of new stuff and a few old gems thrown in – my favourite being “Pat Trip Dispenser” when they were joined by the Nightingales drummer. I loved it when the Fall had 2 drummers, and when the Weddoes did, and Adam and the ants, and Beachbuggy, and the Glitter band – you can’t go wrong with 2 drummers can you.

On their 4th encore (yes, that’s right….4th) they started playing ‘white lightening’ but the management turned all their gear off. MES tried shouting for a while with just the drums but then gave up. I managed to get a bit of it on film. Can’t wait for next years.

Thanks to John for the freebie and Tony for the snaps