Midge Ure & India Electric Co.
17th March 2017
Powerstation, Auckland, New Zealand
Review and Photography by Sarah Kidd.
It may be St Patrick’s Day today, but it’s the Scots who are out in force tonight, flags and all. Midge Ure is back in town with his ‘Something from Everything’ Tour, a beautiful retrospective of over 40 years of his work.
This is the second night of the seven date tour around New Zealand and The Powerstation is already filling fast by the time the spectacular duo India Electric Co. takes the stage. Comprised of vocalist Cole Stacey and the multi-instrumentalist Joseph O’Keefe on violin, piano and guitar; the duo are travelling with Midge Ure in the dual role of support and backing band. Stacey has a unique style on stage and while he is certainly talented with a guitar, his work on the mandolin is just superb. It is always quite wonderful to watch a musician who gets lost inside his own music. But it is O’Keefe with his unassuming and almost shy demeanour who steals the show. His gift with the violin is quite remarkable, especially during their number ‘Camelot’ where the sheer passion flowing through the strings has people transfixed. A short but striking cover of Bruce Springsteen’s ‘I’m on Fire’ which provided everyone a brief glimpse into the varied vocal range of Stacey; was well received, with many a voice joining in on not only the verse but chorus as well.
After a short break and with little fanfare Midge Ure walks out onto the stage, an acoustic guitar slung around his neck, followed closely by Stacey and O’Keefe. The set-up is simple, three microphone stands, muted coloured spotlights and some subtle stage smoke. And it is absolutely perfect. Ure is in fine form as he kicks off with the Ultravox track ‘I Remember (Death in the Afternoon)’ his delightful tenor voice easily filling the space and resonating throughout the venue.
Last here in 2015 for a stripped back acoustic show, Ure obviously has a bit of a love affair with New Zealand as he proudly wears a piece of carved pounamu from his neck. Midge Ure has a long history in the music scene, he has been a member of acts such as Rich Kids, Slik, Visage and of course most famously Ultravox. The Scotsman was even a short term member of Thin Lizzy – but please don’t ask him to play any of their songs, because it won’t be happening.
Ure is the king of banter, and often pauses to regale the crowd with a brief history behind the tune he is about to play or a short humorous anecdote. The idea behind this tour he tells us was to play a piece from every album he has been a part of (a stunning 14 in total) – but “then we started changing it all”. Regardless we are treated to a superlative selection, including some which as Ure tells us, have never been played live before. The accompaniment of Stacey and O’Keefe adds richness to each and every song, with Stacey playing the mandolin for the entirety of the set and O’Keefe jumping between violin and the keyboards. There are plenty of opportunities for the crowd to also be a part of the music itself with Ure, a cheeky smile on his face inviting us to join in on the chorus of ‘The Voice’ (“It’s alright, I don’t like to write words so it’s just Oooo-oooo”) which all are more than happy to do. The combination of hundreds of voices singing in harmony brought smiles to all three of the musicians on stage and sent delicious shivers down my spine.
Towards the end of the night the favourites started to make an appearance, the classic ‘Vienna’ [the addition of O’Keefe on the violin elevating the song to another level altogether] saw Ure almost drowned out by the audience – a stark comparison to when he last played it at Sky City and you could hear a pin drop! ‘Fade to Grey’ while not the synthesizer version that many would be used to; still being hugely popular with those in attendance. Finishing on ‘Hymn,’ the trio bid the audience goodnight and quietly stepped offstage, only to return less than a minute later. “What is the purpose of an encore really?” Ure asks the audience, “Because you know we just stand off side of stage looking at each other”. Ure thanks the audience once again in that pleasing accent of his and states “see if you know this one” before beginning to play the heart wrenching Ultravox song ‘Dancing with tears in my Eyes’ much to the absolute ecstasy of many of the ladies in the front row.
Once again Midge Ure proving that he is still very much a member of the master class.
Were you there at Powerstation to witness this nostalgic new romantic gig? Or have you seen Midge Uri live somewhere else? Tell us about it in the comments below!
Setlist:
- I Remember (Death In The Afternoon)
- Flow
- If I Was
- Star Crossed
- Homeland
- One
- The Voice
- The Gift
- Live Forever
- Man Of Two Worlds
- Lament
- Let Me Go
- The Damned Don’t Cry
- Reap The Wild Wind
- Vienna
- Fade To Grey
- Hymn
- Dancing With Tears In My Eyes [encore]
- All Fall Down [encore]
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