By Jove, it sounds so fresh. The Hour of the Bewilderbeast is littered with forgotten guitar licks and hooks that cause the audience to yelp in surprise! The clanging chimes of track 4, Fall in a River caused many in the audience to splutter their teas across their knees- this song hasn't been played live for such a long time. And yet, this album was a Mercury Prize winner. It's now in the live arena where you understand why this piece of work is so acclaimed.
That's what will make this show last long in the memory. Not many musicians can play their entire debut album fifteen years later to a seated Barbican crowd held in rapt attention.
The second half of the show is dedicated to more familiar tunes, including a joyous rendition of Born in the UK. The show ends with Damon shaking hands with everyone on the front row; a "thank you for coming" gesture. The amount of people in the rows behind trying to join in with the hand shakes is a testament to how much this man matters. We're suddenly all back in the year 2000.
