Saturday 26/10/02 Athlete, The Polyphonic Spree @ Academy 2, Liverpool

Nothing can quite prepare you for the occasion of tonight. Forget any preconceptions that may have been present within you; release yourself from your own subculture, niche, or self-absorbing musical alcove. Cleanse your mind of hype, mockery and indignation, and open it up to the realms of pure aural bliss.

Do that, however, after the supporting slot of Athlete.

For want of trying, Athlete's presence at this event is unnecessary, and, for a set that stretches half an hour of your time, there is nothing in particular included for them to make their mark, save the recognisable opener 'You Got The Style', which doesn't seem enough to anchor a performance to. Musically, they do strive to offer something different away from the pool of abundant, raucous, but basic sounding four-pieces, much in the same way as The Electric Soft Parade forthrightly achieve. However, stylistically and impressionably they struggle with definition, and fall into a category of vagueness, which unfortunately, ultimately leaves you with a bland taste in your palette.

Now, survey the scene before you, the all-encompassing experience of The Polyphonic Spree. Twenty-five members of one band on the relatively modest-sized Academy stage, plus all the trimmings of instrumentation. A technical and managerial nightmare yes, but a visual extravaganza in the most astounding form, and that's before a single note is played. And what instruments! A veritable banquet unfolds; trumpets, trombone, French horn, flute, piano, moog, classical harp, guitar, bass, percussion, synth, and my God, a Theremin! Since when has this extra-terrestrial stick of wonder been used outside of the mid-70s? Add all this to a ten-person choir and lead vocalist, Tim DeLaughter, the mirror image of Black Rebel's Peter Hayes, who from this point on start to elevate your soul into the outer reaches of the sky.

Gospel-like harmonies ensue, whilst the structure of the songs that utilise the multitude of sounds is endlessly fascinating. Recent single 'Hanging Around' has DeLaughter reaching for the heavens, as enigmatic as a Texan preacher, and quite soon, like piously converted lambs, a three hundred strong choir complements a rapturous cover of Bowie's 'Five Years'.

This is not a 'gig'; this is a truly spiritual event. If the Church of England had such soul-driven emotionally enlightening musical performances, Christ, they'd have to turn people away at the door every Sunday.