Friday 18/10/02 Tramp Attack, Hokum Clones, The Coral @ Academy, Liverpool

Since The Coral sloped inauspiciously onto this very same stage as part of the NME Brat Awards Tour almost eight months ago, it's staggeringly obvious that bloody great big torrents of water have flowed under the bridge since that February night. First on and watched by a straggle of puzzled looking Lost Prophets fans wondering how on earth you can mosh to 'Skeleton Key', tickets for tonight's gig sold out aeons ago.

After solid support from Tramp Attack and the Hokum Clones (who would have thought, a thousand plus people going mad for tequila and soul soaked bluegrass?) The Coral bound on stage to commence perhaps one of THE most triumphant homecoming gigs since Oasis ripped up Maine Road back in those halcyon Brit-Pop days. Any lingering doubts that James Coral's vocals might flounder in light of the cancelled gig in Leeds earlier in the week are immediately put to rest as they belt through album opener 'Spanish Main' before tackling 'Badman' with a maniacally intense ferocity. All that constant touring and painstaking devotion to their craft (without wanting to come across too muso) manages to create a level of performance that literally clambers out from the stage and is reliably consistent throughout the rest of the momentous set of which the highlights are many.

'Simon Diamond' turns into a mass, joyous sing-along whilst, bolstered by a brass section, 'Calendars and Clocks' is given an added depth and lush feel beyond the slightly muted recorded version. 'Dreaming of You' and 'Shadows Fall' both ring with a warm familiarity, but it is the double barrelled closing salvo of 'Skeleton Key' and 'Goodbye' that ensure the evenings affairs all reach a fitting finale. In lesser hands, five minute experimental wanderings mid song are a distraction that make you forget what the song was in the first place, but for the fired up Coral - suitably buoyant on this last gig of a nation-wide tour - they make the difficult look an absolute piece of piss. Flitting from fuzzy psychedelia to Sun Ra breakdowns that would make Jason Pierce green with envy, this segment, more than any other part of the set, is a glowing testament to what The Coral have become as a band.

There's no encore, but why bother! Its all been said and done in 60 stunning minutes that proves The Coral are no "Cosmic Scouse" flash in the pan. Providing ample proof that there's considerable more to come from Hoylake's finest, on this evidence the New Year follow up to "The Coral" can't come soon enough.

Photos by Shelly Turner :: shelly@gigwise.com