After being away for 5 years, The Temperance Movement marked their comeback to Birmingham with a low key show at the smaller room of the O2 Institute on Sunday. With promoters being cautious, only small venues were booked, but the demand was clearly still there with tickets being snapped up quickly and venues being upgraded. It seems strange then that following the reaction to their initial gigs in March and without a show on in the main room, that this long sold out show wasn’t upgraded also. What this did do though was to create an intimate atmosphere akin to those earlier shows at the Hare & Hounds and O2 Academy 2 where those who were lucky enough to be there witnessed the rapid ascendancy of the band.
They take the stage in an understated fashion with Paul Sayer on acoustic guitar and Phil Campbell front and centre for a the beautiful ‘Chinese Lanterns’. The rest of the band loiter and come to the front for harmony vocals all huddled together around the single microphone. This display of camaraderie certainly makes an impact before they ramp things up for ‘Only Friend’ which features some exquisite guitar from the returning Luke Potashnick. By ‘Take It Back’ the band are really hitting their stride and with several shows now under their belt they are tight and give the song a twist Campbell adding harmonica and some fine texan blues from Paul Sayer.
‘Built In Forgetter’ and ‘Caught In The Middle’ are both upbeat rockers which confirms that we’re going to have full coverage from all of their albums tonight. It’s then right back to the beginning with delicate ‘Pride’ which is nothing short of magical in one of those moments where band and fans are as one. Phil takes a moment to thank the crowd for waiting for them “we know how much we mean to you”.
The set seems to have been well honed with balance throughout and the urgency and bite of Potashnick’s riff on ‘Lorraine’ sits comfortably alongside the raw blues of ‘Ain’t No Telling’. The slight echo on Phil’s vocals to ‘Smouldering’ adds an almost ethereal quality to the song. ‘A Deeper Cut’ ends the main set with Phil adding acoustic guitar.
The encore sees the band taking on Creedence Clearwater Revival’s ‘Have You Ever Seen The Rain?’ with Phil still adding acoustic guitar. They then round off the evening with two absolute belters; ‘Midnight Black’ and ‘Backwater Zoo’. With a couple of dates left on this current tour it will be interesting to see what the future holds. They’ve proved that they still have the passion and that the fans are eager, so we can only hope that the magic flows if they get back in the studio. It’s good to have you back.
Setlist:
Chinese Lanterns
Only Friend
Take It Back
Built-In Forgetter
Caught In The Middle
Pride
Get Yourself Free
Be Lucky
Another Spiral
Oh Lorraine
Ain’t No Telling
Magnify
Smouldering
Battle Lines
A Deeper Cut
Encore:
Have You Ever Seen The Rain?
Midnight Black
Backwater Zoo
