Wednesday, 25th September
Most people know The Magic Numbers for their melodic soft pop-rock numbers that blasted out of every radio in the mid 2000s. For a band that has been around over a decade (with all original members intact), they’re not doing too badly. The slightly odd mix of 2 sets of brother/sister duo’s make up the band and tonight we’re the very middle entry on their tour schedule to promote their incoming new album.
First up we get Michele Stodart from the band singing songs from her solo album, to a polite if largely indifferent crowd. It’s like The Magic Numbers are coming on incrementally as after 2 songs, fellow Magic Number Angela comes out to sing along. The crowd clap once the song has finished but other than that they repeat a theme that occurs throughout the whole night, chatting very loudly.
Finally our patience has been rewarded as The Magic Numbers begin with the melancholy track “The Pulse” but the crowd continue talking loudly, like a massive group of old friends who have been reunited. They kick into the hit, “You Never Had It” and the crowd grows silent as we hear the first of the famous 3 part harmonies. Heads begin nodding and the crowd finally seem to get into the gig in earnest. However, the chatting returns for new songs like “Roy Orbison” and “Shot in the dark”, and then mega hits seem to captivate the whole crowd.
The band are in a chatty mood and seem to be having a great time, but they have to hush the crowd occasionally, like the cool teacher at school when he had to tell the class to be quiet. Angela steps forward to sing “Throwing My Heart Away” and they ask the crowd to be quiet and you could hear a pin drop (for the first and last time tonight). They finish off with “Love Me Like You” and everyone goes bananas, dancing, stomping and clapping – this is The Magic Numbers they've been waiting for. The encore comes and it’s “Mornings Eleven” the perfect end. The Magic Numbers rode the wave of a mixed crowd; throughout they struck a balance of hits, album tracks and new material that provided for a brilliant show. There’s not a lot you can do with a chatty crowd but sing through it, and that’s exactly what they did.
Chris Caldwell
