Hailing from NW5, London’s iconic Madness turned up to Nottingham to show us all how ska can be done. With the Lightning Seeds in tow, it was a small line-up but full of large songs, big sounds, and of course some rather baggy trousers. The Motorpoint Arena was prepped for a slightly lower capacity than usual, but Madness managed to absolutely pack out every single seat and each iota of standing room was crammed with fez wearing fans...
As the clock struck half past seven, the Lightning Seeds walked out to start their set with their song Marvellous. Whilst their playing was technically excellent, unfortunately their energy was not, and their set felt a little uninspired. Having seen them earlier this year play a much more exciting set, I’ll chalk it up to most likely illness at this time of year, and hopefully they’ll be able to give Nottingham a much better impression when they return to headline Rock City next year!
The set meandered through their originals, from Change to Sense, briefly hitting on a cover of The Byrds You Showed Me that even had some snippets of The Beatles’ All You Need Is Love and Lennon’s Imagine, before they got to the highlight of their set; closer Three Lions. I have to admit, the sound of an entire arena singing that did bring me out in goosebumps, such was the volume and outpouring of passion and love.
With a somewhat subpar support, our main event were far more than just a simple improvement for the proceedings. As a band that are pushing onwards in the age department, I was cautiously expecting a little bit of a lacklustre performance, and while the age of the band was demonstrated, it was through impressive restraint and ability rather than sloppiness or lack of energy.
The setlist itself felt thought through, with barely any gaps longer than two songs between huge hits, and still managing to show off a very respectable amount of their latest album, the number one charting Theatre of the Absurd presents C’est La Vie.
Opening with the prologue and first title track of the new album, it didn’t take long before we were then treated to a bona fide British classic in My Girl, which had the audience jumping and singing in joyful exuberance. Back into Hour Of Need off of that surprisingly strong new album and then straight into a personal favourite of NW5, which was emotionally impactful and excellently performed.
The rest of the set was no less brilliant, and further highlights included more great songs like Embarrassment and Wings of a Dove before they reached a searingly strong end of the main set - a five song run that started with One Step Beyond going straight into House Of Fun, with first the topic of fun spilling over into Baggy Trousers and then the topic of houses was continued by the iconic Our House.
Finally, Camden’s finest finished with a flourish and brought out their exquisite cover of It Must Be Love. Tears were rolling, voices were singing, pints were raised and drunk, and every single person seemed to be having the time of their lives. A quick encore of Friday Night, Saturday Morning by The Specials into Madness and Night Boat to Cairo rounded affairs off perfectly.
I truly don’t think there’s a much greater compliment to a band than when every single attendee at a concert leaves with a beaming grin plastered to their face, and I couldn’t spot a single person who didn’t fit that description. Madness, I take my fedora off to you for putting on such a glorious spectacle. They truly do call it Madness.
Madness performed at Motorpoint Arena on 5 December 2023
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