Her Soul Has Been Spiritualized

Our good friend, Megan, had the pleasure of flying to London last week and seeing Spiritualized on their (very short) UK tour. She has a great recount of what went on that night that she so generously is sharing with us, exclusively. Seems like it was just magical. We are ridiculously jealous.

Fall colours seem richer and the air feels poignantly crisper. The sun is subtly enhancing everything with a lovely golden sheen. It's like being in love. The beauty of life is all around and I am feeling the harmony of the universe with each step. Intoxicated and euphoric, typing words is impossible and trite. I just want to float into space. Music has done this to me! But I must tell you, somehow, about the perfectly sublime J Spaceman "Acoustic Mainline" gig I experienced in London last Monday at the Queen Elizabeth Hall!

Jason Pierce (known as J Spaceman from Spiritualized) has come back from a near death illness last year, and the first new shows in three years are stunning. With strings and gospel singers, he has completely transformed the aesthetic of old Spacemen 3 and Spiritualized songs, and blended in Daniel Johnston covers and new tracks from the anticipated 2007 Spiritualized release. Perfectly brilliant versions of "Cool Waves," "Ladies and Gentlemen We Are Floating In Space" naturally shone in this setting. The classic fuzzed out guitars of Spacemen 3's "Amen" were replaced by the hypnotic voices of the gospel singers, and Jason's vocals affected everyone when he reworked the old line into "I don't mind dying, Lord, but I'd hate for my children to cry."


I couldn't quite cooperate when Jason sang Let It Come Down's "Stop Your Crying!" Glancing through my copy of the setlist, I am pretty sure I had tears in my eyes the entire time. His voice was magically both powerful and fragile, and his performance was as intense as ever. He looked healthy and happy, and his energy flowed into all the musicians and the ecstatic audience. Spiritualized guitarist Doggen accompanied him on keyboard, the only other current member on stage. It's unclear whether or not this line-up will make it to the US, but it is rumoured a live recording will! I've snagged some bootleg mp3s (an official release will sound a thousand times better) from the Spiritualized messageboard, so enjoy!!

Setlist: Sitting on Fire, Devil Town, Lord Let It Rain on Me, True Love Will Find You, The Straight and the Narrow, Cool Waves, Amen, Hold On, Soul on Fire, Walking with Jesus, Going Down Slow, All of My Tears, Stop Your Crying, Anything More/ Ladies & Gentlemen, Lay it Down Slow, Baby I'm Just a Fool, Goodnight Goodnight, Funeral Home, Lord Can You Hear Me… encore: Oh Happy Day

MP3s: 'All Of My Tears' + 'Anything More/Ladies And Gentlemen..."

*Pics of Megan with Jason Pierce on their way!!!!*