Declare Independence

It's not been a good week for support acts. Tonight's was a DJ who basically seemed to be playing ambient effects more than anything else, before changing horses mid-stream and giving the audience some Bowie (Fashion) and Rockstar (N*E*R*D). Either way it was a waste of 45 minutes from my perspective. I never caught her name. Don't care to find out.

As I alluded to yesterday, I've never been quite sure about Bjork. She's someone who I know that I should like, but never quite find myself reaching for the records. My usual process with this is to just get on with it and go to a gig where I'm forced to listen to the artist and make my mind up once and for all. Sometimes it converts me completely (see Ben Folds), other times less so (Amy MacDonald)

Her show tonight was something of a mixed bag, musically. No real complaints about the set list - lots of the new album, but plenty of the older material - Hunter, Army Of Me, Pagan Poetry and quite a few others, but it sagged a little in the middle with some of the newer material and the associate skittering beats and electronic noodling.

The one thing I can say unreservedly is that she knows how to put on a show - from the opening burst of fire for Earth Intruders, to the laser show, flags, projections, costumes, a spider web type contraption that she threw out into the audience during Hunter and the epic glitter strewn finale of Declare Independence it was impossible to take your eyes off the stage. By the end the crowd had lost their collective minds and the gig had turned into a massive beat driven rave with all hands in the air and Bjork leading a call and response of "Raise Your Flag / Higher Higher" conducted amid a seemingly endless flurry of glitter.

Strangely, I still don't know what I think about her. She's a great show-woman but I still don't particularly want to listen to the records!