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Of the many contenders, Morning Runner are perhaps the best positioned to
do big things in 2006. The explanation behind this theory is simple; the
songs. Morning Runner are craftsmen of epic, essential music that boasts
a vibrant, seemingly magical quality.
The singles released have become instant classics, the band's live skills
practised and polished whilst enjoying support slots with the likes of Coldplay and Ian Brown. Now on a sell out
headline tour of their own, Morning Runner are tonight playing an expectant
Cardiff Barfly, promoting the freshly released album Wilderness Is Paradise
Now.
On warm up duty for the Reading four-piece were Bristol based New Rhodes, who sound like a
bastard offspring of The
Futureheads, We Are
Scientists and The Music. They
were short, sharp and straight to the point. With intricate guitar riffery,
mind-blowing drumming from Stephen Bishop and above all, an arsenal of
decent songs, New Rhodes gave the attentive crowd plenty of evidence to
prove the injustice that this band are not currently enjoying a higher
profile.
Soon after New Rhodes departed, Morning Runner routinely ambled onto the
cramped Barfly stage and launched straight into It's Not Like Everyone's My
Friend. And there it was. That infectious, compelling voice that exits
Matthew Greener's mouth with such passion and ferocity. It was a call to
arms for Cardiff Barfly to focus their attentions on the musical feast that
was about to be served.
Sadly, to say that what followed was a musical feast would be a gross
overstatement. Morning Runner looked ropey and sounded numbingly average.
Wilderness Is Paradise Now is a beautifully enchanting, biting piece of
music. None such elements were exported into tonight's live performance. The
recital of the aggressive, bitter brilliance of Be All You Want Me To Be -
the reason I fell in love with this band - was languid at best and a
cheerless disappointment. Morning Runner were sounding like a band who were
already tired of their own songs, a day after their debut LP was released.
Something was wrong. The crowd knew it, the band knew it.
"Sorry about this" said Greener, "we're really tired, this is our 25th
night on the road or something". Tired. Christ, they looked it too. Lifeless
figures, physically, emotionally, mentally drained. This was the penultimate
night of their first headline tour and it was all too clear that it would
have been infinitely better to have seen them at the start of it instead of
the end.
Oceans was transcendent, and for two minutes reminded everyone why they
came out tonight, but nothing else stood out or made any impact. Even
Punching Walls (preceded by Greener declaring "This is probably my
favourite") failed to instill any tangible degree of enthusiasm in the
crowd, whose attention was beginning to falter.
Thank God then for the brilliantly redeeming end of the set. The
frenetic, rousing Gone Up In Flames was at once sublime and heartbreaking as
the last vital drops of Morning Runner energy seeped away from every line,
guitar thrash, and cymbal crash. Following this was the final song - the
mighty Top 20 entering giant that is Burning Benches. This was performed
with ferocious intensity and was well received by the thankful, roaring
spectators.
By the time the two song encore came along Morning Runner finally sounded
as if they were waking up, and wanting to perform, perhaps bolstered by the
presence of New Rhodes' James Williams who had been invited by Greener to
play guitar on Them Folk.
Unfortunately it was all too little too late. Tonight saw
glimpses of the sublime talent that Morning Runner undeniably have. But for
a band sitting aloft so much potential, and with songs as good as those on
Wilderness Is Paradise Now, their lack of enthusiasm and tepid performance
was frustrating and ultimately disappointing.
Greener's final words were "Sorry this has been shambolic" which pretty
much summed it up. Have Morning Runner not heard of Red Bull?
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