The Manchester Evening News was on hand to review last night’s gig at New Century Hall with the legendary Scottish group
Scottish rock, psychedelia, house, and indie pop legends Primal Scream played Manchester’s New Century Hall on Friday (September 11). Manchester Evening News’ Roland Gent was on hand to take in the eclectic set that included playing their 2000 album XTRMNTR in its entirety.
Do they still want to be free and do want they want to do? Do they still want to get loaded and have a good time?
Well yes they do, but like all good things it’s a long slow tease with a magnificent climax. And in footballing parlance, it’s a gig of two halves.
Tonight it’s a fair move to play XTRMNTR from 2000 in its entirety. Then what? Is that going to be it?
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Clearly they can’t recreate the highs of Screamadelica, just due to personnel no longer involved. Will there be encores?
There’s a tribute to Mani who gets a mention and a chant from the home town crowd, and for me they never quite have the same sound without Manchester’s Denise Johnson.
Bobby Gillespie and Andrew Innes are the last men standing, and Darrin Mooney’s been with them since 1997, Throb Young, Martin Duffy, Denise and Mani have all gone.
Where do you go with Primal Scream now? One of the great British bands but since Riot City blues in 2006 they’ve never really touched their past glories with members coming and going and sadly dying.
Bobby Gillsepie is 65 now, how many other people who qualify for a pension look great in leather trousers? He still dances like your nan at a wedding, and his communication with the crowd in a camp Glaswegian accent is virtually indecipherable, but that’s to be expected.
But with Bobby Gillespie you never know what to expect, his band have achieved more styles than virtually any other group and hit the heights with jangly pop, punk, soul, dub, funk, electronica and rock.
They could play anything and that’s half the fun of they gig, will they won’t they pull out the big hits?
Xterminator featured Kevin Shields of My Bloody Valentine. The album also featured contributions from Chemical Brothers and Bernard Sumner.
None of those musicians were clearly going to be appearing so how did Primal Scream do it?
They key thing is that touring bassist Phil Mossman is superb, somewhere between Jah Wobble and Mani.
As soon as he leads off Kill all Hippies its clear that this version of the band are on it.
Yes you get all of XTRMNTR in a heavy groove laden, ‘dubby’ strobe party, you have to take the rough with the smooth.
Two versions of Swastika eyes to sing along to but there’s also a jazzy dub work out of Blood Money.
It’s a sensory overload.
Then the band take a break and announce an encore, we get Kowalski from Vanishing Point as a Mani tribute.
Then the cover of I’m Five Years Ahead of My Time.
It seems like that could be it but it’s not, they then smash the audience with all the hits.
Jailbird, I’m Losing More Than I’ll Ever Have morphs into Loaded.
In the middle of Loaded, Gillespie declares that he first met Mani when he “went on a bender at the Hacienda”
There’s Movin’ On Up, Country Girl and Rocks.
It’s a celebration but on some of those big tunes I’m still hearing the backing vocals of Denise Johnson, whose voice really took them into the stratosphere.
Set list
- Kill All Hippies
- Accelerator
- Exterminator
- Swastika Eyes
- (Jagz Kooner mix)
- Pills
- Blood Money
- Keep Your Dreams
- Insect Royalty
- MBV Arkestra (If They Move, Kill ‘Em)
- Swastika Eyes
- (Chemical Brothers version)
- Shoot Speed/Kill Light
Encore
- Kowalski
- I’m 5 Years Ahead of My Time (Cover version by The Third Bardo)
- Jailbird
- Loaded
- Movin’ on Up
- Country Girl
- Rocks

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