The Charlatans have weathered more difficulties than most bands, from the deaths of two members and diminishing sales, to Tim Burgess’s misadventures with peroxide hair dye. Undaunted, they’ve just released their 12th album, and proved the rock maxim that if a band can hang on long enough, the tide will turn in their favour. Modern Nature is No 2 in the midweek chart, helped along by reviews heaping praise on its yearning disco-funk sound. As a result, this gig feels like a modest victory lap.
“It’s a big night,” acknowledges Burgess, as the group assemble on the foot-high stage of this basement bar. A wit in the audience replies: “Fools Gold!” Invoking the Stone Roses’ 1989 classic is intended to be kryptonite for the Charlatans’ collective ego, but luckily the band don’t seem to have one.
The Madchester steeplechase ended decades ago, with the Charlatans far behind the Roses in terms of influence and charisma – but they’re still here, and tonight that feels like a very good thing.
Added as a last-minute warm-up for their upcoming UK tour, the show is a scaled-down version of their usual set. They play five Modern Nature tracks – enough to deliver the message that hazy, soulful optimism is where their heads are. Nose-to-nose with the front row – the place is that small – they start with the daydreaming funk of recent singles Talking in Tones and So Oh, then ramble through their catalogue. Bassist Martin Blunt and the Verve’s Pete Salisbury, their drummer since the death of Jon Brookes in 2013, lock into a slinky groove on Weirdo; on the 90s album track Toothache, they work with Hammond organist Tony Rogers to recreate Madchester’s queasy delirium. North Country Boy’s Nashville-by-way-of-Northwich folksiness incites mass swaying in the crowd. Burgess has already photographed the crowd with his phone; now, smiling under his bleached moptop, he looks overwhelmed at the affection his band still generate.
• At Brooklyn Bowl, London, 20 February, then touring. Tickets: 020-7412 8778.
