Thanks to a series of major concerts at the cavernous Marquee Showgrounds, Cork's profile on the circuit has risen of late and indeed triumphant shows by Lou Reed and Neil Young are still very much on the punters' lips as W&H make their way through the throng gathered outside the Opera House to witness THE FALL'S first visit to Cork for a decade.
The rather excellent Spigeltent events are part of the city's annual Midsummer Festival of the Senses programme and – with an orderly line of portaloos outside providing a Glasto-esque vibe – the atmosphere inside the roomy, circus-style tent is good-natured and celebratory.
While the idea of the curmudgeonly Mark.E.Smith and his latest bunch of sonic recruits rockin' the, er, tent to the very roots of its' pegs may seem unlikely on paper, the reality of the Mark.E in a marquee spectacle is considerably more exciting. The Fall circa 2008 being a beast of a very different stripe from the jaded individuals who played at the city's now long-defunct Sir Henry's in 1997.
Naturally, it goes without saying that only a terminal fool would dare to predict how long the current Fall incarnation will remain intact, but on the basis of both the impressive 'Imperial Wax Solvent' album and tonight's showing, Smith has the nucleus of a vintage Fall line-up on his hands should he decide to hold on tight.
Because, in simple terms, The Fall are a revelation tonight. Sans Smith, they troop on and blast into a lean and hungry 'Is This New', making it clear they mean business from the off. A cheer breaks like a Mexican wave through the tent as MES finally makes an entrance, stepping up to the three stage-centre mikes and giving his customary “Good evening, we are The Fall” introduction to sizeable applause. While he'll never be a bronzed Adonis, he cuts a considerably less shambolic figure these days, looking dapper as hell in leather jacket and pressed Chinos and – crucially – appearing energised and focussed throughout.
It makes all the difference when he leads from the front and within the first ten minutes they've dipped into the archive for a gloriously resurrected 'Wings' and drenched 'Wolf Kidult Man' in Stooges-style garage vitriol, with Smith stalking the stage, hunched and menacing. He's in his element by the time they pull out all the stops for a punishing and defiant version of '50 Year Old Man', by which time the jacket's off and the first significant bout of moshpit action has broken out.
Hearteningly, Smith seems more at ease with this Fall than he's seemed for years. He spends the entire set onstage and in the thick of things and his customary amp-twiddling is kept to a minimum. He's even confident enough to leave most of the vocal duties to his missus, the dainty Elena Poulou and mountainous bassist Dave 'The Eagle' Spurr during 'I've Been Duped'. But then Smith's got plenty to be proud of these days. Poulou's synths and organ play a much more substantial role and give the sound a Mysterians-style edge; doe-eyed guitarist Peter Greenway makes an agreeably frenetic racket throughout and in The Eagle and drummer Keiron Melling, Smith has assembled a crack rhythm section with the same power and versatility once displayed by Karl Burns and the Hanley Brothers.
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Inevitably, though, it's the frisson provided by Smith's dictatorial presence that keeps them on their toes. The refrain from 'Over! Over!' (“I think it's over now, I think it's ending”) is enough to keep all Fall footsoldiers in line and remind them of their potential removeability, yet tonight's version is dense and funky, with Smith spitting out the “I don't love you and I never did” kiss-off line. It's followed by a quintessentially gritty 'Fall Sound' and the motorik logic of 'Can Can Summer', which sounds much harder and more engaging than its' recorded counterpart.
By this time, we're into the home strait wherein their custom-built cover of 'White Lightning' burns serious rubber and '..Wax Solvent” dark horse 'Exploding Chimney' proves its' mettle. 'Blindness' was scheduled to close the set, but when Mark slopes off to let the band mop up towards the end of a psychotically exhilarating 'Pacifying Joint' you get the feeling he's timed it to perfection once again.
The Fall faithful probably spend more time than is strictly healthy on proclaimations of renaissance as we grapple with each successive phase of Mark.E.Smith's bizarre career path, so whether 'Imperial Wax Solvent' really can be deemed the best Fall album since the hallowed 'Hex Enduction Hour' only time and distance can tell. What is certain is that Mr. Smith and his handy new cohorts are a dauntingly fine live proposition right now. With this incendiary show registering a both a festival highlight and among the best shows this long-in-the-tooth Fall follower has attended, he can only urge Mark not to wait another decade before he darkens Cork's doorstep once again.
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