NMA remain underpinned by a driving rhythm

NMA remain underpinned by a driving rhythm section. The relatively
recent arrival of Michael Gill on guitar adds a harder rocky edge to
the sound as a whole. The 'folky’ elements of harmonica or fiddle on
'Poison Street' and 'Vagabonds' were replaced with lead guitar, and it
worked great, lending to an adrenalin fuelled set. A couple of encores
and I was glad that they included amongst them 'No Rest' which is
fantastic (great bass line!) And how better to finish the night and
ease the atmosphere than to end with 'Green and Grey' which still tugs
at the heart.

Standing amongst fellow NMA devotees, with my
own arms raised and united in song, sharing my own 'sacred moments'
with friends, it’s easy to loose objectivity and simply say the gig was
brilliant. Five stars! What more could I want than to be singing my
heart and lungs out to songs that I actually believe in? But I guess
Justin and the boys would be more analytical and critical of their
performance tonight. After all, they’re the professionals making a
living out of this. But where I was standing I honestly didn’t find too
much to be critical about! (Except, maybe, squeeze in a couple off
'Vengeance' next time. Oh, go on, it’s Christmas.)