On Saturday March 23rd, Spiritualized returned to Atlanta for the first time in years (Shaky Knees 2015), with a sold out show at Terminal West. The legendary underground British band are on their first major US tour behind their latest album, 2018’s critically acclaimed And Nothing Hurt (September 7th via Fat Possum Records), the band’s first new release since 2012’s Sweet Heart Sweet Light. This latest show in Atlanta was everything.
Spiritualized first formed in 1990 by Jason Pierce (also known as J-Spaceman) and members of his then disbanding former band, Spaceman 3. Over 8 acclaimed full length Spiritualized albums since their formation, the one constant has been Pierce. While the band members may have changed, Pierce has continued to evolve and produce some of the most stunning songs with the space rock project that is Spiritualized.
His health hasn’t always been great over the last 20 years, but that certainly hasn’t affected their live shows, even if J-Spaceman sat in a chair on one side of the stage for pretty much the whole show. It was Pierce up front in one corner of the stage, with two guitarists up front on the opposite side while the drums and the rhythm and harmony section in the middle back. Not the best setup from a photographer’s perspective, but hey, the show itself was absolutely stunning.
Spiritualized showed up to the sold out Terminal West to a quite and attentive crowd of long time fans, many speaking to amazing past live experiences with the band, or talk of finally seeing them live after hearing just how great the live show is. The hype was real, almost to the point of how can the band actually live up to this?
Starting off and finishing the night with “Hold On” from 2003’s Amazing Grace, Spiritualized played a 19 song set (including a 4 song encore) that showed off the true range of the band and what a gift they have been to this world. Of course, the Atlanta set was heavy on the new album with the band playing 8 of the 9 songs from And Nothing Hurt, but there was plenty for their longtime fans.
The second song of the night was a rock ‘n’ roll number, “Come Together”, that showed the crowd there was no need to keep quite, Spiritualized is LOUD. The song is off of their 1997 album, Ladies & Gentlemen We Are Floating In Space, which is probably their most beloved album and even won NME’s Album of the Year over the likes of Radiohead’s Ok Computer. Next up was “Shine a Light” off of their 1992 debut Lazer Guided Melodies, a song that brought the crowd straight into space, setting the stage for the rest of the evening. Then they went back to Ladies and Gentlemen with another slow building burner “Stay With Me”. “Soul On Fire” off of 2008’s Songs in A&E was next to get the crowd singing along. There was one more off of Ladies, “Broken Heart” before the band jumped into a run from the new album.
Pierce let out “I like to sit around and dream you up a perfect miracle”, the first song (“A Perfect Miracle”) on And Nothing Hurts rang from the stage, and from there it felt like the crowd was put into a spiritual and emotional rollercoaster that was sent from whatever heaven is above. It continued on with the stunning “I’m Your Man”, as in unison the Atlanta crowd felt every word while belting out their own inner demons. This was the moment; the moment that every one there knew and felt the same the same emotions. The music was evoking reactions, and we all let it loose together.
Next up was “Here It Comes (The Road) Let’s Go”, in which the audience might as well as have grabbed each other and swayed in unison. A beautiful thing. Next was “Let’s Dance” before going into “Damaged”, another stunner from the new album that had the audience floating. We are all lost and damaged, but it’s damn sure this whole venue was floating at this moment, and everything was alright. We were all there together, even if we didn’t know each other.
“The Morning After” kicked it back into a rhythmic upbeat gear. The crowd danced and it didn’t matter what the band did from there because they had every single one of us. “The Prize” and “Sail On Through” closed the main set from Spiritualized, but there was still so many more we all wanted to hear.
When the band took back to the stage after a short break, they finished it off with hands swaying in the air of a Sunday sermon. “So Long You Pretty Thing” off of 2012’s Sweet Heart Sweet Light was first up.
“So long you pretty thing, God save your little soul / The music that you played so hard ain’t on your radio / And all your dreams and diamond rings all that rock and roll can bring you / Sail on, so long”
It was beautiful, it was emotional, it was everything. The harmonies rang, the lyrics pierced, the band brought that huge sound to life that’s hard to put into words; you really just had to be there. It was everything.
And that wasn’t the end. The band then went into “Out of Sight” from 2001’s Let It Come Down, continuing the build of emotions, before letting their backup singers go full gospel with their cover of “Oh Happy Day”, an old gospel song recorded in 1967 by The Edwin Hawkins Singers that Spiritualized has played many times over the years.
Finally, the band ended where they began with “Hold On”. The crowd filed out the venue having released a myriad of emotions, knowing they had experienced a show they would never forget. Whether old songs or new, Spiritualized can evoke things that not many bands can, and it’s a true testament to mister J-Spaceman and the talented musicians he surrounds himself with. Sometimes a show like this is just what the doctor ordered, and I know I’m thankful for being at Terminal West on this date. This was needed like no other. Thank you Spiritualized, hopefully there will be plenty of more opportunities to do this again in the future.
Check out more photos from the show at Terminal West by Mike Gerry:
Spiritualized Online:
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Upcoming Spiritualized Tour Dates
03/30/19 – San Francisco, CA – Masonic
04/01/19 – Portland, OR – Crystall Ballroom
04/02/19 – Vancouver, BC – Commodore Ballroom
04/03/19 – Seattle, WA – Moore Theatre
04/05/19 – Salt Lake City, UT – The Depot
04/06/19 – Denver, CO – Gothic Theatre
04/08/19 – Minneapolis, MN – Fitzgerald Theatre
04/09/19 – Chicago, IL – Vic Theatre
04/10/19 – Royal Oak, MI – Royal Oak Music Theatre
04/12/19 – Toronto, ON – Danforth Music Hall
04/13/19 – Montreal, QC – Corona Theatre
04/14/19 – Boston, MA – Wilbur Theatre
04/16/19 – Washington, DC – Lincoln Theatre
04/17/19 – Brooklyn, NY – Brooklyn Steel
04/19/19 – Philadelphia, PA – The Fillmore
