Dave

Opinion was divided as always. The Church walked on stage and did whatever they liked. But anybody who expected different just hasn't been paying attention for the past fifteen years.

The acoustic duo configuration drew a huge and much more attentive crowd than usual: punters intrigued by the Unplugged possibilities, a fair whack gambling on hit singles and of course, the Church faithful.

SK and MWP opened with a number designed to baffle expectations: a spellbinding cover of Ritz, a long and ethereal song from an early album by Steve Harley and the Cockney Rebel.

Shouted requests from the gallery were ignored throughout, except when Kilbey rattled off a comic five-second summary of Unguarded Moment during the encore. Almost With You was performed more respectfully to the crowd's approval and later, Under the Milky Way was a gracious and rapturously received inclusion.

But mainly, album tracks were the go with Starfish scoring more selections than any. The set was picked from far and wide including just one from each of the last three Church LPs, one from WP's solo catalogue and another, Providence from SK's other group, Jack Frost.

As usual, things were pretty ropey in overall togetherness, though MWP's extraordinary improvisation often took flight into realms of pure bliss. The Church's standard stage tension was there as well, Kilbey coming perilously close to spitting the dummy over a technical problem noticeable only to himself. In the end the crowd's consistent generosity won him over.

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