Last night I too was at the MEN Arena for the farewell to the Seldom Seen Kid gig.  After 144 shows since the release of the album Elbow have put him to bed so they can go and record sommat new.

This was the fourth of the those 144 for me and whilst a moving occasion probably the least of all the ten times I have seen them since 2001.  Elbow's music is a warm, melancholic, richly detailed, tapestry of emotions which doesn't suit the arena.  They're at their best in smaller venues or oudoors but not in soulless sheds with the acoustics of an aircraft hangar.  Guy Garvey is the most sincere and romantic frontman around and can charm any crowd (and he did yesterday), but his talents are wasted on the corporate airheads who occupy the boxes around the venue, sipping champagne, chatting throughout and adding Elbow to their list of things they've done paid for by KPMG/Shell/RBS along with the soulless drone of Coldplay, the pre-calculated angst of U2 (what were you thinking Guy?), a Manchester derby, the Henley regatta, opera in the park and Ascot.  I wish the corporate twats would fuck off and leave more tickets to those who actually want to see a live music event because, I don't know, perhaps, they like to hear live music. 

So please Guy, Pete, Craig, Mark and Richard promise not to play arenas in future and leave the bankers in their penthouses with their silicone-enhanced blondes and their powder- filled noses.

On the plus side, thank you so much for playing Scattered Black and Whites, Mexican Standoff, Bitten By The Tailfly along with the usual suspects.  And Weather To Fly ("are we having the time of our lives?") and One Day Like This were dewy-eyed perfect.