It was a frosty night in the Washington, DC area, but the Fillmore Silver Spring was warm with 1990s nostalgia when The Charlatans and Ride stopped by on a date for their coheadlining Between Nowhere tour last Wednesday night. Between Nowhere is a mashup of Ride’s classic album Nowhere, from 1990, and The Charlatans’ classic Between 10th and 11th , from 1992, both of which are played in full on this tour.
Wednesday, The Charlatans kicked the night off and tore through Between 10th and 11th sounding as well-oiled as ever. Led by the energetic Tim Burgess, The Charlatans (Burgess, Martin Blunt, Mark Collins, Tony Rogers, and touring drummer Peter Salisbury), are known for being a pioneering indie rock band, having formed in 1988 in England, and associated with the “Madchester” scene. The R&B and keyboard-tinged soul music the band is known for was on display at the Fillmore Wednesday night.
As mentioned, the set included all Between 10th and 11th which included “Tremelo Song,” “The End of Everything,” and “Weirdo,” and “Chewing Gum Weekend.” Once the album wrapped up, the band launched into selections from the rest of their catalog, including “Just When You’re Thinking Things Over” and “The Only One I Know.” The first half of the night ended with “Sproston Green” from The Charlatans’ debut album, 1990’s Some Friendly. It was a set filled with fan favorites and clearly designed to evoke memories.
The blond-mopped Burgess hyped the crowd through the band’s set, clapping waving his arms, and engaging with the audience. After some banter about where folks shopped for clothes, one fan in the balcony took off her sweater and threw it at Burgess. The crowd cheered for him to give her his sweater in return. After a few unsuccessful attempts to toss his wooly blue garment up to the balcony, the “jumper swap” was finally successful. Burgess spent the rest of the set wearing a bright green sweater that said “WEIRDO” in bright pink letters across the front and presumably the fan went home with a memorable item from the show.
After The Charlatans’ hour and twenty-minute set, Ride closed out the night, playing their debut album, Nowhere, in its entirety. The band (Andy Bell, Mark Gardener, Laurence “Loz” Colbert, and Steve Queralt) formed in 1988 in Oxford, England, and are considered pioneers of shoegaze, which emerged in the UK in the early 1990s. Nowhere was critically acclaimed upon its release in 1990 and is still considered one of the greatest albums of the shoegaze genre. After performing the entire album, Ride performed other songs from their catalogue during their encore, including more recent songs “Lannoy Point” and “Peace Sign,” which brought the happy crowd back to the present.
The Between Nowhere US tour wrapped up January 19 in Philadelphia.
THE CHARLATANS
RIDE
THE CHARLATANS SETLIST
I Don’t Want to See the Sights
Ignition
Page One
Tremolo Song
Can’t Even Be Bothered
Weirdo
Chewing Gum Weekend
(No One) Not Even the Rain
The End of Everything
Just When You’re Thinkin’ Things Over
One to Another
Toothache
North Country Boy
The Only One I Know
Sproston Green
RIDE SETLIST
Seagull
Kaleidoscope
Different Place
Polar Bear
Dreams Burn Down
Decay
Paralysed
Vapour Trail
Taste
Here and Now
Nowhere
Lannoy Point
Monaco
Peace Sign
Leave Them All Behind
