LIVE AND LET LIVE

Here is Twelfth Night delivering a special event in their history: "Live and Let Live" brings performances from the two gigs scheduled to signal the departure of frontman/lyricist/lead actor/Grand Court Jester Geoff Mann. It is a pity that it had to happen at that time, since the existence of such strong material still left unrecorded (the rockers 'Art and Illusion' and 'Deep in the Heartland', the neo gem 'The ceiling Speaks', and the monster epic 'The Collector' that should become TN's absolute peak) was pointing at a magnificent follow-up to the iconic album "Fact and Fiction". But no, this was Mann's farewell to his bandmates Revell, Mitten, Battersby and Devoil (that is, until the functional brief reunion of this classic quintet for the long overdue studio rendition of 'The Collector' and some other stuff to be included in "Collector's Item"), and so the spirit of emotion and the gods of energy combine in these amazing performances. The machinery monotony intro tape - perhaps emulating the opening sequence of David Lynch's "The Elephant Man" - paves the way for the arrival of 'The Ceiling Speaks' in a rocking storm that develops fiercely as Mann joins in with his praise of Christian Love and the instrumentalists indulge in a tight delivery of dual guitars, atmospheric keyboards and tight drum work. With the new instrumental 'The End of the Endless Majority', we are treated with a lovely duel of soft classical guitar and picked electric guitar, which at times gets on the pastoral side of things. A lovely piece, indeed, but it mostly works as an interlude between the opening song's drive and the epic pinnacle that is 'We Are Sane', the Orwellian tale of oppressed people under a regime that digitally dictates the rules of morals and social politics. Mann shines here like the singer-pantomime-tale teller that he is, and so do the musicians in a well-developed sort of varied moods and motifs. The rapport with the audience is now totally compact, unbreakable, virtually indestructible. There are more epics in store for the remaining repertoire, but by now, TN shifts toward its lighter side (musically, that is, since lyrically Geoff Mann robustly remains raving about the many unfair sides of politics) with 'Fact and Fiction'. The energy and versatility that always existed in the TN ranks allowed the guys to build techno-oriented songs such as this and give them an extra dose of incandescent groove. Besides the drums and occasional beats on timbales, there is only a bunch of synths playing. and they still rock in a Numan-meets-punk sort of way! The segued instrumental that follows sets a typically progressive set of moods and melodies, announcing the imminent arrival of a monster track -'Sequences'!! This 16+ epic that deals with anti- belicist subjects started as one of the band's first compositions (when it was an instrumental quartet), but fate wanted it to eventually turn into a neo-prog cornerstone. There is so much to enjoy in this piece that I won't go into detail here: the heavy metal and post-punk sources mingle well with the symphonic and old-fashioned psychedelic elements that conform the piece's compositional core. While it can be somewhat regrettable that TN never had the chance to give this song a proper studio version, the intensity of this live rendition makes it somehow unnecessary - this is its definitive version and that's it. So, moving on, if you want yet another epic, here comes 'Creepshow' right immediately - Mann's social anger turns now toward the utilization of mass-media to alienate people's minds, and the whole band delivers with passion and energy as they always do, managing the mood variations and the moderately complex tempo shifts with confidence, proficiency and ease. Once we've come through these two monster tracks, it is a pleasant breath of fresh air to be treated with a straightforward rocker as 'East of Eden' (it is a pity that the CD space doesn't allow to publish the 'Art and Illusion' portion of this individual medley, anyway.). And at the end of the day, what better closure for this farewell gig than 'Love Song'? This Mann manifesto for the power of universal love as a dream and a project to bring togetherness and solidarity for all mankind has found a perfect melodic basis in Mitten's mind and a perfect set of arrangements in the whole band. The accompanying chanting by the audience and the reprised mid guitar solo (one of the finest guitar solos ever in the history of neo) make sense with this poignant momentum when the warmth of human hope and the sadness for Mann's leaving combine. Some may say that this band is not that big a deal / but that's not the way I feel / my heartbeat dance to the songs they play. / Nothing more to say!