CityLife

SELDOM has a triumphant homecoming been as elegant and understated as Elbow’s is tonight.

Had they wanted, they could have arrived on stage with the Mercury Music Prize held aloft, flags waving and ticker tape falling from the ornate curved ceiling of the Manchester Apollo.

Instead, the band from Bury devote the evening to a mesmerising display of intimate entertainment, where one of music’s most coveted awards is almost incidental to the proceedings.

Starlings is the tune to get us on our toes – as it does in the winning album, Seldom Seen Kid – and sees no fewer than four band members raise trumpets towards the skies for a wake-up jolt which isn’t really needed, but welcomed with rapturous applause.

It’s followed, as is every song, by an enthusiastic and almost reverential round of applause which wouldn’t seem out of place at the proms.

Annals

Elbow have easily earned their place in the annals of rock and roll, but this is a far more polished and considered performance than that.

The crowd sit so transfixed during songs that you could probably hear a plectrum drop.

The set list is mainly taken from Seldom Seen Kid, interspersed with songs from Leaders Of The Free World, and a couple of older numbers.

Next up is the simmering love song that is The Bones Of You.

And lead singer Guy Garvey is already starting the opening strains to the title track from Leaders Of The Free World when a fan shouts for some “old stuff”.

The intricate orchestrations which make up the Elbow oeuvre mean that their music shouldn’t sound this accomplished away from a CD player or iPod, but it does.

The ethereal string section which so help Elbow’s sound to soar during recordings are here in the flesh and give the live performance added depth.

Elbow’s biggest tune to date, Grounds For Divorce, is a definite reason for celebration.

The Fix

Richard Hawley arrives on stage as a special guest to perform the bawdy gambling duet ,The Fix, and looks like he wants to stay.

Mirrorball is soothing and mesmeric.

Station Approach cements Elbow’s affection for the place they still choose to call home.

Perfect Weather To Fly – the only song about the band themselves – reveals just how requited optimism should sound.

Then there’s a spine tingling rendition of Newborn, which sees the Garvey strumming an acoustic guitar, and builds into a hypnotic crescendo.

The collective members of the band are calm and collected but absolutely brilliant when the time comes.

But Garvey has their mandate to take centre stage.

Bearded and short sleeved, he look dmore like a mate than a lyrical genius.

Mercury

When he does mention Mercury, it’s to make the point that Manchester has already won two prizes, probably making it the best city in the world.

There’s an anecdote about the number 135 bus to Bury and numerous comments reinforcing how much Manchester means to the band.

But mostly Garvey asks between each song whether everybody is still feeling OK and has the air of a man who would nip away to fetch a glass of water if one of his fans said he was thirsty.

He sings angelically about being stubborn, selfish, and too old… even though he is actually humble, polite and vocally magnificent.

Perhaps not wanting to darken the mood, there’s no mention by name of the late friend and musician said to have inspired much of Elbow’s recent work.

But there is a single black balloon nestling among the sea of pastel shaded spheres which fall to the floor at the climax of Elbow’s exuberant One Day Like This.

It’s the song which has soundtracked our summer and the band from Bury’s long overdue recognition on the national stage.

There’s an encore and a somewhat sober finale to send us calmly on the way - and leave us wanting more.

This has been Elbow’s year and on the strength of this show, deservedly so.

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