Inspiral Carpets kick off UK tour with sold-out Roadmender show in Northampton

It was an emotional return to the live stage for Manchester legends Inspiral Carpets last week as the band kicked off their UK tour at the Roadmender.

Their gig at the Northampton venue was their first in eight years and their first since the death of drummer Craig Gill in 2016.

Admitting, they “couldn’t stay away forever,” Inspiral Carpets treated fans packed inside to a 20-song set, playing almost all of their lauded 1990 debut album Life.

Joining the Inspirals were Cheshire trio Déjà Vega who put in a solid set of guitar led psychedelia ahead of the headliners.

It’s fair to forgive any band which has been away from the live circuit for eight years for being a bit ‘rusty around the edges’.

Kicking off with Joe, after the initial excitement of seeing the Inspirals back on stage subsides, it takes a while for the band to properly get into the swing of things.

However, by the time singles This is How It Feels and Two Worlds Collide come along, the sold-out venue is singing along with Carpets frontman Stephen Holt.

Joining Holt is keyboard player Clint Boon, guitarist Graham Lambert, bassist Oscar Boon (son-of Clint) and drummer Kev Clark.

Find Out Why and Sackville both give Boon senior’s keys the chance to fight their way through to the front of the band’s psych infused indie rock.

There’s little in the way of chatter from Holt or the rest of the band, who you suspect are using this run of dates to properly warm up ahead of a hometown gig in Manchester this week, other to profess their love for those inside the Roadmender.

And, by the time Dragging Me Down arrives, there’s finally some movement from fans in the first half-a-dozen rows.

When the Carpets depart at the end of their set, a tribute to Gill is displayed on the large LED screen behind them, with fans cheering until their return for an encore.

When they do return, there’s a cover of ? & The Mysterians’ 96 Tears before Inspiral Carpets bring their set to a close with 1994 hit Saturn 5.

After an eight-year hiatus, it’s great to see the Inspirals back and on the evidence of their tour opener at the Roadmender, they’re only going to go from strength to strength as their return continues.

Inspiral Carpets played:

Joe

Generations

Weakness

Butterfly

She Comes in the Fall

This Is How It Feels

Two Worlds Collide

Let You Down

Caravan

Find Out Why

Move

Sackville

Directing Traffic

Keep the Circle Around

I Want You

Uniform

Dragging Me Down

Encore:

Commercial Rain

96 Tears

Saturn 5