Yes! I’ve seen Faithless Live! Oh and what a totally super charged evening it was – the atmosphere was more than palpable as we patiently waited for the music to start after a couple of wins on the racing – bonus!
It’s their first time at Newmarket and they gave an electrifying show that was a testament to their enduring legacy and a poignant tribute to the late Maxi Jazz. As Sister Bliss and her band took to the stage the crowd gave a roaring welcome.
Everyone was jumping, bouncing, moving, dancing, yelling, singing, the whole way through as the euphoria of the high-octane experience enveloped the crowd. The set-list of course included their hits and the eruption from the crowd for ‘Insomnia, ‘We Come 1’ and ‘God is a DJ’ might have been over the decibel limit. The question on everyone’s lips was how do these iconic songs get performed without Maxi? Well, it was like he was there. The big screen at the back, which was showing all kinds of psychedelic pictures and colours during the set, showed Maxi singing these songs, but not as a background element, it was his voice, which delighted all of us as it was done in such a cool way to honour him. His spirit was around us.
Tracks from their upcoming album ‘Champion Sound’ were integrated into the setlist and the two new vocalists Nathan Ball and Amelia Fox brought a great dynamic to the stage breathing a new era to the band whilst still honouring their core mission of dance music. The band added a lot of depth to the electronic sound, with the drummer, bassist and guitarist all brilliantly talented making the live sound more fabulous. The percussionist, Sudha Kheterpal was incredible and her energy was off the scale – she came out to sing a track and was astonishing.
It was also a visual masterpiece. Dry ice was billowing out constantly which blew across the landscape of heads in the crowd as the sun was setting, it was quite a site but that’s not the masterpiece! The light show through the smoke was marvellous, the laser lights extended to the back of the crowds and overhead and added to the incredible atmosphere. They were in total synch with the thumping base lines, the keyboard riffs and the vocals – it was pretty epic.
Sister Bliss spoke of Maxi Jazz with emotion and the gig felt like a total celebration of the life and career of not only Maxi but of Faithless and the new rebirth of a new future and it was amazing to be part of that feeling.
What a remarkable, iconic gig – one not to be forgotten that’s for sure.
Photo Credit: Angie Smith
With thanks to Newmarket Races
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Watch YouTube Clip of the gig: