Live Review - Spiritualized @ Terminal 5

The last time Spiritualized played New York City they were backed by a full orchestra, and performed their landmark, critically acclaimed third album, Ladies and Gentlemen We Are Floating In Outer Space in full at Radio City Music Hall - it was the first and only time the album was played in full like that in the U.S. Now returning in support of their best work since Ladies and Gentlemen, Spiritualized packed Terminal 5 to showcase their new record, Sweet Heart Sweet Light, which was released last month. 

Opening with their latest single, "Hey Jane," the psychedelic Brit rockers showed the audience straight away what to expect all night - bombastic noise, lush musical landscapes and a whole lot of strobe lights. The band, fronted by the enigmatic Jay Pierce aka J. Spaceman who excels at musicianship, but fails at showmanship, stood like one of the statues at Easter Island all night on stage facing his guitarist and keyboardist and not acknowledging the audience. With his sunglasses on and his backup singers behind him, Pierce was not there to put on a show, he was there to do his job and focus on his music and thanks to all that focusing, musically in a room like Terminal 5, the band sounded as sharp and as vibrant as they did when they had that orchestra at Radio City. 

Playing a majority of songs off Sweet Heart Sweet Light, Spiritualized still managed to get in favorites like "Ladies and Gentlemen," "Lay Back in the Sun," "Electric Mainland" and the epic closers, "Come Together" and "Cop Shoot Cop." While the audience would be in awe of what they were crafting on stage together without the use of the various musicians and orchestra arrangement's that accompany the band in the studio, it was a sonic blast of music from one of England's best bands of the last 20 years. 

On a Monday night in New York City there could possibly no better way to end the first day of your long, soon-to-be stressful workweek than seeing someone like Spiritualized.

Spiritualized 5/7/12 Terminal 5 Setlist: 

Hey Jane
Lord Let It Rain On Me
Headin' for the Top Now
She Kissed Me (It Felt Like A Hit)
Lay Back In The Sun
Oh Baby
Rated X
I Am What I Am
Born Never Asked
Electric Mainline
Ladies and Gentlemen We Are Floating in Space
Mary
Stay With Me
So Long You Pretty Thing
Come Together
ENCORE:
Cop Shoot Cop