In Concert

Although they were playing before a packed hall of rabid fans, singer Justin Sullivan isn't much in the mood for conversation, cutting the crowd's effort short with a pointed, "I don't understand a word, sorry." But they understand him and happily lap up the music New Model Army unleashes. It's an invigorating show, delivered with the band's usual panache, if not their typical fire — radio jitters, perhaps. Still, they serve up a set that spans most of their career and even reaches all the way back to their debut album for "Smalltown England." Immediately following it with "Archway Towers" and "51st State," New Model Army plants the Union Jack firmly in Berlin's Einsporthalle, albeit while simultaneously exposing their homeland's uglier underbelly. England's dreary valleys of "Green and Grey" could hardly resonate with this cosmopolitan city. "The Charge"'s rich allusions to the Charge of the Light Brigade won't necessarily echo in a country that did not participate in the Crimean War, but its greater theme of war's futility was a philosophy echoed in Germany's determined pacifist stance. And besides, "51st State" gives Sullivan the opportunity to have a go at the Americans in the crowd, and the Germans rousingly sing along in agreement. So this decidedly English punk band served up a defiantly English set. Still, "Innocence" inevitably struck a chord for Berliners living on the front line of Cold War nuclear holocaust, while songs like "Ambition," "Purity," and "Stupid Questions" are all universal in theme. Sullivan is impassioned, the band flawless, but the bite is missing, the rage dissipated, as if wary of Aunty's (as the BBC is affectionately known) disapproval, and only when the crowd joins in on "51st State" does a spark briefly flame. Regardless, the sound is splendid, and even if this isn't New Model Army at their brutal best, BBC Radio 1 Live in Concert is still a vastly enjoyable experience.