Before Rage, a Happy Mondays rave

With bass lines that shook every bowel in the Sahara Tent, the Happy Mondays announced their return with a soulful set that featured guests, a lucky dancer and a surprisingly robust Shaun Ryder. It was 50 minutes for the "24 Hour Party People."

Nailing songs such as "Step On" and "Hallelujah" as if it were the '80s, the Mondays -- whose influence as rock/soul hybridists is undeniable -- showed the half full tent, which included front-row denizens holding aloft ticket stubs from long-ago concerts, that the sound of Madchester still breathed. Guitarist Danny Saber (Black Grape) was among the contributors, as was L.A.'s own motormouth, Mickey Avalon. But it was also a night to remember for a magazine writer, NME's Dan Martin. Absent the staple of Bez's dancing, Martin filled in onstage -- despite a well-meaning security guy's effort to drag him off, thinking Martin was a wayward crowd member. When after a moment's absence he reappeared, throwing down some pretty decent moves. The crowd roared and the spirit of the Hacienda lived on.

Left: Ryder exits the stage with Danny Saber. Photos by Kevin Bronson / LAT.

Comments

[disappointed music fan]

The contents of this post prove that whoever wrote it was not at this show, regardless of what drugs you were on this was god awful by any measure. I am a Mondays fan, not here to trash the band, but Shaun Ryder didn't move from his spot all night except with the monitor on the floor in front of him stopped feeding him his lyrics. Then he backed away a few steps to allow for a new teleprompter to replace the faulty one. The whole set was a disgrace -- I hung in there for most of it, but ultimately, it was total crap.

The fact that no one else has called you on this blatantly false "review' proves that no one reads this section. Thank goodness for small favors.

[The Riverboat Captain]

He was there. I was there with him.