| Author | Message | ||
     Pádraig Collins Member Username: Pádraig_collins Post Number: 2013 Registered: 05-2005 |
Was anyone else at the show? I thought it was great, but it was way too crowded. People were standing on every step of both stairs but the security staff did not move them as there was nowhere to move them to. I've never seen the Metro so packed. He played most of the old favourites - There Is Power In A Union, Greetings To The New Brunette, Waiting For The Great Leap Forwards, Sexuality, Way Over Yonder In The Minor Key etc - plus a few from more recent albums and his soon to be released new one Mr Love And Justice. It was just him and his guitar this time (the first time I've seen him without a band) but he was accompanied on Woodie Guthrie's Do Re Mi during the encore by Tom Morello (of Rage Against The Machine) and Mick Thomas. Morello and Thomas had both played support slots. I just saw the end of Thomas' set and watched just one song of Morello's set. The bar was more appealing than his millionaire rock star protest songs. (In synopsis: the poor are downtrodden, the rich are bad, we should all just get along). Bragg also brought on Kate Nash to duet on a Shangri-Las song. I was impressed; she really can sing. Earlier on, he forgot the lyrics to NPWA. He said it was because he only played it after he met someone on the way in who asked him to. He also said it was easy for us, we just had to remember song titles, whereas he had to remember lyrics, chords, melodies and the rap that goes with each song! "It's not easy being a 50 year old pop star," he said. Given the day that was in it he gave a great speech on Australia day, comparing its commemoration of white settlement to Britain being invaded by the Romans. It was tongue in cheek ... mostly. Later he gave a powerful speech warning against cynicism towards the new Labor government in Australia, by way of introducing a new song called I Keep Faith. The show went for more than two hours, with a very long encore section. He was playing the extra songs because of the great response from the crowd though, and said as much. He joked that unlike bands that do a concert of one album, he could do his first album in the encore alone! The final song, sending us all off happy after a rousing singalong, was A New England. | ||
| Jonathan Evans Member Username: Jon Post Number: 150 Registered: 04-2005 |
Great Review. He played I keep faith on the last UK tour. He's still a brilliant writer of protest songs, which I'm sure with the BNP in Barking he'll always have something to protest about (even though he lives in Dorset). You've just reminded me I need to book a ticket to see him in Liverpool in a few months. Are these gigs a warm-up for the Big Day Out thingies, or have they already been played? Cheers Jon | ||
| Pádraig Collins Member Username: Pádraig_collins Post Number: 2015 Registered: 05-2005 |
He played Big Day Out the day before Jonathan. There's usually a few days between the BDO shows as there are such vast distances between the cities. So he's playing solo shows on the days off for those of us now too old for/uninterested in BDO anymore. | ||
| Paul B. Member Username: Paul_b Post Number: 37 Registered: 10-2004 |
grrr, no side show in Brisbane. |