Badly Drawn Boy
9 out of 10 - Simply Amazing. Can't wait to see 'em again.
Saturday, November 20, 2004
Townhall, New York
|
|
It was a cool and drizzling evening in Mid-Town Manhattan. We arrived at the event with plenty of time before the show but we were held up waiting for a photo pass at the back stage entrance. While waiting next to the door with the enormous bouncer, Damon Gough left the back stage exit and proceeded to the bar next door to grab a drink. After we obtained the photo pass, we entered the event. When we arrived the opening act, Adem, already was performing on the brightly lit stage of the Townhall. Ushers quickly led us to our seats to assure proper placement, as we witnessed Adem perched on a chair in the center of the stage behind a flat black piano/organ device similar to the wreckage left next to Adam Sandler’s work place in “Punch Drunk Love.” A man to his right but our left was sitting in a chair playing a mini-harpsichord. My girlfriend pointed out that Adem looked like Daffy Duck, as his feet were behind giant yellow gold pedals, flapping back and forth. He was playing “There Will Always Be,” which was unfortunately his last song of the set. It was a beautiful song, which is, fittingly, the closing track off his new album “Homesongs.” This is the second time I’ve tried to see Adem and walked in on his live performance during the last song. Third time will be a charm, I hope.
After a quick set swap Badly Drawn Boy’s, Damon Gough took the stage, as usual, dressed in a beanie, a leather jacket, an Empire State building T-Shirt and an old pair of jeans. He announced that his parents were at the show and it was the first time they had been to the United States. He seemed in an uncannily great mood, still chain smoking the cigarettes and sipping beer but this time bearing a large smile and a censored vocabulary containing far fewer cuss words. The line-up consisted of Damon on vocals, guitar, and keyboard, a bass player, a drummer, his road manager, also on guitar and keyboards, a flute player, one violin player and a cello player. Damon and the band fired through the entire new album “One Plus One Is One,” track by track, all sixteen tracks. The band played extremely well, exchanging pleasant glances between the members on stage. Damon played “This Is That New Song,” and “Fewer Words,” which he dedicated to the late Elliott Smith. After an amazing set, they ended with “Holy Grail.” He announced that the band would take a short break and return to play as many more songs from prior albums as possible.
After the intermission, Damon and the string section returned and performed the opening track from his debut “The Shining.” The band ignited into a plethora of old tunes, and then Damon asked the band to leave the stage to tell a story. He talked for a good 20 minutes, telling us about his hero Bruce Springsteen. He spoke of his chance meeting with The Boss after a show in his hometown. The following tour, Springsteen’s tour manger called Damon at his home and invited him to a show. During his performance Bruce dedicated Damon’s favorite song “Thunder Road,’ to Damon’s son. Someone yelled from the audience “play it!” and so did the Badly Drawn Boy. He announced after his emotional performance of “Thunder Road,” that it was his first solo performance of it on guitar. Other show highlights were the wah wah guitar driven “Once Around The Block,” a piano version of “You Were Right,” and a cover of Madonna’s “Like A Virgin,” which led into “Silent Sigh.” An unexpected brief cover of Journey’s “Don't Stop Believin’” was also played. Well, at this point Damon had smoked an entire pack of cigarettes and after Badly Drawn Boy’s three-hour performance the band performed a jam song where he introduced all the members of his band and proclaimed that this show was the answer to why he is a musician. It was an exciting show. In contrast to past BDB shows where Damon seemed a bit hostile, it was a pleasure to see the Badly Drawn boy so damn happy and grateful.
|