Badly Drawn Boy – 05.11.06

 

ANOTHER LIVE REVIEW. THIS WAS A TOUGH ONE

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Badly Drawn Boy w/ Isobel Campbell

05.11.06 @ Bloomsbury Ballroom

 

After having my organisational skills criticised for many years, the events of this night come as a grinding inevitability. I away from my chambers in the early evening to see Isobel Campbell, Scottish folk songstress, ex of Belle and Sebastian, bosom buddy of “Laughing” Mark Lanegan, currently touring her self proclaimed “witchy” solo album. I am unaware however, that Campbell is not, not, the headline act. So when I arrive, somewhere around 25 minutes after she has finished her support slot, I am left desolate and empty. But who is the headliner? I ask to the possibly quite amused venue staff. Why young rascal, ‘tis Badly Drawn Boy of course, they don’t really answer. I’ve never seen him before. And he certainly hasn’t seen me, so this will be a new experience for us both.

So Badly Drawn Boy then. Is it a niche or is it a rut? The man who was once feted as the great white hope of British music, with his quirky songs and air of curiosity, now delivers, and has done for a good three albums, straight, four square, funkless pop rock with lyrics concerned, almost unwaveringly, with relationshipzzzz. Initially, it’s all ok. With a four piece band behind him, the strong instrumental melodies and classic rock derived arrangements come across well. This is helped by the venue’s generous sound, the pool of clean guitars and piano like aural milk, the new album’s ‘The Long Way Round’ being a prime example of the virtues of this. But after say, fifteen minutes, this tires. For a man who first broke on the perceived strength of his songwriting, and on the back of years of received wisdom in the media about the artistic credibility of solo performers, the man’s songs are resolutely uninspiring. There is the odd riff, but nothing too rocky. There are melodies too, obviously, but nothing too poppy. Also, despite the big themes the songs tackle (one song is introduced as being inspired by the death of a friend), the music never changes to fit, the author emotionally monotone.

What’s most disappointing though is seeing what a great performer Gough is, regardless of what he is playing. He stops and restarts songs, delivers sandpaper dry monologues, and puts down the good natured hecklers with humour and sass. During set closer ‘You Were Right’, a fluffed chord is a good excuse for a crashing, dissonant crescendo, before slipping straight back into the sweeter than Refreshers cake verse. The acoustic section of the show also serves to highlight Gough’s way with a crowd, getting them to provide a syncopated handclap backing for set highlight ‘Disillusionment’. The lasting impression however, is not of a quirky solo artist smothered by the constraints of a band. It is more like that of an artist making Sunday Times music but without a Sunday Times audience.