No, no, you’re not seeing things. I am indeed posting on a show. And not an old show either. One that took place oh, only a few days ago ;o)
I’d have loved to have been prompter than a few days later, but hey, it just didn’t happen. Maybe for the next one – Yay! Can’t wait to see crazy Iggy again! - But I digress…
Saw Mr. Cocker for the second time in the space of a year or so, and he kicked ass. I could probably just leave the review at that I suppose… but you all know I’m just a tad wee verbose, so let’s get to it.
Let’s get some of the general stuff out of the way. Venue was ok, better than the last time I hung out in the main floor. Last time I’d seen a band while planted firmly downstairs (Art Brut – I heart you), the sound was tinny at best and it all proved a bit disappointing. Particularly since I’d seen Art Brut a few times before and knew what they were actually supposed to sound like. But this time that wasn’t really a problem – sound was fine. Didn’t notice anything out of the ordinary. I still don’t love Terminal 5 and am a bit miffed that more and more of the acts I adore are choosing to play there (could you play at a slightly further off venue, you think? It’s so far west, they might as well play in Jersey), but at least for Jarvis there were no problems getting out etc. Last few times I’d been there, the place was overcrowded (not so for Jarvis) and getting out proved to be a pain in the ass. Felt a wee bit afraid to be honest – seemed a bit of a death trap with only one exit available. But this time it all went perfectly ok.
Oh, and in yet another surprise for those repeat readers, we actually got there on time. Yes, moi and my trusty long-time concert companion (you know who you are) actually made it there before Jarvis even sang one note. That was sooo refreshing. We missed the opener – Boy Crisis – but eh, that’s ok. Better to have gotten some yummy Ollie’s into our tummies :o)
Crowd managed to behave itself for the most part. One might think that a Jarvis crowd would automatically be well behaved, but you’d be wrong to assume. It’s been my past experience that the louder and wilder the band, the more polite and conscientious the audience and vice-versa. Also the more of an ‘it’ band it is, the more the assholes come out to play. Doesn’t apply every single time of course, but almost.
I did have to laugh in the beginning at a couple in front of us. Youngish – late 20s maybe – and he was very possessive of her. These two younger guys pass by and seem to have possibly brushed by her. Unintentionally though. Her partner decides to show that he is *the* alpha man by getting all up on their faces and ranting and raving. Meanwhile the young kids are just sort of flabbergasted as to why this guy is yelling at them. But the best part came later. They were both directly in front of me, so I couldn’t escape their goings-ons. This same guy that was soo damn protective of his woman, then decided to pretty much leave her alone while he chatted up some stranger for half an hour. Yeah, you’re such a great guy :p
And then some trucker-hat idiot - uhm, dude, as I’m sure that is your actual name, you do know that those things are hideous right? They were hideous about 3 years ago when every other hipster wore them and they’re *still* hideous now – proceeded to call out for his mommy while Jarvis was speaking to all of us. Oh, sorry, it was for some guy called Matthew. Uhm, it’s ok. You will eventually find your friend again. You looked old enough to no longer need to suckle anyone for survival, so I think you’ll be ok if you don’t immediately spot him after you’ve come back from your beer run. Particularly since the singer is speaking to us. Moron.
Jarvis as always was just damn lovely. I think he’s found the right mix of funny and soapbox pronouncements to keep his in between songs banter from being sanctimonious. And the songs (as previously mentioned) kicked ass! Particularly the new ones and those that aren’t on his first album. Let’s see how many of them I remember…
There was one that he introduced as a blues song. But what kind of blues song can we have nowadays, he pondered: I’ve got the blues about having forgotten to charge my phone? And then he started his ‘Caucasian Blues’ – great song, very funny. There’s a line in it (and forgive me if I mangle it, but I’m crap at remembering lyrics) – ‘I’ve heard you’re hung like a white man.’ Heehee :o)
Before another new one, he asked if there were any Angelas in the audience. One person responded and he said he didn’t believe him/her. And then a girl piped up and said it was her birthday. And a guy said his name was Angelo, which would seem close enough. He asked the birthday girl if she’d like a drink and then wondered if he’d be arrested for giving it to her. He then started in on Angela, having dedicated it to both the b-day girl and the similarly named guy. Great song – mentioned only getting paid a 4.50 wage as a lyric. After the song, Jarvis wondered whether that was a decent wage in the US and debated on whether he should switch the amount depending on what country he was in. And then said fuck it, it'd be too much trouble :o)
There was another one that he introduced by saying that although he'd like to, he couldn’t possibly fuck all of us, but that he could get inside our ears and our heads with the following. Not sure of the title, but a refrain was ‘This is only a fucking song.’ – again, great one.
My favorite one though was a really sad one at its core, although very rocking. He wondered what it would be like if you met someone and they were the one for you, but you’d gotten so drunk that you were unable to perform. And then the girl hated you forever and you’d lost out on your chance. It began in a paleontology museum when the protagonist spots his dream girl. I just adore him. Songs set, or at least begun, in museums in general? Love. Him.
Not sure of the title of this one either, but the refrain was ‘I wanna be your lover’. Lovely, lovely song. Adored it.
I think there was another new one called ‘Big Stuff’, but my memory banks aren’t serving me too well, so that’s all I remember of it at the moment.
He played a great version of ‘Cunts rule the world’ and dedicated it to Bush and his cronies and hoped, ‘That they all die a painful death.’
‘Black Magic’ was amazing as was ‘Fat Children’ and ‘I Will Kill Again’.
He also talked a bit about Obama’s current European tour and how disappointed he’d been not to have been invited to discuss foreign policy with him ;o)
Let’s see, what else?
At one point he mentioned how happy he was that he hadn’t seen cell phones up in the air during the show. And how they’ve become a barrier between the audience and the performer. How people can’t seem to be able to appreciate something unless they’re watching it on a little screen. That it’s better to remember things and even forget some, by the time you get home, rather than just record everything. Er, I agree about the cell phone thing, but uhm, I did record a bit of the show with my camera. Sorry Jarvis.
He and his band (which featured a very disaffected keyboardist btw – he seemed bored) came back not once, but twice and finished the show with of all things, a cover of some house music. Because they wanted to pay homage to their beginnings back in Sheffield.
Not usually my thing, but by the end of the song I was very close to nearing an approximation of dancing ;o)
Great, great gig. Thanks Jarvis.
