[kj] OT: The `Glers take New York City

Alexander Smith vassifer at earthlink.net
Tue Jun 4 09:12:04 EDT 2013


Hey all...

Okay, gotta say ... in advance of this gig, I was having my doubts.
But in the end, I'm quite glad I went.

For a start, the venue: Highline Ballroom is a relative newcomer to
NYC, and it feels a bit slick and antiseptic. This is the first time
there's ever been a band I've given a fuck about playing at this
venue. Most of the time it seems to play host to corporate events,
acid jazz parties and cover bands. Also, the floor is ringed by
exclusive cushioned booths. Tear those fucking things out and let
people move around, I say. Still, I suppose, if you're normally
hosting bullshit karaoke events, I suppose that doesn't matter. I will
say this: the bars are easy to access.

Opening act: Ersatz honky-tonkster with cloying lap pedal-steel player
name Luba Dvorzak. Honestly, I cannot remember the last time I
witnessed an opening act who was so poorly matched with the headliner.
I'm sure he's a nice guy, but his strenuously earnest Dwight Yoakam-
meets-Bruce-Springsteen posturing really grated after a while. Kept
hoping someone was going to throw something at him. Astonishingly, no
one did.

The crowd: A odd mix, honestly. Lots of portly, "dodgy prostate punks"
with silver in their hair (like, er, me), lots of folks who clearly
only came to hear "Grip," "No More Heroes" and/or "Always the
Sun" (and who stood staring blankly when the band ripped into "Nuclear
Device" or "Straighten Out" etc.). Not many young'uns, which is fine
with me.

For a while, i was stood behind a woman who insisted on taking
pictures with her phone literally every other minute. Conversely, I
took three (3) photos of the performance...and even felt that was
excessive. Whatever happened to simply enjoying the moment instead of
feverishly trying to document the moment?

The show: For all the talk of the band phoning it in in recent years,
I can't honestly say. They were certainly in very high spirits on the
comparatively cramped stage. Some fresh-faced young man who looked
from my vantage point like Conan O'Brien sat in for the understandably
absent but still sorely missed Jet "Fucking" Black. Baz on vocals/
guitar is actually a funny, charming, chatty motherfucker (taking an
audience member jokingly to task for yelling "you suck" and trying out
his best "Noo Yawk" accent). JJ doesn't seem to attack the crowd as he
once did, but still does the crouched duck walk. Looking less like the
leather-clad thug of yore and more like a resigned elder statesman of
yore, he did indeed seem to be enjoying himself.

Dave on keyboards looking a bit older, but still a fucking wiz on the
organ (and doing silly things like drinking a pint of beer with one
hand while playing the solo on "Walk on By" with the other).

Set list was pretty impressive. It really is remarkable how many
great, great songs they have in their oeuvre. They opened with "Toiler
on the Sea," which I like -- but never thought of it as a momentum-
builder. "Goodbye Toulose" followed. Some pleasant surprises (for me)
included airings of "Nuclear Device," "Bring on the Nubiles" (I was
leaping about for this one, prompting many an agitated glance from
people around me), "Who Wants the World?," "Straighten Out" (honestly,
can you name a better song?) and fucking "Tank." Indeed, they dusted
off the obligatory renditions of "Golden Brown," "Skin Deep,"
"Duchess," "Always the Sun," and only a few ones from GIANTS (the new
one) and maybe one track from SUITE XVI. The only song from the Paul
Roberts era was a rousing bash through "Norfolk Coast." Leery
renditions of "Five Minutes," "Hanging Around," "Peaches" and "Nice
'N' Sleazy" brought the house down.

Notable omissions from the hits-heavy set: "Something Better Change,"
"The Raven," Mean to Me," "Go Buddy Go," "Strange Little Girl,"
"London Lady." They played nothing off of MENINBLACK (I was hoping
against hope for "Just Like Nothing on Earth") and only "Skin Deep"
off of AURAL SCULPTURE. Still, it was a beefy set that I can't
complain about.

Though he's been gone for over twenty years, the specter of Hugh
Cornwell still looms over this band, largely due to the fact that a
good 80% of the songs they played were either originally written or
sang by the man. In what could only be a bit of calculated irony. the
room itself was peppered with flyers advertising an upcoming (well,
December) gig by Hugh Cornwell. Wonder if the band could see those
flyers from the stage. That must have been a bit weird.

That said, I have newfound respect for Baz Warne. He's a more-than-
capable performer and is a charismatic frontman, and his enthusiasm
was infectious.

There you have it. There are a couple of pics on my Istagram page, if
fucks be given: http://instagram.com/alexinnewyorkcity

Alex in NYC












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