South By Southwest Festival, Stubbs, Austin TX, USA
March 17, 2005 - Review By Michele
"I hope you're all tired and emotional...It’s always the best way to be." Those were Graham's first words to the crowd on the first date of his first US tour as a solo artist at Stubbs during the South By Southwest Music Festival.
Stuck on the bill between dance oriented acts VHS or Beta and Fatboy Slim, Graham and Co. absolutely blasted the sauce off the bar-b-cue with a set of mostly the fastest, punkiest, most rocking songs from his catalogue (the only "mellow" tune was Bittersweet Bundle of Misery) to a crowd largely in a coma and/or anxious to resume the dance groove that started with the previous band Radio 4.
Stubbs is a small bar-b-cue restaurant with a large outdoor concert area with a capacity of 2100+ and for this show, the Astralwerks Records showcase, it was almost at capacity. The band had maybe 40-50 minutes for their set. At the start Graham made a few remarks to the crowd, including a demo of his antique police whistle, but as the set progressed the band just got down to it and kicked it out. Standouts were Gimme Some Love, Life it Sucks and the new song I Can't Look at Your Skin 'Cause it's Doing Me In. Though there were definitely people there for the Coxon, and he got a good response, the audience looked like a placid pool with only the occasional brave fish who dared jump up and cause a ripple. With tickets for the evening set at $35 for walk-up fans, most of the audience were conference participants, i.e. people involved in various aspects of the music business.
The overall running order, 22-20's, Radio 4, VHS or Beta, Graham and Fatboy Slim would have been much better had the 22-20s and Graham played back to back and the dance-oriented acts been lumped together but the upside is that the 22-20's are the opening act for most of the Graham shows on this tour so fans will a chance to catch their early Brit '60s R&B oriented (think The Yardbirds and The Animals) rocking set again. Fashion report: Green, rust and gold schoolboy jacket, Levi's, blue and red stripey shirt and suede desert boots.
Set List:
Spectacular
No Good Time
I Wish
Bittersweet Bundle Of Misery
Life It Sucks
Right to Pop!
Gimme Some Love
Fags & Failure
Feel Right
I Can’t Think Of Your Skin
Fame & Fortune
Freakin' Out
People Of The Earth
South By Southwest Festival, Stubbs, Austin TX, USA
March 17, 2005 - Review By Michele "I hope you're all tired and emotional...It’s always the best way to be." Those were Graham's first words to the crowd on the first date of his first US tour as a solo artist at Stubbs during the South By Southwest Music Festival. Stuck on the bill between dance oriented acts VHS or Beta and Fatboy Slim, Graham and Co. absolutely blasted the sauce off the bar-b-cue with a set of mostly the fastest, punkiest, most rocking songs from his catalogue (the only "mellow" tune was Bittersweet Bundle of Misery) to a crowd largely in a coma and/or anxious to resume the dance groove that started with the previous band Radio 4. Stubbs is a small bar-b-cue restaurant with a large outdoor concert area with a capacity of 2100+ and for this show, the Astralwerks Records showcase, it was almost at capacity. The band had maybe 40-50 minutes for their set. At the start Graham made a few remarks to the crowd, including a demo of his antique police whistle, but as the set progressed the band just got down to it and kicked it out. Standouts were Gimme Some Love, Life it Sucks and the new song I Can't Look at Your Skin 'Cause it's Doing Me In. Though there were definitely people there for the Coxon, and he got a good response, the audience looked like a placid pool with only the occasional brave fish who dared jump up and cause a ripple. With tickets for the evening set at $35 for walk-up fans, most of the audience were conference participants, i.e. people involved in various aspects of the music business. The overall running order, 22-20's, Radio 4, VHS or Beta, Graham and Fatboy Slim would have been much better had the 22-20s and Graham played back to back and the dance-oriented acts been lumped together but the upside is that the 22-20's are the opening act for most of the Graham shows on this tour so fans will a chance to catch their early Brit '60s R&B oriented (think The Yardbirds and The Animals) rocking set again. Fashion report: Green, rust and gold schoolboy jacket, Levi's, blue and red stripey shirt and suede desert boots. Set List: Spectacular No Good Time I Wish Bittersweet Bundle Of Misery Life It Sucks Right to Pop! Gimme Some Love Fags & Failure Feel Right I Can’t Think Of Your Skin Fame & Fortune Freakin' Out People Of The Earth
Tower Records, Chicago, USA - March 25 2005
Photographs by Jonathan Bouldin - www.juicemousecypher.com