Venue:
Islington Assembly Hall, London
Date: 21/11/2019
‘Some artists would be thrown by having an election during their tour – I am not one of those people’ proclaims The Bard Of Barking as he launches into a firey ‘Thatcherites’ on the 1st night of his three night run in the capital. Coldplay aren’t the only ones who are trying to tour with an eye on their carbon footprint although I think it makes more sense when he’s playing the States and flying to each venue.
The format of the tour is first night – career spanning set, 2nd night – Life’s A Riot/Brewing Up/Taxman and last night – Playtime/Don’t Try This/Bloke – although not played in their entirety, just ‘selections from’. Some of the in between song “raps” each night are similar as he addresses the current political and social malaise but 42 different songs are aired across the run (43 if you count a radically reworked with modern references ‘Waiting For The Great Leap Forwards’ on Night 1)
It really interesting to see a progression of his song writing from the social and political themes to the more personal politics of life. Not to say that his early songs don’t have real emotional bite ‘ The Man In The Iron Mask’ commentary by a cuckolded man has still a starkly brutal emotional punch. Dave Woodhead pops up to add mournful trumpet to ‘The Saturday Boy’ & ‘Levis Stubbs Tears’ and with Wiggy dashes headlong down the A13.
The final night features nine songs from Workers Playtime with Billy adopting what he calls “my bruised heartbroken soul boy” persona (only leaving ‘Rotting On Remand’ & ‘Life With The Lions’ on the shelf) and filling us in on the personal stories behind the songs including meeting the catalyst for the album, Mary, on Westminster Bridge, giving her rough mixes of the songs that we’re ostensibly about her in an act of some kind of decency and he throwing them into the Thames. ‘I was heartbroken, that incident would have made a great song’ he deadpans.
Perhaps due to the band nature and production of ‘Don’t Try This At Home’ we don’t get as much of that as I’d hoped – would have been nice to hear ‘Everywhere’ or ‘Moving The Goalposts’ but that’s only an afterthought. As ever ‘Tank Park Salute’, his tribute to his Dad never fails to make tears appear and the run ends with the only song that was played every night ‘There Is Power In A Union’. Fists raised to the ceiling all around and whether you agree with the man, his politics, its sentiment or not – hey, hey, there goes one of our finest songwriters.
The audience:
Much more of a 50/50 split than most audiences you find yourself in these days. Only the Saturday night bought out the Jeremy Corbyn / White Stripes mashup chant – unsurprisingly from the far left of the hall. No arseholes, no talker, plenty of sing-a-along comradeship.
Shouts for requests are put down with the time honoured ‘It’s alright for you, mate, you only have to remember the title’
It made me think..
He could have done a 4th night from the songs he left out and it would still be a cracking set. Talent in depth – the boy done good
For anyone with DIME – my tapes of all three nights are up for grabs
Great review. Big fan of Billy Bragg here, have been since Life’s A Riot back in 83. I try to see him most years and he never disappoints. In an election year his sense of anger and commitment never fails to shine and I for one always come away feeling inspired.
I’m going to see him at Dingwalls in early 2020 for the Riff Raff reunion, the occasion being sidekick Wiggy’s 60th birthday. I suspect it might be a slightly ragged night but I’m looking forward to it.
Dude’s a proper legend.
….and so is Billy. Oho!
Top top notch review of one of Pop’s Greatest Troubadours. One of the best nights of my young life. Me and Mad Bobby Wishart in West Virginia stumbling into the Mountain Stage. https://youtu.be/Lnz4NpIjXIw
One of the best performances I’ve heard of his was when he was on Word In Your Ear not long ago talking about his skiffle book. Bloody hell he can talk, and quite beautifully and unstoppably once he’s got his wild up.
If you like Billy at all – and if you don’t, with the greatest respect, fuck off – give it a listen.
Great review. I first saw him on a brilliant double bill with Michelle Shocked all those years ago.
Have a ticket for his Brum show on monday – looking forward to it
Nice review. Only caught him live once and that must be 30 years ago. I thank him for introducing me to Wilco through the Mermaid Avenue album.
I love both of the Mermaid Avenue albums, more than anything else I’ve heard so far by either BB or Wilco, which is admittedly limited.
What are BB’s best works?
Depends which BB you like, as he morphs from agitprop firebrand , cawing over ragged guitar to extremely melodic ‘British’ americana, via some bouncy red wedge pop anthems. They are all good.
Life’s A Riot will probably always be my favourite…stark but inventively tuneful and percussive guitar with angry and heartfelt lyrics in equal measure.
Of the more band approach albums, Talking With the Taxman and Don’t Try This at Home are fab…varied and tuneful songs abound in both.
Me, I sometimes think it’s a bit of a shame that he has in recent years seemed so much more focussed on the “Americana” type stuff. I get that an artist has to develop, and fair play to him for trying, but he has a unique, British approach that shouldn’t be underappreciated, especially by him.
Had the pleasure of having a quick chat with him at a festival once. Lovely bloke, as you’d expect.
Taxman/Workers Playtime/Home are my personal favourites.
The answer ‘The Best Of Billy Bragg 1983-2003’ points you towards ‘Must I Paint You A Picture’ which can be had for 8 quid for 40 tracks on Amazon.
What @DogFacedBoy says. See if you can get the 3cd version as it adds another 10 tracks – a couple on interesting covers although I think it was a limited edition.
Oh yes – Billy does a nice version of Ronnie Lane’s “Debris”.
Good review from an excellent reviewer. We disagree on theft of artists’ intellectual property but I do admire your reviews.
Billy talked about playing songs you’ve played hundreds of times over 30 years. He said it’s muscle memory; if you think about what you’re doing you can’t do it.
Frank Zappa wrote about that in the Real Frank Zappa Book – tens of thousands of musicians all across America playing Louie Louie from muscle memory, in the same way as one starts a petrol mower, rather than anything to do with the sound of the music.
Excellent review, as always, dfb. Thanks.
Those sets in full
Night 1
Sexuality
Thatcherites
King Tide & The Sunny Day Flood
Old Clash Fan Fight Song
Ingrid Bergman
Way Over Yonder In The Minor Key
Why We Build The Wall
The Milkman Of Human Kindness
Valentines Day Is Over
Upfield
Handyman Blues
Greetings To The Brunette
Levis Stubbs Tears
I Keep Faith
Waiting For The Great Leap Forward
Encore
There Is Power In A Union
The Times They Are A-Changin’ Back
A New England
————
Night 2
A Lover Sings
Ideology
The Myth Of Trust
St Swithins Day
Richard
World Turned Upside Down
The Man In The Iron Mask
The Saturday Boy (with Dave Woodhead: trumpet)
Greetings To The New Brunette
The Man I Killed
Between The Wars
The Milkman Of Human Kindness
To Have & Have Not
Levi Stubbs Tears (with Dave Woodhead: trumpet)
Which Side Are You On?
There Is Power In A Union
Encore
I Don’t Need This Pressure Ron
A13 (Trunk Road To The Sea) (with Wiggy: guitar)
A New England
——————
Night 3
Sexuality
The Price I Pay
Thatcherites
She’s Got A New Spell
The Short Answer
The Only One
Little Time Bomb (with Dave Woodhead: trumpet)
Must I Paint You A Picture?
Upfield
The Space Race Is Over
Brickbat
Valentines Day Is Over
Accident Waiting To Happen (with Wiggy: guitar)
Waiting For The Great Leap Forward
Encore:
Tender Comrade
Tank Park Salute
There Is Power In A Union
Great review, as usual, DFB.
The three nights in Cambridge were sold out, so he can still pull a crowd after 35 or so years.
Three nights in Brum also sold out – I only found out about the dates after they had sold out and ended up paying extra on Ticketnaster exchange
It was 80 quid for all three nights in London – and you got a souvenir ‘guest ‘ laminate
Must add – no support, doors open at 7pm, Billy on at 8, done by 10pm so pubs still open- no need to fun for last train. Very civilised
Thanks for the review, DFB. Excellent stuff, as always. Nice to see that Billy did an Anaïs Mitchell cover on the first night.
I’ve seen Billy Bragg live more often than any artist with the exception of Elvis Costello (but of course I haven’t seen Elvis Costello NEARLY as often as DogFacedBoy).
Looking at those setlists above. I must admit I’m rather envious. Because every time I’ve seen the Big Nosed Bard of Barking over the past few decades, he’s done more or less the same old set. I’d love to see him do Tank Park Salute, Upfield, The Price I Pay, The Short Answer, The Only One, Little Time Bomb, Must I Paint You A Picture?, The Space Race Is Over and Brickbat, but he never does. Not when I’m in the audience, anyway. We just get A New England, Ingrid Bergman (he seems to love that song), Which Side Are You On? The Milkman Of Human Kindness and – every single time, without fail – There Is Power In A Union.
Oooh crikey … I feel A LIST coming on. Yep, it’s the duco01 Favourite Billy Bragg albums list. The top six are the ones I always return to.
1. Don’t Try This at Home (1991)
2. Workers Playtime (1988)
3. Talking with the Taxman About Poetry (1986)
4. William Bloke (1996)
5. Brewing Up with Billy Bragg (1984)
6. Life’s a Riot with Spy vs Spy (1983)
7. Mermaid Avenue (1998)
8. Help Save the Youth of America (1988)
9. The Internationale (1990)
10. England, Half-English (2002) (with the Blokes)
11. Mr Love & Justice (2008)
I never acquired “Tooth and Nail”. Is it any good?
Thanks, this is handy. The only album apart from the Mermaid Avenue pair that I’d listened to was the one with the Blokes and I didn’t like that, so now I have a better idea where to look.
Tooth and Nail is very good @duc01 – his voice very mellow and shows a marked progression.
Lyrically not as vital as those early albums but still a good release.
The Joe Henry train related one is not so good.
Oh how we disagree. Tooth and Nail, I didn’t like so much, but haven’t heard for years, so I’m going to dig it out. Joe Henry train related one I love. Probably because it’s 2 blokes with acoustic guitars, playing live, outside and it’s a bit rough.
That’s actually what I do for fun….and I like all these old American songs.
Looks like I might have to get it out and give it another go @bigstevie
My assessment is possibly unfair as often I will give things another listen and change my opinion but I recall the background noises being a bit off putting.
It’s not the roughness as I prefer Billy Braggs earlier less produced stuff
I like em both but Tooth outdoes it, being as good as Love/Justice
The last track on Tooth is a sort of farewell that had me thinking he was on the way out. One hell of an emotional song
Sorry, not the last track but oooooooh……
I know what you mean. It’s wind noise, picked up by the microphone. I used to collect bootlegs and the wind noise often spoiled a good recording. I just like the idea of two blokes belting out songs acoustically, with no backing tracks or any other sound enhancement.
The Bridges Not Walls EP from a couple of years back is splendid.