Mostly because World Turned Upside Down is a song I can hardly ever hear without wanting to thrash a guitar chord in fury to accompany this song.
Neatly, we saw the song's writer (Leon Rosselson) at the Leveller's Day festival a few years ago and I had tears streaming down my face by the end.
Showing posts with label Billy Bragg. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Billy Bragg. Show all posts
Tuesday, May 10, 2011
Friday, December 03, 2010
Live Music Review: Thursday 2 December 2010 - Bill Bragg, Rock City Nottingham
Swiss Toni got in ahead of me with a great review of Billy Bragg from last night (hello! sorry I was not confident enough to say hi!)
Good job that I read ST's first, or I would have been spitting even more feathers for reading the miserable f***ing review from This is Nottingham. Thanks for nothing Mr Belbin.
I mean, come on: we walk in as Billy Bragg takes the stage and he does 'The World Turned Upside Down' (a song which always brings a tear to my eye) and he ends on the mass Rock City choral version of 'A New England' (the guy never has to sing the words to that ever again: it is truly a modern standard, sung with passion and verve by every Bragg audience I have ever been in).
Because to criticise Bragg for talking is to miss the point: he's a political and social raconteur as much as a musician/songwriter. Those who go expecting 'only the songs' have probably largely missed the point OF those songs. Bragg teased us for being "softies", for responding so fondly to his more romantic balladeering (and he is indeed a fine balladeer), but Bragg is what he is in all his guises because of his politics, his opinions, his talking --- and that means that his love songs reflect the anguish of trying to reconcile social realities with ideals.
Of course, there are always people who go to any gig expecting to simply hear albums/songs - bizarrely, there are also people who seem to want to talk all the time, AND complain about Bragg talking.* I'm a bit baffled by such people: why are they at a gig? Why not play your selected tracks/preferences at home? Talking is part of the Bragg package: love it or loath it, he ain't going to do it differently. He's notorious for it, and as he noted last night, he can't help himself - especially when he's enjoying a gig so much. And frankly, you do have to wonder about people attending who are not only anti-Bragg talking, but especially about WHAT he talks about: how have they missed noticing/appreciating Bragg's political standpoint. Again, as noted, they're integral to him as a performer. But it is important to note that any complainants appeared to be a very small number last night.
And Bragg can stir a crowd so effectively: on topics as connected as the Nottingham University sit-in to campaign against student fee rises, to the problems of cynicism on challenging social problems (and on that note: all hail the dense pedantry of Belbin for sticking to the ancient Greek - and now scarcely comprehended - definition of Cynicism rather than the widely accepted and understood modern definition. We get you can wiki google the original concept: very impressive. Not.)
Members of the audience may have worried about getting buses home due to the weather, and may have urged Bragg to "talk less, sing more!" but I never got the sense that this was delivered with anger: Bragg instead acknowledged it was a reasonable request in light of the context (after all, he started at 8.20pm - and not just because there was a disco immediately afterwards) and then Bragg moved on. There was still talking from the Braggmeister, but I didn't get the sense of a rising tide of anger at him still talking. He was taken to task for his own errors - to which he freely admitted ("I supported Tony Blair in 1997 and voted Lib-Dem in the last election to keep the Conservatives out: if anyone has a right to be cynical..."). But this was an audience that sang with gusto to 'There is a Power in a Union' - for surely in the current climate it has never been more vital to support collective action and challenges to rampant Conservative cuts. It wasn't just about the love songs and wearied reactions to Bragg's polemic exhortations: 'To have and have not' was equally rapturously received.
Anyway, it was as ever a delightful and uplifting gig and I was personally delighted that Bragg performed several of the songs from Pressure Drop, the performance event that ran in London (but which we unfortunately missed). I'm looking forward to playing that CD soon.
It's always worth seeing Bragg: and given how much he likes Nottingham, he's sure to be back soon. We need him more than ever.
* I did my bit to challenge the 'coming to gigs to talk' mentality and kindly asked a couple of guys who had failed to read all our intensive disapproving glaring to please be quiet so we could hear what Bragg was singing/talking about. They at least didn't get worse or throw beer at me... A small triumph.
Good job that I read ST's first, or I would have been spitting even more feathers for reading the miserable f***ing review from This is Nottingham. Thanks for nothing Mr Belbin.
I mean, come on: we walk in as Billy Bragg takes the stage and he does 'The World Turned Upside Down' (a song which always brings a tear to my eye) and he ends on the mass Rock City choral version of 'A New England' (the guy never has to sing the words to that ever again: it is truly a modern standard, sung with passion and verve by every Bragg audience I have ever been in).
Because to criticise Bragg for talking is to miss the point: he's a political and social raconteur as much as a musician/songwriter. Those who go expecting 'only the songs' have probably largely missed the point OF those songs. Bragg teased us for being "softies", for responding so fondly to his more romantic balladeering (and he is indeed a fine balladeer), but Bragg is what he is in all his guises because of his politics, his opinions, his talking --- and that means that his love songs reflect the anguish of trying to reconcile social realities with ideals.
Of course, there are always people who go to any gig expecting to simply hear albums/songs - bizarrely, there are also people who seem to want to talk all the time, AND complain about Bragg talking.* I'm a bit baffled by such people: why are they at a gig? Why not play your selected tracks/preferences at home? Talking is part of the Bragg package: love it or loath it, he ain't going to do it differently. He's notorious for it, and as he noted last night, he can't help himself - especially when he's enjoying a gig so much. And frankly, you do have to wonder about people attending who are not only anti-Bragg talking, but especially about WHAT he talks about: how have they missed noticing/appreciating Bragg's political standpoint. Again, as noted, they're integral to him as a performer. But it is important to note that any complainants appeared to be a very small number last night.
And Bragg can stir a crowd so effectively: on topics as connected as the Nottingham University sit-in to campaign against student fee rises, to the problems of cynicism on challenging social problems (and on that note: all hail the dense pedantry of Belbin for sticking to the ancient Greek - and now scarcely comprehended - definition of Cynicism rather than the widely accepted and understood modern definition. We get you can wiki google the original concept: very impressive. Not.)
Members of the audience may have worried about getting buses home due to the weather, and may have urged Bragg to "talk less, sing more!" but I never got the sense that this was delivered with anger: Bragg instead acknowledged it was a reasonable request in light of the context (after all, he started at 8.20pm - and not just because there was a disco immediately afterwards) and then Bragg moved on. There was still talking from the Braggmeister, but I didn't get the sense of a rising tide of anger at him still talking. He was taken to task for his own errors - to which he freely admitted ("I supported Tony Blair in 1997 and voted Lib-Dem in the last election to keep the Conservatives out: if anyone has a right to be cynical..."). But this was an audience that sang with gusto to 'There is a Power in a Union' - for surely in the current climate it has never been more vital to support collective action and challenges to rampant Conservative cuts. It wasn't just about the love songs and wearied reactions to Bragg's polemic exhortations: 'To have and have not' was equally rapturously received.
Anyway, it was as ever a delightful and uplifting gig and I was personally delighted that Bragg performed several of the songs from Pressure Drop, the performance event that ran in London (but which we unfortunately missed). I'm looking forward to playing that CD soon.
It's always worth seeing Bragg: and given how much he likes Nottingham, he's sure to be back soon. We need him more than ever.
* I did my bit to challenge the 'coming to gigs to talk' mentality and kindly asked a couple of guys who had failed to read all our intensive disapproving glaring to please be quiet so we could hear what Bragg was singing/talking about. They at least didn't get worse or throw beer at me... A small triumph.
Thursday, November 20, 2008
Billy Bragg - Rock City Nottingham 19 November 2008
Post started Thursday 20 Nov 2008 - delayed by work and health!
I could cheat on reviewing Billy Bragg in Nottingham by just saying 'what he said' and pointing you to Swiss Toni's spot-on review of the night.
But that would be a cop-out wouldn't it?
I've actually only seen Billy perform twice, and only one of those was an actual gig. The first time was at an anti-war demo in Hyde Park in 1991: with his charming self-deprecation he announced that they hadn't been given a music licence, but that was okay because his performance wouldn't count as music. Then proceeded to sing out the wonderful 'Tender Comrade' which echoed across the breadth of Hyde Park as we stumbled, reluctantly, to the waiting coaches back to Wolverhampton.
I next saw him only later that same year, when with the backing band he ended a raucous night with a cover of Dee-Lite's "Groove is in the Heart". I know: madness. But somehow it worked. [I also fondly remember the day as when I took my final exam for my A204 OU course -- after the exam I ceremoniously tore down my revision schedule poster to the turned-up-to-11 volume of "Waiting for the Great Leap Forward".]
So, as a non-festival attendee, I'd been a good while between Billy experiences. And in truth given how wiped I am by work I was hardly woo-hoo excited. It had been on the radar for months but we hadn't got round to booking. This didn't help make me feel I could drag myself out. But, bless him, Cloud pulled things round and demanded that we go. Once there of course it was brilliant.
Otis Gibbs provided charming support - a kind of Indiana version of BB - though I was less than impressed by the constant chattering behind me which (in my terribly British way) I just seethed about and ignored.
Thankfully when the main man appeared most of the chattering stopped*. And from first raucous guitar strum to the throw of his tea-bag, we were captivated. With such an extensive back catalogue to pick from there's a great mix of recent and older stuff to enjoy. I was particularly delighted to get "Accident Waiting to Happen" and even though excitement got the better of BB and his vocal power, there was usually enough energy and enthusiasm to carry the songs from the audience. I especially loved the audience not just singing along to "Sexuality" but also adding in a perfect replica of the Kirsty MacColl descant echo ("weighed dow-n" "informat-ion") which sparked a "you've been practising!" from Mr Billy.
A raconteur as much as a songster, any BB performance is always going to be a rallying call to action and an anecdote-laden engagement with the crowd. "What about those BNP c***s?!" yelled one; "Quite" replied Billy, "what you said". Despite attempts to moderate language ("my mum listens to the bootlegs!") there was little chance of him not using some appropriately excoriating language to describe the actions of the BNP and Red Watch for getting some come-uppance about releasing names and addresses [something they've been more than happy to do against left-leaners like BB).
Additional thoughts Sunday 23 Nov
Listening this weekend to some of his back catalogue, Bragg certainly has a knack for writing both sharply observant 'love sings' as well as his social commentary and more political pieces. But what is beautiful about his approach is that he brings the same passion to both types of song. He remains his own man and I for one am grateful he's around.
Even though I don't like Marmite, I love Billy Bragg.
*though the latter part of the gig did produce two yaddering middle-aged blokes behind me who would not shut up -- I couldn't take any more and between songs went over to tell them to 'please shut up: why do you come to a gig and talk? All I can hear is your chattering through the songs' to which their reply was 'at least we're talking sense'. Right. THOSE sort of BB gig attendees, the sort who you wonder if they're actually listening and get what's being sung...
I could cheat on reviewing Billy Bragg in Nottingham by just saying 'what he said' and pointing you to Swiss Toni's spot-on review of the night.
But that would be a cop-out wouldn't it?
I've actually only seen Billy perform twice, and only one of those was an actual gig. The first time was at an anti-war demo in Hyde Park in 1991: with his charming self-deprecation he announced that they hadn't been given a music licence, but that was okay because his performance wouldn't count as music. Then proceeded to sing out the wonderful 'Tender Comrade' which echoed across the breadth of Hyde Park as we stumbled, reluctantly, to the waiting coaches back to Wolverhampton.
I next saw him only later that same year, when with the backing band he ended a raucous night with a cover of Dee-Lite's "Groove is in the Heart". I know: madness. But somehow it worked. [I also fondly remember the day as when I took my final exam for my A204 OU course -- after the exam I ceremoniously tore down my revision schedule poster to the turned-up-to-11 volume of "Waiting for the Great Leap Forward".]
So, as a non-festival attendee, I'd been a good while between Billy experiences. And in truth given how wiped I am by work I was hardly woo-hoo excited. It had been on the radar for months but we hadn't got round to booking. This didn't help make me feel I could drag myself out. But, bless him, Cloud pulled things round and demanded that we go. Once there of course it was brilliant.
Otis Gibbs provided charming support - a kind of Indiana version of BB - though I was less than impressed by the constant chattering behind me which (in my terribly British way) I just seethed about and ignored.
Thankfully when the main man appeared most of the chattering stopped*. And from first raucous guitar strum to the throw of his tea-bag, we were captivated. With such an extensive back catalogue to pick from there's a great mix of recent and older stuff to enjoy. I was particularly delighted to get "Accident Waiting to Happen" and even though excitement got the better of BB and his vocal power, there was usually enough energy and enthusiasm to carry the songs from the audience. I especially loved the audience not just singing along to "Sexuality" but also adding in a perfect replica of the Kirsty MacColl descant echo ("weighed dow-n" "informat-ion") which sparked a "you've been practising!" from Mr Billy.
A raconteur as much as a songster, any BB performance is always going to be a rallying call to action and an anecdote-laden engagement with the crowd. "What about those BNP c***s?!" yelled one; "Quite" replied Billy, "what you said". Despite attempts to moderate language ("my mum listens to the bootlegs!") there was little chance of him not using some appropriately excoriating language to describe the actions of the BNP and Red Watch for getting some come-uppance about releasing names and addresses [something they've been more than happy to do against left-leaners like BB).
Additional thoughts Sunday 23 Nov
Listening this weekend to some of his back catalogue, Bragg certainly has a knack for writing both sharply observant 'love sings' as well as his social commentary and more political pieces. But what is beautiful about his approach is that he brings the same passion to both types of song. He remains his own man and I for one am grateful he's around.
Even though I don't like Marmite, I love Billy Bragg.
*though the latter part of the gig did produce two yaddering middle-aged blokes behind me who would not shut up -- I couldn't take any more and between songs went over to tell them to 'please shut up: why do you come to a gig and talk? All I can hear is your chattering through the songs' to which their reply was 'at least we're talking sense'. Right. THOSE sort of BB gig attendees, the sort who you wonder if they're actually listening and get what's being sung...
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