Shepherd's Bush
More on the subject of Peter on Sunday
It was good last night. Really bloody good. Not only was it a delight to hear the stuff off the new album, not only was Peter together and in really good form, but we had a set of performers which included Graham Coxon... and many others. Strings, keyboards, Dot Allison, Stephen Street.
Coxon was a brilliant addition. He's an ace guitarist, not showy, but excellent. And he's a strong, quiet presence on stage... and one suspects, in planning and rehearsal. Cause they clearly had. Rehearsed, that is. It was seamless. There was a setlist. Guest performers moved on and off stage as if it had been... erm... planned. Everyone looked dapper in black suits and white shirts.
The music was luscious. Peter was charming without getting distracted. The set list was incredibly well thought through, with an intermingling of new and old. MWLGO was a strong and emotionally appropriate opener and Albion (main set closer) and Time for Heroes (encore) rousing endings. A great choice of tried and tested 'oldies' in the form of What a Waster, with the more recent Lost Art of Murder, plus the rather more obscure Never Never (unknown as far as a large part of the audience was concerned at least).
The new album material was interspersed through the set and was great to hear. Lots of gems in there, too. I always have mixed feelings about rehashing of some of the lovely early Libertines material, and I'm not sure that I'll ever get used to (or prefer) the new versions of New Love Grows on Trees or Through the Looking Glass, but I liked hearing them live, and some of the things I'd not heard before were engaging, catchy and interesting, making me want to hear them again and get all the lyrics. Peter hasn't done that in a while.
The gig had some of the best qualities of the Arena tour, I thought. That feeling that the performance set before you has been considered, measured and planned. The sense that behind it all there's a force of determination to prove that Peter's more than the tabloid junky (coming from Peter ultimately, one assumes, but with, perhaps, also the influence of Stephen Street, who played guitar on a couple of songs). The event had a level of professionalism that one expects routinely with lots of bands, but gets rarely from anything Peter is associated with (apologies to Adam and Drew). Better than the Arena tour, however, was the mass of new material... it seems a long time since I've heard a body of new stuff from Peter. Slightly strange, though, was the feeling that this was nearly Shambles, but not. Adam and Drew minus Mik. Not Shambles but Peter's band. Which is a different thing.
There are many faces of Peter as a performer, and although I'd trade loads of them for last night, I wouldn't trade them all. I certainly wouldn't want to lose sight of the sweat-drenched screaming rocker. The tight Shambles unit working together to create at their best, a sense of frenzy with chaos just lurking stage left. A tightrope of thrills. And I would be extremely sorry to forsake the solo troubadour who chats and charms and from whose lips tumble song after song in an extraordinary outpouring of breathy whispers and accompanied by sometimes painful guitar. In truth, I think there's little risk that these other Peter performances have vanished. No one could ever accuse him of being consistent. And it is really important that he does remind us that the performer who sometimes has trouble staying upright on stage, or can't quite manage to finish many songs, can also put on a show like last night. It was ace.
It was good last night. Really bloody good. Not only was it a delight to hear the stuff off the new album, not only was Peter together and in really good form, but we had a set of performers which included Graham Coxon... and many others. Strings, keyboards, Dot Allison, Stephen Street.
Coxon was a brilliant addition. He's an ace guitarist, not showy, but excellent. And he's a strong, quiet presence on stage... and one suspects, in planning and rehearsal. Cause they clearly had. Rehearsed, that is. It was seamless. There was a setlist. Guest performers moved on and off stage as if it had been... erm... planned. Everyone looked dapper in black suits and white shirts.
The music was luscious. Peter was charming without getting distracted. The set list was incredibly well thought through, with an intermingling of new and old. MWLGO was a strong and emotionally appropriate opener and Albion (main set closer) and Time for Heroes (encore) rousing endings. A great choice of tried and tested 'oldies' in the form of What a Waster, with the more recent Lost Art of Murder, plus the rather more obscure Never Never (unknown as far as a large part of the audience was concerned at least).
The new album material was interspersed through the set and was great to hear. Lots of gems in there, too. I always have mixed feelings about rehashing of some of the lovely early Libertines material, and I'm not sure that I'll ever get used to (or prefer) the new versions of New Love Grows on Trees or Through the Looking Glass, but I liked hearing them live, and some of the things I'd not heard before were engaging, catchy and interesting, making me want to hear them again and get all the lyrics. Peter hasn't done that in a while.
The gig had some of the best qualities of the Arena tour, I thought. That feeling that the performance set before you has been considered, measured and planned. The sense that behind it all there's a force of determination to prove that Peter's more than the tabloid junky (coming from Peter ultimately, one assumes, but with, perhaps, also the influence of Stephen Street, who played guitar on a couple of songs). The event had a level of professionalism that one expects routinely with lots of bands, but gets rarely from anything Peter is associated with (apologies to Adam and Drew). Better than the Arena tour, however, was the mass of new material... it seems a long time since I've heard a body of new stuff from Peter. Slightly strange, though, was the feeling that this was nearly Shambles, but not. Adam and Drew minus Mik. Not Shambles but Peter's band. Which is a different thing.
There are many faces of Peter as a performer, and although I'd trade loads of them for last night, I wouldn't trade them all. I certainly wouldn't want to lose sight of the sweat-drenched screaming rocker. The tight Shambles unit working together to create at their best, a sense of frenzy with chaos just lurking stage left. A tightrope of thrills. And I would be extremely sorry to forsake the solo troubadour who chats and charms and from whose lips tumble song after song in an extraordinary outpouring of breathy whispers and accompanied by sometimes painful guitar. In truth, I think there's little risk that these other Peter performances have vanished. No one could ever accuse him of being consistent. And it is really important that he does remind us that the performer who sometimes has trouble staying upright on stage, or can't quite manage to finish many songs, can also put on a show like last night. It was ace.