A Divine Comedy/Ben Folds double-header, you would think, would be right up my street having been a fan of Neil Hannon since about 1991 and having taken a reasonable interest in Ben since he was one of three in his Five.
But the truth is, dragging myself all the way over to Manchester on an October Thursday and in the process throwing myself upon the mercy of the First NorthWestern train service was growing less appealing every day in the weeks coming up to the gig.
Eventually, though, it’s fair to say that some excellent reviews from the earlier gigs in the tour, combined with a change in my personal circumstances, which has left me actively seeking entertainment and the company of others, were the major reasons why I did decide to go.
Suitably lubricated with a few Guinnesses in the Jabez Clegg beforehand, me, my brother and his wife managed to get in to the venue – the cavernous, boomy-sounding Academy – just as Ben took to the stage.
I wasn’t entirely sure what to expect from the solo Ben Folds live. In his previous incarnation, me and at least one other Hellfire member had witnessed him and his buddies serve up a real treat in about 1998 at the smaller Manchester University venue, running through songs from their first album with a lot of energy, showmanship, excellent musicianship and outstanding three-part vocal arrangements.
Now he was just himself, I wondered as we stood towards the back of the hangar-like hall just how things would pan out now. I had been listening to "Rockin’ The Suburbs" in the days running up to the gig and still couldn’t see how he could carry that off alone.
The answer, as it turned out, was pure talent. Not just as a pianist, a singer, but also as a raconteur and showman. Admittedly he was playing to a largely receptive and already captive audience, but the manner in which he had them (us?) eating out his hand immediately was amazing.
Before playing songs like "Philosophy" and "Where’s Summer B" from the first album, he ran the crowd through a brief rehearsal of his former band mates’ vocal parts and then left them to get on with it, filling out the sound with a tunefulness and, yes, restraint, that is rare enough amongst a pissed-up gig crowd! Maybe the fact that he came on at the relatively early time of 8pm helped?
He repeated the trick on a few other tracks which I could only identify as having been on "Whatever And Ever Amen" and played a few quieter tracks from his solo catalogue. It was obvious to me at times that, great though Ben was, he would have benefited live from having Robert and Darren still along with him, but that’s his choice I suppose. But Ben hadn’t changed much himself – he doesn’t appear to have developed the inflated ego that I’d feared. He still bashed f**k out of his piano - at one stage breaking a string - and climbed all over it. He played percussion on the mic, and did other silly stuff and told jokes…
We were impressed. He made me smile, certainly.
Neil Hannon, who has justifiably kept the Divine Comedy name despite protestations from people who don’t know his history that once he ‘sacked the rest of the band’ he should revert to his given name, is mid-transformation.
He claims to have been happy with his last album "Regeneration", dreadfully produced by the dreary Nigel Godrich of Radiohead drudgery, I mean ‘fame’, but subsequent events don’t seem to bear that out. For one there is the already eluded to departure of some of his former partners in crime, Joby, Bryan et al. Then there’s the suits – they went, substituted by some indie-by-numbers t-shirt and jeans effort. Tonight, the suit was back (hurrah!) but the Cobain circa 91 hairstyle remains.
The biggest hint at Neil’s current state of confusion, though, is his tinkering with his line-up. As I mentioned earlier, I am a fan. In February this year I went to New York to see him play an intimate show at a place called Joe’s Pub in the East Village. Then Neil stuck largely to guitar duties, and had a percussionist in tow in Rob, and a multi-instrumentalist in Ivor. At the T On The Fringe festival in Edinburgh in August, it was different again (I can’t recall the exact configuration – god, that Deuchars IPA is good stuff!) while tonight there was, almost like the last thing you’d guess, a double bass added.
Which is not to suggest that the performances are not good. The New York show in particular was fabulous. But Neil is definitely searching for something…
As befitting a gig that is ‘just for fun’ and not really promoting anything, Neil provided a right old mixed bag in his set tonight. The one acknowledgement to his latest record was the understated "Eye Of The Needle", excellently played and well-received by the audience, but otherwise tonight’s set was new material combined with some old favourites.
Songs like "Becoming More Like Alfie" and "A Woman Of The World" from Casanova were great to hear live again, but with a line-up that numbered only four and with the drum stool only being occupied when there was nothing else for someone to do, they were not carried off with any conviction or, to be honest, distinction. Alfie in particular was actually ruined by the drums – the person who was ‘playing’ them obviously couldn’t! It is not a ‘four-on-the-floor’ track.
The new songs didn’t really inspire either. While I’m sympathetic to Neil’s plight of having to leave his wife and newly-born daughter Willow to go and tour America earlier this year, I honestly think a more imaginative and heartfelt song than "Idaho" could have been produced by someone with his ability in the circumstances.
Similarly "The Happy Goth" sounds a bit uninspired, though I liked "Our Mutual Friend".
"A Drinking Song" went down very well and many plastic glasses were raised in honour of those who have drowned. For the rendition of "Bernice Bobs Her Hair" from Liberation, Ben resurfaced on drums, and blow me down if he wasn’t brilliant at that too!
The final part of the gig was a brief segment where Neil and Ben combined forces on stage on twin front-man duties. Ben sung an excellent version of the Divine Comedy classic "Your Daddy’s Car", while Neil bellowed out Ben’s own "Brick". Cover versions of "Race For The Prize" and "Raindrops Keep Falling On My Head" were expertly and passionately performed and the Manchester crowd went home suitably entertained.
I felt entertained too, but as a Neil Hannon fan, I also travelled home in the back of my brother’s car – I’d missed the last train home to Chester – with additional worries. While Ben seems to have found a personal release with the shedding of band mates, Neil just seems to have created further confusion after doing the same.
I’m sure the endless touring he has had to undertake, reputedly under major label orders, this past year hasn’t helped. I certainly don’t think it is assisting his songwriting. With "Regeneration" it seemed to me as though Neil had had to make certain compromises to the record company to try and promote him to the next level of popularity, and it didn’t work. I just hope the record company, with his new album, let Neil create what he wants. History tells us that given time and support, Neil can retreat, regroup and reappear with a masterpiece.
Just ask Keith Cullen.
Alan, 5/10/2002