By DJ Astrocreep
On a night where three of gothic rock’s iconic bands all had gigs in Manchester, I choose to go and catch David J of Bauhaus, touring for his newly released solo album, forsaking the dark delights of The Cult and Wayne Hussey of The Mission and formerly Sisters of Mercy. Not the easiest of choices, given the affinity I have for each act, but catching David perform his solo release just about swayed it for me. A rainy trip to Manchester and there’s a DJ set from Liines members, playing a host of alternative classics, prior to the single live support to David.
Pat Fish, aka The Jazz Butcher is our support act, now playing as a one-man singer/songwriter style. It’s clear that Pat has more than a few gigs under his belt in his affable manner and ease with which he handles himself on the stage. While it’s not the busiest crowd he will have played to, it’s certainly an appreciative one and his work goes down well with us all, as judged by the focus around the room being fully on him right through his set and the applause and cheers. There are even some calls for an encore which he performs, taking a request from the crowd to do so. It’s an enjoyable, well worked set and Pat has done well to transcribe the songs into this setting and still have them be so effective. A good set and best of wishes in your battle from all of us here at UR.
Time for our erstwhile host for the night and David J is bang on form, despite the low attendance. His vocal delivery reminds me of a mix of Michael Stipe, on darker REM tracks such as ‘Low’ and David Bowie, which makes for quite an intriguing mix. He plays his acoustic guitar for around two-thirds of his set and it’s good to hear songs from across his solo career, as well as a couple of covers (if you can call your own band’s songs covers!). Those that have decided, like me, on seeing David J rather than attending either of the other goth rock gigs on tonight too continue to make plenty of noise and it’s good that David seems unaffected in his performance by this, to his credit.
The mix of songs is good, with the likes of ‘Crocodile Tears and the Velvet Cosh’, ‘Not Long For This World’ and ‘Spaulding Gray Can’t Swim’ from earlier albums mixed in with the title track from his newest opus ‘Missive To An Angel From The Halls Of Infamy And Allure’, in his own words a song he wouldn’t say or he wouldn’t have time to finish it, to the merriment of us all. That same sense of humour shines through a lot in the set, as does a quite endearing mannerism of almost acting out the lyrics at times, helping to emphasise certain bits in manner you just can’t help but like. His choice of help in the Czech pairing on keys and violin – both of whom recorded on the latest album too – is good, as they prove themselves quite able assistants in the performance. It’s an enjoyable show that deserves a bigger audience than it receives.
- The tour concludes at the Moth Club in London tonight (Saturday 26 October).
- PHOTO CREDIT: Photos by the author.
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