"My name's Billy Bragg. I’m from Barking, Essex," is how Billy ends the second of his three-night stand 'One Step Forward, Two Steps Back' residency at The Gov (5 March), an at times humorously self-deprecating performance of songs from his first three albums, Billy commenting early on: "We're in the territory of what academics refer to as 'chop and clang'."
Essentially a solo performance, although he is later joined later by keyboardist Neil Anderson for a handful of songs, it is immediately apparent there'll be audience participation in the form of a pub choir who accompany Billy right from the start to complete the affirming set opener, 'The Milkman Of Human Kindness', and follow this and other songs with roaring applause.Billy's songs of introspection and protest performed with the individuality of his accented delivery have long been embraced and the format of this current tour, although not a song by song play-through of those early albums, allows the opportunity to experience those lesser performed songs in the live context.
The DIY style of percussive guitar playing of his debut album, 'Life's A Riot With Spy Vs Spy' (released 40 years ago this year) dominates with five of the album's seven songs played throughout the evening and bookending the set.
Image © Mike Lockheart
He acknowledges the brevity of that album and reminisces about having previously played it in its entirety as an encore, contributing the story of how he was first played by UK DJ John Peel, teaching some in the audience a new word ('apocryphal') along the way.
Following a selection of songs from his second album 'Brewing Up With...' during which he is accompanied by Anderson, Billy comments: "I know why Paul Weller doesn't play those old Jam songs. There's a lot of words in those songs."
Third album 'Talking With The Taxman About Poetry' had been represented earlier by the Bob Dylan 'Chimes Of Freedom' pastiche 'Ideology', and Billy had openly acknowledged this "steal".
Image © Mike Lockheart
This album is returned to for the vaudevillian performance of 'Honey I'm A Big Boy Now', which Billy preceded this with the revelation that he's on a spectrum between Joe Strummer and Max Miller, and afterwards comments topically: "It's like the Fringe in here."
The never to far away pub choir is in full strength to back him during a rousing performance of 'Greetings To The New Brunette' although he does comment between songs: "It's just me on stage up here trying to remember how to play the songs."
Following the melancholy 'Man In The Iron Mask', Billy performs an asynchronous cover version of 'I Heard It Through The Grapevine' (including a riff from 'Smoke On The Water') not on the set list.
Image © Mike Lockheart
From the 'Between The Wars' EP Billy performs 'Which Side Are You On' and the title track, and then defers to the returning pub choir to take the lead in the chorus of 'To Have And To Have Not'.
The classic 'Levi Stubbs Tears' is similarly a sing-along before the anthemic 'There Is Power In A Union' rounds off the set.
At first the encore differs from the rest of the set in that Billy performs the a cappella 'I Don't Need This Pressure, Ron' (obviously jokingly referencing but not a cover of Spandau Ballet's 'Chant No. 1') before Neil returns to accompany Billy's 'Walk Away Renee' monologue.
Image © Mike Lockheart
Billy proclaims: "Let's finish off with a banger," and the final song of the night is the pub choir friendly 'A New England' during which Billy gives in completely to the chanted chorus which brings us back to where we started.
These shows and this tour have been a long time coming given the cancellations and postponements, but with Billy performing again this week at WOMADelaide you would need to have a good excuse to miss him this time around.
More photos from the show.
