Kicking
off the Autumn 2022 Dance Card with the return of a recent “live” favourite,
and a belated boy’s birthday weekend out! I’d seen 70’s art school “Sexmusic” punk
rocker turned 80’s New Romantic icon turned 10’s (the decade, that is) “live”
comeback king and National Treasure, Mr. Adam Ant, 9 times between 2011 and 2016,
but not since that triumphant 2016 Bristol gig (no. 990), wherein he’d wowed us
with a brilliant rendition of his 2nd, breakthrough album, “Kings Of
The Wild Frontier”. Live Ant sets since then had largely focussed on his
subsequent solo oeuvre, hence my absence, but an opportunity arose earlier this
year for a late shout on his current career-spanning “Antics” tour, around mine
and Logan’s birthdays at the end of June. Tix were duly bought for this
Brighton gig, rescheduled from March to my actual birthday on 24 June, only for
it then to require further shunting due to Adam catching Covid. D’oh!
Luckily,
t’was nothing serious, and he and we could still make this rearranged date (2
days before Logan’s return to school – phew!). So, having made arrangements for
an overnight stop at an old friend’s place in Worthing (Doug and Sarah, we
salute you!), we headed off around lunchtime, hitting a sunny Brighton
mid-afternoon for some retail therapy and fish and chips on the pier (warding
off the predatory seagulls!). We walked past a massive queue for this seafront
auditorium as we returned to the car to dump purchases, a predominantly older
clientele with many bedecked in various versions of Adam’s personas (Hussar,
tricorn hat pirates and dandy highwaymen aplenty!). However, doors had opened
on our return and said queue had dissipated, so we wandered in at 6.45, hitting
the merch stand then taking our excellent 3rd row seats, house
right, chatting with fellow punters to kill time. Opener Laurie Black was on at
7.45; a black and neon clad futurist punkette armed only with a synth/ beatbox
arrangement, I initially feared a carcrash… however, following some laudable if
obvious social commentary for starters on opener “Everything Is Shit”, she went
all cosmic on us, with a number about the first woman on the moon (being
particularly proud about rhyming “Godiva” with “vagina”!). I actually warmed to
her and her Kraftwerk/ early Human League/ Landscape (!) esque robotic sheet
synth, quirky humour (introducing her “band”, i.e. various parts of her
“dystopiano”) and obvious enthusiasm about performing on such a large stage in
her home town, even if I wasn’t so sure about her “Eurovision” song about
cockroaches! Still, Adam’s had worse supports…
A
quick pic with Logan (sporting his new “Antmusic For Sexpeople” tshirt!) down
the front before we took our places for Adam’s arrival, prompt at 8… only for
half the audience to then abandon their seats in favour of the gaping area at
the front of the stage as the lights smashed to black, and so did we! We
therefore pitched up 3 rows back, dead centre stage in the enthusiastic throng
as the band took the stage and kicked into the unmistakeable multi-layered drumbeat
opening to “Antmusic”. Then, The Man appeared… Johnny Depp’s style forebearer, quite
noticeably trimmer than recent gigs, resplendent in black button jacket and
leathers with a slight touch of slate grey peering out from under his
wide-brimmed straw boater, he looked magnificent, a King ready to reclaim his
Wild Frontier. Snake hipped and immediately prowling the stage like a panther,
he repeated the opening line with his distinctive vocal yelping style, before
the song finally burst into life like a cork from a bottle of finest vintage
champagne, and we knew we were in for a Very Special Night.
It
was hard to comprehend the fact that we were watching the performance of a 67
year old man with a history of mental health issues; not only did he look at
least half that, and perform with the energy, enthusiasm and vitality of a
20-something, but he also seemed totally relaxed, confident and at home onstage,
seemingly free of all his demons. “Vive Le Rock” got the crowd whooping, but an
early “Cleopatra” topped that with its’ glammy yet grubby sleazoid slow burn
grunge. Adam donned the guitar for a taut, creepy “Ants Invasion” before
informing us that the next number, “was written in the back of my dad’s light
blue car, as rockers whizzed by at 100 mph,”; not “Cartrouble” as expected, but
a sweeping, swooping and popular “Prince Charming”. Plenty of diversions back
to my preferred earlier Sexmusic material early doors, though; “Digital
Tenderness” was itchy, insistent and angular art-school punk, “It Doesn’t
Matter” a dismissive, sneery bluesy growl, and a rampant “Fat Fun” was preceded
by Adam admitting, “people ask me what was punk all about? I’ve no idea –
except it was fast!”
Adam’s
“manifesto” number, the Burundi double drumbeats and First Nation American
yelping/ chanting of “Kings Of The Wild Frontier”, was as ever delivered with
conviction to throw away, Adam notably pausing for breath, and to soak in a
lengthy ovation, at its’ denouement. Then, an incredible, set-defining triple
whammy: the brilliant pinprick riffery of “Zerox”, poignantly dedicated by Adam
to his old friend and punk muse Jordan, lost earlier this year; a joyous,
angular and singalong “Cartrouble”; then my set highlight, the frankly
incendiary rollercoaster thrillride of “Beat My Guest”, causing me to totally
lose my shit in my little space down the front, bad knees be damned. Wow. Just…
wow.
Unsurprisingly,
the set drifted a little for me afterwards, perhaps just as well as I needed to
catch my breath! Nonetheless Adam was still a lively and kinetic onstage
presence through a slightly trite, almost lullaby-like “Something Girls”, via a
spritely if throwaway “Los Rancheros” to the inevitable set closer “Stand And
Deliver”, Adam conducting a lengthy singalong to the hook, rounding off an
overall quite magnificently delivered set in a perfect, all-inclusive way. A
couple of encores, capped with the grizzled, dramatic march of “Physical”,
rounded off a 1 ¾ hour set which utterly rocketed by, despite the post “BMG”
lull. We grabbed a couple of lists – including Adam’s rather large own list! –
before hitting the road, arriving at Doug’s place and settling in before a
rather violent electrical storm made landfall! A rather splendid “Breakfast
Club” breakfast in Brighton the following morning, then more shopping before
heading back, elated at a Covid delayed but totally worthwhile boys birthday
outing, thanks to the shining and enduring star that is Adam Ant!
.jpg)
No comments:
Post a Comment