Back on the gig trail at last, although this one could be a case of kill or cure…! I’ve (mostly) managed to shake off a really bad case of old school dirty flu/ chest infection which had sadly caused me to miss a couple of pre-booked gigs last weekend (a “Dirty Boat” duo of Man/ Woman/ Chainsaw and Violet Grohl. Bah!) and I’m ready to resume my Autumn Dance Card events. And “mine hosts” for the return, for the 14th time of asking, are veteran Boston alt-rock legends Buffalo Tom! Their moment in the post-grunge “industry feeding frenzy” 90’s sun having long passed, they however retain a solid cult following in the UK and happily return to these shores regularly to satisfy us devotees. This then represented a swift return after only a couple of years away (2024 in fact, gig 1,349), for no other reason than to play a gig or two. Fair enough, then, so tix were sourced for the London show (their nearest to the ‘don) before it quickly sold out.
This
Saturday date up the Smoke meant that I was finally able to take my son Logan
to see the Tom. We did however have a few late logistical bumps to overcome;
Tim dipped out late due to family reasons, our old Skoda had already been ruled
out as it was effectively written off after a potentially massive service bill,
so it briefly seemed that we were going in Logan’s van! However, Jami (who’d
also been suffering with the flu this week) decided they weren’t well enough to
attend their scheduled Shakespeare show with mum, so we pressed Rachel’s
Peugeot into action! Logan and I therefore set off after his rugby game,
parking in Hayes and Harlington, Lizzie lining it to Liverpool Street and
hitting the venue just after 7 p.m. doors. No time to admire the run-down cave-like
subterranean warehouse feel of this “new” venue, however, before the support
was on at an indecently early 7.15! Said support was Mr. Gerard Love, formerly
of Teenage Fanclub and scribe of some of their most memorable early material; this
being the reason the Fannies themselves no longer play the tunes in question.
No such restriction for Gerard though; so we got heavily muted and hushed
versions of “Star Sign”, “Don’t Look Back” and “Ain’t That Enough” in a 7 song
set, delivered with delicate, stripped back understatement by Gerard’s fey,
lilting singing voice and lightly strummed guitar, plus Tom (the former TFC man
deadpanning, “this is Tom, I’m Gerry…”), a multi-instrumentalist who provided
suitably pastoral backwash accompaniment from his synth/ xylophone and flute
set up. Pleasant stuff but a bit soporific overall; nice to hear those venerable
old numbers again, shame there wasn’t more oomph…!
We’d squirmed to a barrier spot, extreme house left in front of the speakers, my already needing to use said barrier to remain upright. We soldier on regardless; The Tom swiftly took the stage dead on 8, affable singer Bill Janovitz thanking us for our early attendance before easing into chunky, chuntering opener “Summer” and a subsequent, spritelier “Treehouse”. “You look well! All packed in!” quipped Bill before the descending riff of a ragged but groovy “Helmet”, the singer already leading the charge with kinetic Townshend-esque arm-whirls and regular intense off-mic vocalising, although drummer Tom Maginnis also put in a decent shift, the underlying clattering drum patterns of a mid-set highlight double of “Tangerine” (Bill also eliciting a call and response haiku singalong from an initially reluctant crowd, remarking afterwards, “that was a spirited singalong – after some cajoling!”) and oldie “The Bus” propelling the set along impressively.
The
plangent chorus and herky-jerky rhythm of “Sodajerk” led into a surprisingly
groovy mid-set highlight of “All Be Gone”; then the gig was curtailed for 10
minutes due to a medical emergency in the crowd. Unfortunate, but unsurprising;
I was feeling quite faint myself by this point, and sweating profusely just
standing in my barrier spot! Happily, the person recovered and the band could
return, Bill advising, “we’ve got a hard 9.30 curfew – so this is our encore!” The
brilliant, driving and descending sweep of “Dry Land” was my overall highlight
tonight, before the sweeping emotion of “I’m Allowed” and a fine “Taillights
Fade” thereafter saw the Tom introduce Gerard Love onstage for a welcome if
(again) understated run-through of the Fannies’ classic “Sparky’s Dream”. A necessarily
truncated performance was capped with a reverential run-through of Grant Hart’s
“2541”, completing a trademark winningly ragged yet big-hearted Tom set. Our polite
shouts for a list were ignored but Logan reached over and grabbed Bills’ list
anyway! Chats with fellow punters Scott (who’d been sharing our corner spot and
filming for an absent friend) and old friend Lisa (who got a stage shout out
from the band and never noticed!), before a painful and exhausting hike back to
the tube, my plantar fasciitis playing up good and proper. A lengthy-feeling
tube ride got us back to the motor, a swift run home getting us to the ‘don at
12.30, late kebab teas in tow. Hurting – a LOT – the next day, but as ever, a
typically raw, emotive and inclusive rock show from Buffalo Tom was worth the
hassle!
