British folkie Billy Bragg has kept the faith for a quarter century, and it appears that his loyal fan base is still doing the same.
Bragg’s roughly two-hour show Tuesday night at Toronto’s Phoenix Concert Theatre had its share of signatures but also a stash of songs that seemed to reflect the turbulent economic times.
And despite being armed with only two amps behind him and his guitar, the singer-songwriter managed to hold the sizable crowd’s attention most of the night.
Still touring behind his 2008 album Mr. Love & Justice, Bragg tore through his the early portion of his set without much witty, comical banter, instead letting The World Turned Upside Down with its Bo Diddley feel and Accident Waiting To Happen do the talking.
Mentioning how he was drinking Throat Coat tea to get his voice to be in tune by night’s end, Bragg seemed to loosen up with The Warmest Room and especially the slower, soulful title track from his latest album.
But the first big cheers of the night came when Bragg referred to Woody Guthrie and the two Mermaid Avenue albums Bragg and Wilco collaborated on. Bragg gave kudos to Guthrie, stating that most of the material he wrote during the Great Depression of the ‘30s could easily relate to the job losses and unease many are facing today.
After Ingrid Bergman and Way Over Yonder In The Minor Key were completed, the singer nailed Guthrie’s the somber and sobering I Ain’t Got No Home In This World Anymore which was greeted with much applause.
Halfway through his main set, Bragg definitely charmed the crowd with a brief speech on oxymorons such as “military intelligence” and “American football,” the latter Bragg said should cause an “embarrassed silence” and be renamed “runny runny catchy.”
While the first half was at times a tad uneven, Bragg ironed out the kinks with NPWA (No Power Without Accountability) and the poppy, chipper Sexuality. Yet the surprise was a Dylan-like rendition of a profanity-laced John Cooper Clarke poem entitled Evidently Chickentown. The tune -– with the f-bomb making up half the song -– resembled something The Pogues’ Shane MacGowan might perfect.
Nonetheless, Bragg -– whose first Canadian gig was in 1984 in Mississauga supporting Echo and The Bunnymen -– returned to the trademark protest nuggets with O Freedom, All You Fascists and There Is Power In A Union.
But between the political tracks, Bragg dropped in a lighter love-laced effort in The Saturday Boy. Here Bragg opted to just play the chords as fans heard “the trumpet solo in their heads” from the album. He offered snippets from The White Stripes’ Seven Nation Army and Deep Purple’s Smoke On The Water for the “geezers” in the crowd.
The encore began with Milkman Of Human Kindness and The Busy Girl Buys Beauty, but by then Bragg had definitely earned his keep.
Sun rating: 3.5 Stars out of 5
Tuesday Night, Phoenix Concert Theatre
