On a grim Monday morning, a double decker tour bus
parked outside the Princess Pavilion provided the only clue to Graham
Coxon’s arrival in Falmouth. Before long, however, Coxon’s presence came
into more dramatic focus as internet reports named him as the celebrity
survivor of a massive fire that had engulfed the seafront hotel in
which he was staying. Coxon, meanwhile, was actually safe across town
buying a pasty, but as pre-gig preparation goes, the build up to this -
the final date of his UK tour - was not ideal.
By the time he takes to the stage that evening, the
seafront has been cordoned off as hordes of firefighters battle the
inferno. Coxon, meanwhile, seems unshaken by the day’s drama. “Do you
like my guitar?” he asks the crowd, grinning. “It’s well good, innit!”
Coxon has endured enough turbulence in his life to take this sort of
thing in his stride; indeed this sort of infectious resolve has come to
characterise an increasingly enthralling solo career.
Tonight, it also lends a completely different lease
of life to tracks from his new album A+E. Live, the new songs shed the
claustrophobia of the record. Tracks burst with unexpected freedom, an
explosion in volume - both aural and spatial. At times
four guitars play simultaneously; far from being overwrought, the
outcome is as nuanced as it is powerful.
Following the cut and paste fuzz of set (and new
album) opener Advice, Coxon thrashes out a raucous trio of tracks from
2006 album Love Travels at Illegal Speeds (Don’t Let Your Man Know,
Can’t Look at Your Skin, Standing on My Own Again), before turning his
attention to A+E material. “Those were just to warm you up…consider
yourselves warmed”, Coxon says, narrowing his eyes in mock menace as a
wail of feedback signals the start of A+E track The Truth, a song whose
live incarnation takes the recorded version’s dark, lo-fi stomp and
imbues it with a muscular blast reminiscent of Downward Spiral-era Nine
Inch Nails, albeit led by Coxon’s childish exuberance.
In all, nine of A+E’s tracks are aired tonight (the
exception being the eerie Knife in the Cast)and for all the talk of a
dark shift in Coxon’s songwriting, the pop spirit of “Freakin’ Out” (a
song which unsurprisingly receives the best reception tonight) still
permeates the newer tracks, creating what feels like the purest
expression of Coxon’s creative ambition yet.
Single What’ll It Take is a descendant of Blur’s
punkier material adorned with agitated synth bleeps and a pummelling
outro, hammered home by Coxon shouting “what’s wrong with me?” with such
exuberance that you get the impression that whatever it is, he’s not
that bothered. Meet and Drink And Pollinate is a beefed up, distorted
cousin of its album equivalent, as is A+E and main set closer Ooh, Yeh
Yeh, which abandons its country edge in favour of chaotic blues. Bah
Singer, meanwhile, deconstructs The Sex Pistols’ Pretty Vacant, creating
a bar-brawl stomp teetering on the edge of collapse. In the midst of
this, Don’t Wanna Go Out and Spectacular fly a defiant flag for the
older material.
Tripping Over, from 2009’s Spinning Top, feels like
the only misstep, the original’s warm, off-kilter acoustics abandoned
in favour of Champagne Supernovaesque rock-balladry that feels flabby in
comparison. However, this minor blip is long forgotten by the time
Coxon brings his set to a triumphant close with a spiky version of debut
album track “I Wish” (aided by lyrics displayed on a crew member’s
mobile phone).
Falmouth’s picturesque seafront might have been
devastated tonight, but just up the hill, with an exhilaratingly joyful
performance of some of his most challenging music, Graham Coxon has
shown that, more than a mere survivor, he is a force of nature.
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