Unashamed fangirling
I went to see Billy Bragg last night. I didn't get home till almost 2 AM and am wiped out today but that's beside the point. He was AWESOME.
I saw Billy not long after September 11, 2001 and it was a very different gig; it was at the Town Hall for a start, so it was much more restrained. He played 'Rumours of War' and you could have heard a pin drop afterwards. This one was in a smaller venues, far more rambunctious, and also more joyful; he swore a lot more and was obviously having a fabulous time, so much so that as he pointed out, he played his entire first album as an encore.
Standout moments for me were during A New England when he said "Let's sing a verse for Kirsty MacColl" - I knew he uses her verse now, but I didn't know he'd announce it. I may have WOOOOed. Also, when he talked about his first politicising - seeing the Clash at Rock Against Racism when he was 20 - and how the most important thing when you go to a gig with political artists is not the artists or the songs but the audience, knowing you are part of a movement. How our greatest enemy is cynicism, especially our own; "In a year's time everyone's going to be saying Rudd's the same as Howard. We have to fight our cynicism, even when Rudd does some things we don't agree with, and remember how bad it was under Howard". And he played a new song he wrote about his audience and the relationship between audience and artist called I Keep Faith; "I had my fiftieth birthday last month and I feel like I'm 25 years old standing here, and that's the feedback and the energy and the faith I have in you to make a difference".
As always, Waiting for the Great Leap Forward was changed to reflect the times, and to poke some fun at himself and at us. "If you've got a website I want to be on it - oh wait, this is Australia, isn't it? Sorry, sorry. If you've got a tattoo I want to be on it- preferably on the small of your back just above your bumcrack".
He rocked out. We rocked out. We belted out There Is Power in a Union. He was having a great time and so were we. I love Billy.
Also, he was standing a few feet behind us during the support act. !!!1!eleventy!!
I saw Billy not long after September 11, 2001 and it was a very different gig; it was at the Town Hall for a start, so it was much more restrained. He played 'Rumours of War' and you could have heard a pin drop afterwards. This one was in a smaller venues, far more rambunctious, and also more joyful; he swore a lot more and was obviously having a fabulous time, so much so that as he pointed out, he played his entire first album as an encore.
Standout moments for me were during A New England when he said "Let's sing a verse for Kirsty MacColl" - I knew he uses her verse now, but I didn't know he'd announce it. I may have WOOOOed. Also, when he talked about his first politicising - seeing the Clash at Rock Against Racism when he was 20 - and how the most important thing when you go to a gig with political artists is not the artists or the songs but the audience, knowing you are part of a movement. How our greatest enemy is cynicism, especially our own; "In a year's time everyone's going to be saying Rudd's the same as Howard. We have to fight our cynicism, even when Rudd does some things we don't agree with, and remember how bad it was under Howard". And he played a new song he wrote about his audience and the relationship between audience and artist called I Keep Faith; "I had my fiftieth birthday last month and I feel like I'm 25 years old standing here, and that's the feedback and the energy and the faith I have in you to make a difference".
As always, Waiting for the Great Leap Forward was changed to reflect the times, and to poke some fun at himself and at us. "If you've got a website I want to be on it - oh wait, this is Australia, isn't it? Sorry, sorry. If you've got a tattoo I want to be on it- preferably on the small of your back just above your bumcrack".
He rocked out. We rocked out. We belted out There Is Power in a Union. He was having a great time and so were we. I love Billy.
Also, he was standing a few feet behind us during the support act. !!!1!eleventy!!