I’m in the middle of a run of great gigs at the moment. Tonight I went to SWX in Bristol to see Gaz Coombes, he of Supergrass fame. I’ve seen Gaz twice at record signings and acoustic shows in Rough Trade and he’s a lovely bloke and a brilliant performer. Tonight, in a rammed venue, here he was with his seven piece band. He was brilliant, which is more than I can say about many of the people who’d allegedly come to see him perform. Their behaviour came close to ruining the show for me.
I arrived at 8.15pm for the expected 8.20pm start. It was an early start because SWX becomes a nightclub from 11.00pm and the gig needs to be over by 10.00pm. I managed to get a decent view near the mixing desk and pretty well on time on came Coombes who played his new album Turn The Car Around in its entirety, along with selected tunes from his quality catalogue. But right from the start, I was struck by the number of people who simply talked very loud during the songs. I am very aware of noise at the best of times but here I quickly became pissed off. The bars, which are in the auditorium, don’t help but people were talking everywhere I went, including behind the Merch desk.
Coombes was at the top of his game and I’m hoping he couldn’t hear the constant hubbub, but I certainly could. And when he introduced his beautiful song The Girl Who Fell To Earth, which he played acoustically with no band, I was angry and upset. The song, he explained, is about his daughter who is autistic and Coombes spoke movingly about their life. But a great many people didn’t seem to be interested. The story was broken up with people shouting out loud, laughing and by the sound of the hand dryers in the toilets. (It must have been from the ladies’ toilets because no men were washing their hands in the gents when I paid a visit.)
The show went on and I heard all the songs I wanted to hear. Some people just carried on chatting. Quite why you would pay money to see someone play live and then talk all the way through it is beyond me. I suspect part of it is the venue – the acoustics are dreadful – and the main part is idiots who really should have gone somewhere else instead of spoiling the enjoyment of snowflakes like me.
Gaz Coombes is a brilliant writer, singer and performer and I thought he deserved a lot better than he got tonight. Once the gig was over, he stuck around to sign Merch with fans, something very few artists ever do. I didn’t stay because he and I are old friends (!) having met twice at Rough Trade in recent years so there was no real need and because I was seething because of how people were behaving.
If he’s ever down your way, then go and see him. He’s great. But try to find better company than I had tonight.
I leave you with The Girl Who Fell To Earth. Just click on the lyrics.
The girl who fell to earthShe gets her kicks from scienceIt’s hard to see, it’s not enoughWhen you’re blinded by computer loveSo tear it down and play it roughYou don’t mean to mess it upHow I wish we could start overYou wear your elastic heart on your chewed up sleeveFirst you cry and then you laughYou’re like a circle, cut in halfAnother night of broken sleepI’ll comfort you, I’ll warm your dreamsBut you’ve still got time, my warrior childWhen the storm starts it’s only on the outsideAt times we couldn’t see the lightWe only wipe our tears dryI know you’re there, I know it’s youThe girl inside is breaking throughThe girl who fell to earth
