By: Jim McGuire
Billy Bragg is one of my favorite musicians, but Sunday’s show in Minneapolis didn't line up to be one of his better performances. His last CD of original material (England, Half-English) was four years ago and was one of his weakest, and he’s touring now to support the release of Volume 1 - a boxed set of old material, hardly a sign that he's reinvigorated himself artistically. Still, I never miss a chance to see the "Bard of Barking" when he passes through town, and I liked the idea of him touring solo for the first time in a while.
Bragg came out shortly after 9 p.m. and immediately apologized. "The good news," he said, "is that I'm here." The "bad news" was that his voice had been lost somewhere between Austin and Minneapolis. He'd performed at South by Southwest the night before in a "hootenanny" with 85-year-old Ramblin' Jack Elliot and a couple of others that didn't end until 3:30 in the morning. As a result, his voice sounded raspy and his range was limited.
He opened with a slow cover of The Verve's "The Drug's Don't Work,” then made a comment about his voice being perfect for a night of Johnny Cash covers that resulted in a roar from the audience. He started playing "Folsom Prison Blues." The lyrics, however, were different than you'd expect: "Ever since I was a young boy, I played the silver ball... From Soho down the Brighton, I must've played them all." After a few more bars he waved his finger at the audience, warning that the Cash covers idea wasn't just an idle threat. Things were looking up. His voice might not have been up to par, but his sense of humor was intact.
Bragg struggled a good part of the night to stay in a key that worked, and stopped more than once after his first attempt at a song to apologize, adjust his capo, and try it in another key. It was fun, though, to see him doing his slower, folkier material, varying from love songs "A Lover Sings," "Greetings to the New Brunette" and "Myth of Trust," to some of his more blatantly political material "Like Soldiers Do," and "Upfield," in which he proclaims to have a "...socialism of the heart." Bill also threw in a couple of tunes from the Mermaid Avenue discs, for which he and Wilco wrote music to lyrics that had been long languishing in the Woody Guthrie archives. Most enjoyable of those was "Ingrid Bergman" in which Guthrie expresses his, well, lust for Ingrid. Bragg clearly enjoyed introducing this song because it shows the range Woody Guthrie had as a songwriter, as well as his wit. Plus it's clear that Bragg enjoys Guthrie’s obvious double entendres in the song. I don't think he ever makes it through this one live without chuckling at least once.
What I like about Billy Bragg most live, though, isn't the performance of the songs. It's his stage banter in between that ranges from stand-up comedy to political commentary; he's at his absolute best when he combines the two. The highlight of the night was his a 5-plus minute rambling intro that touched on the Magna Carta, prisoners in Guantanamo Bay, the US Constitution (and the UK's lack of one) and much more. He then ripped into NPWA (“No Power Without Accountability”), the best track from England, Half English.
He closed with a new song "I Keep Faith," which expresses his hope for the future in spite of struggles to this point.
I know it takes a mess of courage
To go against the grain
You have to make great sacrifice for such little gain.
The chorus repeated "I've got faith. I've got faith... In you." Truly a song for his fans.
He then apologized for being more the folk Billy Bragg than the punk one, and said goodnight.
The night wasn't all folk, however. When Bragg returned for an encore he explained that he could play the more rockin' songs, but "you'll have to sing the high parts." He then tore into a three song set of "There is Power in A Union," "To Have and Have Not" and "A New England" (always a crowd favorite). For some reason I always enjoy the irony of such a political musician getting the crowd to joyously sing "I don't want to change the world. I'm not looking for a New England. I'm just looking for another girl."
As I was leaving I was amused to hear one person complaining about Billy's left-wing politics (I assume he must've gotten lost on his way to the Young Republicans rally), and someone else going on about his rambling between songs. Those things, to me, are the highlights of Billy's shows.
Location Info:
Fine Line Music Café
Artist Info: Billy Bragg
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