Dav Ford claims he wants to be ‘blokey’. Dav Ford and ‘blokey’ are things I'd very rarely put in the same sentence. Perhaps he’s trying to distance himself from the period where he’d appear on stage in white PVC jacket and purple glitter or possibly it’s just another flight of fancy. Whatever the whim may be, tonight he takes to the stage in a white Stetson looking rather jaunty indeed...
With no single to promote 'til September and no festival dates lined up (other than a support slot to Kelly Osbourne of all people) this seems to be a chance to get to grips with playing the new material live. Having already confessed that ‘Kill The Last Romantic’ is likely to be, “a little darker, a little slower, a little more intense, possibly a little sadder.” than first album, ‘This Is Where I Stand’, They kick off the set with ‘Saddest Song’ which continues an ongoing theme that whatever happens, nothing is ever that bad.
Of the new material, ‘Celebrity Killer’ is possibly the nearest to upbeat, jump-arounds like ‘Bleach’ (which also makes an appearance) while ‘Til The Day’ is fragile, slow and heartbreaking. New single ‘2nd Amendment’ is preceded by a few bars of ‘Born In The USA’ (Bruce Springsteen - very blokey if you recall...) but it’s perhaps not the strongest song on offer tonight. The rest of the set is made up of ‘Junkies’, Stain To Never Fade’, an Elton John cover, ‘Demons, ‘I Don’t Expect You To Notice’, a low down and dirrty ‘You & Me’, now including the chorus of Electric Six’s ‘Gay Bar’ and finishes with another new one ‘Goodnight’.
So the new stuff is may be slower and a change of pace for the group ( possibly to do with the recording process taking place during Mr Bush’s recent adventure into Iraq...) but it’s more mature, more emotional and it the long term, more engaging for the audience. They can do heartbreak but they’ve also mastered hope and in the current climate, it’s something that everybody needs.
