Typically socially awkward, with a little haphazardness on stage, Graham Coxon fans were aptly entertained in London’s Roundhouse venue as the artist treated us to two substantial sets of music in one evening, a marathon for the most accomplished of musicians. Playing as part of the Roundhouse’s new summer festival (curating a programming that will entice those that relish in the London summertime, no doubt influenced by the musical programmes in Hyde Park and at Somerset House), Coxon seemed a little tired from the offset by the mere task ahead of him.
The Roundhouse Summer Sessions debuts it’s arts festival this year with an esteemed line-up including the likes of Stornoway, Ólafur Arnalds, Graham Coxon and their most talked-about highlight, a screening of Paul Thomas Anderson’s There Will Be Blood, including live scoring by the composer Jonny Greenwood (of Radiohead fame) and the London Contemporary Orchestra. Presenting not only live music but also diversely dance, comedy, cabaret, spoken word and live-scored cinema in an intimate, table-seated setting, as aforementioned as competition to the other renowned London venues that showcase such work in the months of July and August.
Coxon, himself, intimately treats his die-hard fans (one referred to me and my lot as the Coxon Crew, as though you had to be a die-hard to be at this show) to a fantastic intimate set, all drawn from his eight acclaimed solo albums, as well as some never-before-heard tracks.
His first set was expectedly acoustic, hanging out his songwriter capabilities to the Roundhouse’s indie crowd; the latter was his more rasping, guitar-solid and riff- based grunge-pop. It was a gig that suited all manner of Coxon fans with nearly thirty tracks in total showcasing the finer talents of Blur’s well-known deft riff-maker.
Including Sorrow’s Army from his acclaimed Spinning Top album, which is threadbare in comparison to albums like Love Travels At Illegal Speeds, which would obviously feature later on in the gig, the audience was mostly invited to listen to new tracks that he was performing live for the first time, enhancing the intimate audience with Graham Coxon, and solely Coxon. This sets his humble and modest geekish tone, with introverted lyrics at times but once again flexibily sat next to bossa nova tracks and the skiffle of Sorrow’s Army.
Unlike some of the superstylized, flawless gigs, this one is far from lacking the human elements. With a few out of tune moments from Coxon, and a band struggling for instruments that work to their desire, with guitars and amps not doing quite what they should, there are a few shifty, shadowy characters pacing on stage before and even during the sets but more noticeably during the initial one.
Moving on to the second set he reluctantly stands, stepping away from the stool, and rocks the venue with his aggressive freak-outs despite not including the commercially successful song in his set. Despite this effort to oust out his initial persona on stage for this rockier, heavier and darker persona, the music and performance was all very disconcerting.
Tracks like See A Better Day add more pleasantries to the gig which is mostly unsettling, adding a tang of 90s romanticism, which does still have that dark level of despondency to it, although being resonantly more upbeat than a high proportion of the others on the set list.
At mention of a new track they are playing live he actually throws out an Oasis sneer to his audience, as he reflects prior to the performance on the fact that there are, “too many Liamisms in this song” but is, “not going to rise to it” alluding to the days of Britpop, nodding at the rivalry between the two bands, reminding his audience of their old rift, days of yore.
With this, and his reprimand to the drummer for half way through a track, changing song, in front of the crowd, belittling the artist, the stage was not short of obstinate moments, but this is however what his fans would expect, understanding and appreciating the darker, more awkward sides to Graham, enthralled by the near thirty track set.
For more information on the Roundhouse Summer Sessions do check out the website.
