The Divine Comedy
Where: London Tabernacle,
When: 12th May 2010
"It's standing in here. I forgot about that. We should have put chairs in. Sorry."
So says Neil Hannon somewhere towards the start of what is probably the poshest gig I've ever been to.
Rather than the regular uniform of tattered old band t-shirt and faded jeans I've put on a vaguely presentable shirt and.... well, slightly smarter jeans. Mostly as my gigging companion for this show always projects an aura of fashionable, effortless cool, so I figured effort was in order. It turned out to be a wise choice, as the whole show was a bizarre but beautiful combination of classical piano recital and pop gig.
It's easy to mock the venue. It somewhat resembles a school hall, and with the stage being barely a foot off the floor and Neil being a rather short man sat at a piano for the majority of the gig, the view was far from great, but the acoustics were incredible, which is essential for a show like this.
See, the new Divine Comedy album is on the horizon, and this performance was a chance for Neil, without a band, orchestra or even a support act, to treat a few hundred people to some stripped-down solo versions of the new songs. With a songwriter as well regarded for his lyrics as Hannon is, the ability to hear every word turns "this is one off the new album" from a phrase that creates a sense of fear and dread to one that invokes a tangible feeling of excitement and wonder.
The new songs all hit the mark: the satirical opener "The Complete Banker" avoids the obvious rhyme for the last word, but does pair it with "malignant cancer", "Down In The Street Below" is a stunning Divine Comedy epic that should sound amazing fully orchestrated on the record. "I Like" is just wonderfully cute, introduced as a antidote to "Everybody Knows (Except You)" with the simple message - if you like the girl, just tell her. Though it gets derailed at the line "I like your mild political stances" as Neil stops to reflect "It's about Nick Clegg isn't it?"
The last of the new tracks, "Can You Stand Upon One Leg" closes the main set and is a silly joke-song that pokes more than a little fun at Neil's tendency to sing very long notes. The only track that doesn't really work is the new single "Indie Disco". Of course, you have to play the new single, but while sounds great on the radio, stripped down to just piano is just a little too simple to really stand-out.
Of course, between the new stuff we're treated to a number of classic tracks of old. Impressively, every single Divine Comedy album from 1993s "Liberation" to the forthcoming "Bang Goes the Knighthood" is represented by at least one track on the set list, along with last year's collaboration "The Duckworth Lewis Method" for songs from a total of ten albums over 17 years.
The wonderful "Tonight We Fly" is thrown in early, "Becoming More Like Alfie" sees Neil take to the guitar for a few songs, and do a bit of scat singing in lieu of being able to play the solo at the end, while "The Frog Princess" has a short break as Neil reflects that "this is possibly the least PC song of all time".
"A Drinking Song" gets an until now quiet and attentive crowd to sing along, mostly as Neil forgets the words, and "National Express" closes the show, even though no-one asked for it. There was also a brilliant cover of MGMT's "Time To Pretend" in there somewhere.
Leaving, we're left to reflect on one of the most unique and individual 'gigs' we've ever seen. Wonderful songs, amazing words, and the poshest and most upmarket crowd I've ever seen. I could get used to that.
Words : Dean Love
Pictures : Hollie Tu
Set list
The Complete Banker
Tonight We Fly
The Pop Singer's Fear Of The Pollen Count
At The Indie Disco
Down In The Street Below
Everybody Knows
I Like
Time To Pretend
Becoming More Like Alfie
A Lady Of A Certain Age
Songs of Love
The Plough
The Frog Princess
Jiggery Pokery
Have You Ever Been In Love
Our Mutual Friend
A Drinking Song
Can You Stand Upon One Leg
Mastermind
If
National Express
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