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Wow, we did a thing! An actual, live music thing, a real live music gig in a crowded venue, surrounded by excited music lovers, right here, in the centre of Cardiff! The four of us had all enjoyed seeing John Grant before, at various Welsh venues, including St David’s Hall and at the Greenman festival. However, this was a bit special, the first full-on live gig that any of us had been to since Lockdown began, approximately 18 months back.
Interestingly, a BBC film crew was on hand to film gig-goers, showing the new, obligatory Covid passes, proving double vaccination, in order to gain entry, to the New Theatre. I’d also not seen this sort of gig there before, having mostly witnessed other forms of more traditional entertainment at the theatre. but it turned out to be a wonderful setting for this event. It is a beautiful, ornate, cosy and atmospheric building, redolent of stage shows, musicals and panto performances gone by. From our seats in the stalls, I looked across, sentimentally, to one of the boxes where my mother had once sat with other family members, to watch Carmen Jones. I’d also sat, in nearby seats with my dad, always fascinated by drummers, to watch the inimitable Buddy Rich. Memories of both of my late parents, drifted through my mind, as we took our seats and the lights went down.
A tall, distinguished and debonair figure strolled onto the stage with a very nice-looking guitar in hand. We were to be treated to a stunning voice, personable nature and flair for writing poignant, well-crafted songs. It was a delight to settle back, in the comfy, red, traditional theatre seats and be regaled by the highly talented and likable Teddy Thompson. Teddy, the son of Richard and Linda and sibling of Kamila, represented the Thompson family, in some style. As it turned out, this was the last night of this leg of the tour and Teddy was glowing in his praise of John Grant, hinting of a mutual respect and kinship that would be more overtly displayed later in the evening.
After another half-hour of soaking up the warm, theatre ambience, the lights once again dimmed, as the statuesque Mr Grant made a beeline for centre stage and his two (super-talented) moustachioed musicians headed for their workstations. We immediately entered a world of synth-driven electronica, as we were overcome by an immensely powerful and hypnotic array of Blade Runner-esque synth motifs. Grant, of course, included a number of songs from the most recent ‘Boy from Michigan’ album. However, even if some of the new material was less familiar for some, the audience was totally captivated by the mesmerising stagecraft of Grant and his fabulous multi-talented, co-musicians.
I hadn’t expected the New Theatre setting to work so well for such a full-on performance but it was truly perfect, allowing for an enhanced level of intimacy, to enjoy the wonderful John Grant performance style. If you’ve not seen him, I’d heartily suggest that you do. He somehow mixes being ridiculously talented and ridiculously tall with being riotously entertaining! Six foot, ten inches, in height, he certainly delivers bang for the buck! The former Czars frontman also comes across as self-effacing, caring and kind. He mentioned how much he’d enjoyed working with Teddy Thompson and that culminated in Teddy returning to the stage to join Grant for a glorious duet, on the powerful Sigourney Weaver. The warm hug between the two, as Teddy left the stage was touching to see. There is clearly a genuine warmth and mutual respect between these two fine performers.
Grant has an ongoing working relationship with Cate le Bon and had apparently been ‘learning Welsh but forgotten it all’. One delightful moment was when he asked the Cardiff audience to shout out the Welsh world for owl. Dutifully, on the count of three, the word ‘Gwdihw’ resonated around the theatre, much to Grant’s obvious delight! Personal set highlights for me were ‘Glacier’, a painful acknowledgment of the painful times we are going through, urging his receptive listeners not to ‘listen to anyone, to get answers on your own’. Powerful, moving, sincere and unforgettable, just like the man himself.
As an encore, he, of course, reminded anyone who might have needed a nudge that he is (as he says) the ‘greatest mother*cker that you are ever going to meet’.
Thank you John (and Teddy). For one night only, Cardiff was a more special place to be…
Steve Johnson
