BILLY BRAGG
QPAC
25.10.12
A smidge over two decades ago Billy Bragg lobbed into East Leagues Club and played a blinder of a gig that people still talk about. That was during the Bjelke-Petersen rein and folk in this town had a lot to be unhappy about. Fast forward to 2012 and Campbell Newman is in charge. Cometh the hour cometh the man.
Billy Bragg had no trouble selling out QPAC and a second night was quickly added for the Hi Fi Bar. TOM was offered the comfy seats at QPAC and Bragg didn’t disappoint as he held the audience spellbound for over two hours.
It’s a mutual exchange. For all of Bragg’s talent, it takes a committed audience to go that kind of distance for one man and a guitar.
The gig was split by a quick fifteen-minute interval. The first half opened with Bragg sitting down with an acoustic, a cup of tea and book full of Woody Guthrie’s lyrics.
Mermaid Avenue remains one of the best albums ever made. In case you missed it, the album featured Woody Guthrie’s previously unpublished lyrics set against new tunes provided by Bragg and Wilco.
Opening with Against the Law, Bragg set each song up with long anecdotes about how the material was brought to life. Ingrid Bergman was an early highlight, quickly followed by Way Over Yonder In a Minor Key and the sombre Slipknot.
Go Down To The Water, preceded by a story of Guthrie as a merchant seaman asking his wife to leave messages in the sand as he sailed out to sea during WWII was moving to say the least.
Largely eschewing social politics: these songs were more to do the politics of being human.
Post-interval Bragg returned to the stage armed with an electric guitar. With Woody behind him Bragg set about bringing his own songbook to life.
Essentially a ‘greatest hits’ set, Bragg kicked off with Sexuality, quickly followed by The Price I Pay and Tomorrow’s Going To Be A Better Day. It was here Bragg let us in to the stories of his own life that informed the writing of the material. Hardly a nostalgia gig, Bragg had a few digs at Messrs Abbott and Newman, sang the praises of the trade union movement and took a swing at internet trolls, bullies on twitter and declared war on cynicism. It was rousing stuff and the set list just kept getting better. Other standouts included Greetings to the New Brunette, Must I Paint You a Picture, Levi Stubbs’ Tears and New England.
How many other artists could hold a capacity house spellbound with a lone guitar for two hours in 2012? Not many. It’s a testament to Bragg’s artistry and gift of the gab. Frankly, it was not only inspiring but a triumph.
Review: Sean Sennett
Picture: Bill Donohoe [Sydney]
