Illegal Talent
Graham Coxon
Hammersmith Palais, 5th April
Considering they’re all there for the same gig, the crowd fi lling the Hammersmith Palais is surprisingly eclectic. Couples sit on the balconies choosing Chinese food, watching scenesters in sunglasses, as young boys in hoodies laugh at even younger boys who are there with worried-looking fathers. The quirky, melodic guitar-pop Graham Coxon’s playing these days certainly seems to be winning him plenty of fans.
First up are the aptly-named Duels, who march onstage as if squaring up to invisible opponents. They begin with a drum beat loud enough to make their carefully-groomed fringes vibrate, before moving into a polished set of Secret Machinesalike prog-rock. This band certainly know how to entertain, but it all looks very choreographed • Duels are more WWF wrestling than streetfi ghts, and although they defi - nitely put on a show, it doesn’t quite feel like the real thing.
Graham Coxon, however, couldn’t be more different to Duels’ theatrics. From the moment he strolls onstage in jeans and a T-shirt, he looks perfectly at home. He has everyone’s attention. There’s a triumphant feel to the performance • it seems Coxon’s realised that what he does best is also what he likes doing best.
The acoustic miserablist of his earlier solo period’s forgotten • tonight, he’s swallowing smiles as he treats the audience to his own variety of explosive guitar-powered pop, even breaking into a cover of All Mod Cons by the Jam at one point. Old favourites like Spectacular and Bittersweet Bundle of Misery fi t in perfectly amongst the newer material from Love Travels At Illegal Speeds, including new single You & I.
Highlights of the show include Life ItSucks, Can’t Look At Your Skin, and the crowdpleasing People of the Earth, which is Coxon at his most belligerent. “I don’t know what to say”, he mutters into the mic during a lull in the applause. But he doesn’t have to say anything: as the cheer that meets the opening chords of Freakin’ Out proves, the songs themselves are more than enough.
20th Apr 2006