Billy Bragg - 19 October 2012, Hamer Hall

Urgh, two Billy Bragg gigs to put up and they suffer from opposite problems – one’s too quiet and the others too loud. This is the quiet one and as regular flyers will have heard me complain the killer is the dynamic range. Having said that, while this could probably be a bit better, it’s a lot better than the other quiet show, like Ryan Adams.

As far as I’m aware this is the only Woody 100 show outside of the UK. The Woody 100 shows are celebrations of the fact that this is the hundredth anniversary of Woody Guthrie’s birth, so the set is exclusively Woody Guthrie material (not all from the Mermaid Avenue albums). The gem from the non-Mermaid Avenue albums was Slipknot, a song about lynchings Guthrie witnessed growing up in Oklahoma. It was also interesting to hear Bragg speak extensively about each of the songs, providing detail about why they’d been chosen for the albums, or what they revealed about Guthrie.

The three encore songs were a bit of a letdown. Never Buy the Sun is a new song and Waiting for the Great Leap forward is a rewriting of an old song, both are fairly hamfisted jabs at the current state of affairs in England. Yarra Song is an outtake (released on the Australian version of England, Half English), that, while being a bit of a crowd pleaser given the local subject matter, isn’t really a great song. Putting that aside, the Guthrie portion of the show was both interesting and entertaining, which is a bit of feat really.

As I mentioned, the sound had to be cranked up to make everything audible, which results in a very faint bit of static. Hopefully nothing to worry most people. However, there was also a buzz throughout the show. I’ve got no idea why no one fixed it, but they didn’t. It’s drowned out during the songs, but can be pretty annoying during the discussions. Nothing I can do about that one unfortunately.

Against the Law

She Came Along to Me

The Unwelcome Guest

Ingrid Bergman

Way Over Yonder in the Minor Key

Slipknot

Black Wind Blowing

Don't You Marry

Dry Bed

I Guess I Planted

I Ain't Got No Home

I Was Born

Deportees

My Flying Saucer

Pretty Boy Floyd

Go Down to the Water

Another Man's Done Gone

All You Fascists

Never Buy the Sun

Yarra Song

Waiting for the Great Leap Forward

http://www.mediafire.com/?9687p3yp4img9