What is it about Cliff Jones that makes him so easy to hate? Is it his habit of referring to himself in the ludicrous pop star third person, as if 'Cliff Jones' is an essence, an entity, something to be admired?
Perhaps it's his insistence on living the Almost Famous, Seventies muppet daydream so fully he wears fashion shades onstage (presumably to help him get 'inside his performance, man') and throws a mini-rock god tantrum ("fix the f**king guitar" he spits at a roadie, all deadpan bluster) just to show who's in charge up there.
Then again, it could just be the fact that he's a con artist we've grown tired of indulging. Gay Dad were an endearing diversion back when they amounted to little more than a knowing shout of "Aerosmith rule!", but the second they became an 'avatar to aheadness' and Cliff started constructing a starchild legend around himself, it all felt very empty indeed.
Tonight, the poor deluded fool does everything he can to be taken seriously - ironic references to a failed comeback, Denise Johnson hauled on to wail backing vocals - but that's the one trick you just can't muster. It's because deep down, 'Cliff Jones' still believes the dream. When he sings about being a rock 'Dinosaur' or declares the end is "just a breath away" in 'Dimstar' or repeats "we're going down" in the career metaphor of 'Plane Going Down', you know he thinks he's heading off disaster by facing up to it.
But all he's doing is focusing the spotlight on his own annoying drama queen tendencies. In the rare event he forgets to be Cliff Jones The VH1 Documentary, the new stripped down three piece Gay Dad are taut, energetic and running high on a glam pop bounce that's quickly infectious.
It lasts for a whole three minutes. The song in question is called 'Night Crawler', it rhymes "Viet Cong" with "you're so wrong" in a spot of hilarious cheek, and it's the only tune tonight (including 'Jim') not to be about Cliff Jones. And in its Beastie Boys rush of day-glo stupidity, it points to the one thing you thought Gad Day were well beyond having. A future.
