How are you meant to react to Badly Drawn Boy? A slight nod of the head as he unravels his impeccably tasteful arrangements? A tender glance at your loved one when he lurches into the gooey romanticism of 'About A Boy'? Perhaps the odd tap of the foot now and again for those occasional up-tempo moments?
If Damon Gough had his way, his audience would cheer his every utterance. In fact, he exhorts the crowd to do just that tonight and seems peeved at the lack of response. "Are you listening?" he barks at one point and, during the chatter of conversation that threatens to drown out the delicate piano chords of 'Golden Days', the answer is clearly: "no, we'not, play one off that movie pronto".
The first half of this evening is all about giving and taking, with Gough demanding love and attention at every opportunity. The crowd it seems has turned up to please him and not vice versa. We're given an audience rating ("You're currently at number 19, and we've only played 17 shows"), as if it's up to us to make the gig a success. Were the Boy in a better mood this would be light-hearted entertainment, but as he gets angrier and angrier over the sound and atmosphere, it seems churlish and mean-spirited somehow.
The nadir comes during a rant where he equates Cherie Blair with Osama Bin Laden (I want you to cheer every time I completely lose my sense of perspective yaaay!), and goes on to declare, with no glimmer of irony or self-awareness, that there's not enough giving and too much taking in the world. This from a man who so far has ruined some of his best songs by sulking and generally acting like a spoilt brat.
After a ten-minute break, however, he comes back a different person. You can only imagine that either his mum and dad (who are apparently in the house) or Nick Hornby (him too and Jo Whiley) gave Damon a good slap backstage and told him to stop acting like a berk and get on with it. He dedicates a song to his family ("the best thing that ever happened to me" the first glimpse of humility all night) as a slideshow of his wife and his kids flash up behind him. 'Once Around The Block' is sweet and affecting. At last, he stops stomping his feet and starts taking his own advice.
For the first half, it was hard to believe that the idiot onstage was the same person who wrote these gorgeous, emphatic songs; that he'd be able to stop thinking about himself for long enough to capture these emotions so perfectly. But from the break onwards, this is the Badly Drawn Boy everyone has come to see. 'Shining' is generous and warm, as if he's being turned round by the lyrics themselves. 'Born Again' enough of a joy to inspire the tiniest moshpit in the world (four people pogo-ing at the front). 'I Was Wrong' possibly the most fitting tune of the night.
It's part of his charm, of course, this unpredictability, probably part of his genius as well. But sometime you wish that Damon Gough would just get over himself and be done with it. He moans about being labelled "shambolic" but there are times tonight when you yearn for the shambolic days of yore. And other times when you realise that, for all his faults (full alphabetical list on request), he's still one of the greatest talents we have.
One thing remains true after all these years though. When a gig ends with 'Pissing In The Wind', it's hard to walk away without a smile on your face and some real affection in your heart.
