I’m loving the new You Am I album ‘Convicts’ so I was pretty excited to be hearing it live at this Saturday night show at the reasonably intimate Bar Academy.
Things kick off with a “Thuggury” that sounds much harder than on record. Followed by “The Sweet Life” and double-header of “If We Can’t Get It Together” and “Baby Clothes” from the awesome ‘Hourly Daily’. “Friends Like You” – one of the highlights from the new album – is also given a harder edge than on record.
I’m not sure if it’s because they’re a long way from home, or just a sign of getting older and playing so many shows – but these days it seems You Am I don’t worry about subtly in live performance. It’s either rammed down your throat or strummed quietly so you can barely hear above the mostly-drunk Australians getting reacquainted. There is no middle ground.
“Mr Milk”, the greatest slice of faux-retro-British-pop this side of XTC, gets the best reaction from the crowd so far – with most of the 600-strong audience joining in the “ba, ba, ba” in the chorus. “Cathy’s Clown” another crowd favourite.
A solo electic guitar version of ‘Hi Fi Way’s “Handwasher” from Tim Rogers changes the pace a bit, before the band re-join him for one of my favourite You Am I songs ‘Sound As Ever’s “Jaimme’s Got A Gal”.
The band clearly enjoy themselves on a cover of Johnny Thunders & The Heartbreakers “Born To Lose” – before it’s back to the new album with “It Ain't Funny That We Don't Talk Anymore” – for me, the best song on ‘Convicts’ – and “Constance George”.
“Billy” from the often overlooked ‘Number 4 Record’ is good to hear because it sounds great and reminds me what a great song that one is (this album will be getting dug out over the weekend). ‘The Applecross Wing Commander’ is good as always. ‘Berlin Chair’ brings the house-down, and leads into main set-closer “Thank God I've Hit Bottom” with a guitar-less Tim Rogers shouting the ‘Convicts’ album opener from the lip of the stage.
The band return for a quick encore of ‘Hi Fi Way’s “How Much Is Enough?” and “Jewels & Bullets” before closing the show with a mid-tempo run-through “Heavy Heart” ending the night with a drunken crowd singalong.
With most of the new record played (although disappointingly not ‘By My Own Hand’ – one of my favourites) together with a mix of interesting and obvious selections from You Am I’s “illustrious back-catalog” (as Tim Rogers conceitedly referred to it at one point) plus a rock n’ roll cover – I don’t think you could ask for much more from a You Am I show.
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