Music > Live Reviews

Baxter Dury

The Adrian Flux Waterfront

10/09/24

The enigmatic and irrepressible Baxter Dury is back in the fine City, and he is in fine form.

As captivating and charismatic as ever, he repeatedly makes requests to the Norwich crowd for us to give him our love, so we duly oblige, and he gives it back in droves. 

Before he set sail on his own unique musical journey, he was of course more famous for being the son of his famous father (Ian) and for also being the little boy on the cover of his dad’s iconic album, New Boots and Panties.

Now he is most certainly the man that he was destined to become, he has earned his moment, this moment, he has his own spurs strapped to his own boots after carving out a very successful career in his own right in recent years as a musical poetical genius. 

Some eight albums in now and he is more than successful as himself, for just being Baxter.

His body frantically gyrates to every single beat, coupled with his dark stares into the audience, he is very intense. You can see that the rhythm is well and truly engrained in his musical veins. It is a fascinating watch for the next seventy-five minutes.

The set list is as colourful as his physical performance as he slides seamlessly between many fan favourites such as So Much Money, I’m Not Your Dog, Aylesbury Boy, Pam Trees, Miami, Cocaine Man and These Are My Friends.

Looking very resplendent as ever in his cream-coloured suit, which comes complete with a silk scarf, that at one point becomes a head band. One minute the jacket is coming off to reveal a very sweaty white shirt and torso as he shrugs his shoulders back and forth, then he flicks his arms out once again and its repeatedly wrapped around his forearms, then its back on and the scarf is thrust back around his neck. 

Frantically pounding around the stage throughout the set, he is absolutely soaked in sweat. He must have run at least five kilometres tonight on the tight waterfront stage.

It has been a very compelling show. We have been gripped by his every move. I am sure that his old man would undoubtedly have been so very damn proud of him for who and what he has become, he is most certainly a big chip off the old block. 

This Mr Dury has created his very own rhythm stick and long may the journey continue.