John Grant

I have to admit that I was a bit of a late arrival to the party when it came to John Grant. I had never really listened to The Czars, and even his first solo album, the iconic 'Queen of Denmark', had been out three years before I first got to hear songs from it performed at Latitude in 2013. He came close to performing at Great Yarmouth Hippodrome in 2020, as part of the Norfolk & Norwich Festival, but COVID scuppered that. So it was down to the team at Norwich Arts Centre to bring him to St Andrews Hall a year later, for a socially distanced, seated affair. And it is Norwich Arts Centre that now brought Grant back again, and for a completely sold out standing show at Epics Studios in Magdalen Street.

Grant is currently touring Europe to promote his sixth album 'The Art of The Lie', and the setlist features no less than seven tracks off it, beginning with the up-tempo funky electro dance of 'All That School For Nothing', with its distinctly Daft Punk / Stevie Wonder vibe. After 'Black Belt' (from 2013's Pale Green Ghosts') we are treated to the beautiful and gentle 'Marz', taken from that beautiful Queen of Denmark album, and with Grant's vocals sounding as warm and soothing as a spoonful of mentholated cough syrup. The band take the chance to rock out, taking the track into new territory before 'It Doesn't Matter to Him' brings things back down to Earth, with Grant's characteristic honesty shining to the fore in the lyrics. It is a song that originally featured Sinéad O'Connor on vocals, adding yet another layer of poignancy.

When the band retire for a mid-set break, it is just John, his dressing gown, the Steinway grand piano, an array of synths, and us, as he re-visits both the Queen of Denmark and Pale Green Ghosts albums, and preceded by two extraordinarily moving brand new songs, 'Zeitgeist' and 'Daddy'. The haunting 'Glacier', from Pale Green Ghosts, is introduced with Grant's obvious political frustration and heartfelt pre-election prescience. 'You Don't Have To' is delivered with an almost calypso backbeat, but loses none of its forthright honesty.

The band return to the stage for 'Boy From Michigan', 'The Rusty Bull', the oh-so-moving 'Father', the vocoder-enhanced 'Meek AF' (reminding me at times of Peter Frampton's classic hit Show Me The Way), and new song 'The Child Catcher'. The main set concludes with 'Chicken Bones', before an encore with 'Laura Lou' and the epic 'GMF' bring the evening to a close.

Support came from Birmingham punk duo 'Big Special', comprising Joe Hicklin on vocals and Callum Moloney on drums. Perhaps an unusual choice to open for Grant, but they certainly went down well with the audience. In a similar vein, perhaps, to acts such as Sleaford Mods and Slaves (or should I say Soft Play?), Hicklin's raw and angry vocals were perfectly complemented by Moloney's frenetic drumming, and the lyrics on songs like 'Black Country Gothic', 'Shithouse', and 'Butcher's Bin' certainly providing some early-evening food for thought.

Another night to remember for Norwich fans of John Grant, and another successful collaboration between the team at Norwich Arts Centre and the staff and management of Epic Studios.