Forum Theatre
Facing Stiff competition tonight from Gareth
Liddiard, Electrolane and Aleks and the Ramps, the audience drawn to the Forum
is one of the smallest, oldest and most myopic audiences the venue has ever
seen. With a curtain sectioning the front third of the venue, and the 100+ crowd
happily chattering, it’s without a word of introduction that Nick Lowe,
sporting a Gibson Jumbo, a thick thatch of white hair and Buddy Holly glasses,
strides to the microphone. 'You practiced
and rehearsed it / But in your heart, you know it’s too late' he sonorously
intones, as he pulls the tarp off a heartbreakingly version of ‘Stoplight Roses’.
Lowe’s phenomenal lyrics, lingered on with a
sincerity and touch of slap-back reverb that reinforces his selection of
spectacles are, if possible, even more acidic and evocative now than in his
heyday. “Sales are up,” he says drily of his latest album The Old Magic. “They could be up-per. Influential dudes on the
radio have been saying nice things about it’, he says of famously Lowe-obsessed
film critic Mark Kermode before deadpanning “You know, if you cut me open
you'll find one word written through me like a rock: ‘quality entertainment’.”
And he’s not wrong. Continuing apace with Heart from his revered 70s band Rockpile
and the searing What a Lack of Love Has
Done, his easy appropriation of 50s rock, country music and pop is at once
derivative, but used in a wholly original way. The artful mundanity of I Let Things Slide and the euphoric
harmonies of Raging Eyes highlight
the strength not only the lyrical prowess, but also the setting of the song. He
favours sparse instrumentation from his adept backing band, though the
occasional bright noodling from guitarist Johnny Scott sets instrumental
passages alight. Occasional dips into his past are rewarded with cheers from
the entranced audience. His biggest hit Cruel
to be Kind seems to break the rules of songwriting with its dangerous mix
of disco and country, I Knew The Bride
(When She Used to Rock and Roll) mixes 12-bar blues and pop nous and still
sounds as timeless as it did on its release.
Looking like a cross between Gary Oldman and
Colonel Sanders, Lowe pauses to announce: “Now is the time to break out the
sandwiches and thermos!” before introducing the band and leading them into I Read A Lot another deft account of
being 60.
Keyboardist Geraint Watkins is invited to play
the first encore Lowe is cheered back for, and his Only A Rose threatens to steal the night so unexpected is his
emotive voice and so powerful the song’s emptiness. When I Write the Book and a gossamer-light version of What’s So Funny ‘bout Peace Love and
Understanding? bring the audience to their feet. Bellowing and stamping
eventually brings Lowe back for a second and final encore (“I’m quite moved!”
he smiles), where he silences us all with his stunning take on a song he
produced, Elvis Costello’s Alison.
In this mixed up word of slash genres, irony and
cash-driven collaborations, Simple, unfussy pop tunes, and a masterclass in
showmanship is more than welcome.
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