The stars hanging behind Badly Drawn Boy at Avalon this past Friday night shone like singing dreams, "song-lets."
As Badly Drawn Boy (a.k.a. Damon Gough) and his rotating band played a packed set replete with an intermission, he gradually shed light on the meaning behind the dreamy lyrics his fans have grown to adore. Donning his now expected wooly hat, he enabled the audience to see the person that in recent years has become clouded by his famed persona, a position he's grown to increasingly resent since the release of his first album, "The Hour of Bewilderbeast," earned him critical acclaim in 2001.
His latest album, "One Plus One is One," claws at the idea of fame. "Now everybody's waiting outside / Trying to feel what's going on inside / ... / Give me some peace," Gough wills in the disc's title song. You would think that opening both the CD and the concert with such an insistent statement would make for a caustic relationship with his fans. Instead, as the concert progresses, we see that Gough adores his fans as much as they do him.
This dynamic connection between performer and audience largely comes from Gough taking off his mask as the Badly Drawn Boy. He exposes himself by explaining the meanings of his songs, allowing the audience to judge him as a man who has committed acts, as well as an artist who has penned songs.
Yet, he wasn't sappy; he wasn't pretentious. Rather, he was a 34-year-old boy-turned-British-rock-icon who was genuinely upset that Avalon was kicking him out at 9:30 p.m. to reinvent itself as a club scene for later that night.
Because of this unexpected time hurdle, Badly Drawn Boy took the stage promptly at 7 p.m., even though many concert-goers trickled in later, expecting an opener. In fact, the band Adem did open, with a short set while sitting cross-legged on the floor and surrounded by the 40 or so people who arrived early.
Gough and his fellow musicians who comprise Badly Drawn Boy barreled through the first half of their show, which consisted only of material taken from his newest album. The limited amount of time wasn't the only reason why the beginning of the show felt rushed; Badly Drawn Boy also seem to realize that the audience hadn't quite fallen in love with the new work yet. While the audience swayed and did the "white guy shuffle," they appeared unfamiliar with the latest songs. Only after the intermission, when Badly Drawn Boy began playing their older work, did those girly yelps truly rush forth in praise of the music.
The cello and horn duet which introduces the first track from "Bewilderbeast," "The Shining," heralded the end of intermission. Though also playing songs from his "About a Boy" (2002) soundtrack and sophomore effort, "Have You Fed the Fish?" (2002), Gough showcased his nostalgic and troubadour-esque catalogue.
Much of his sound relies heavily on the combination of various instruments, from strings to guitar, drums to flute. They combine to create a sort of futuristic folk sound that might threaten to fly away on the listener if the songs weren't rooted so deeply in their lyrics.
Throughout the show, Gough spoke to the audience, calling out their collective name, "Boston," like he would an old friend's. True, this was his third concert at the Avalon, but while chain-smoking on stage and drowning the butts in strategically placed martini glasses, he seemed at ease. He acted like the six hundred-some-odd people in the audience were old buddies he was performing for with pride.
Sharing anecdotes ranging from why he named his son Oscar Bruce (Bruce Springsteen's "Thunder Road" made him want to be a musician, but Bruce is a "s**t name," so Oscar it was) to the reasoning behind the second album's name (his four-week-old son bought him two goldfish for Christmas that year), he invited the audience to see the scrapbook of his last few years.
As Gough walked the stage from end to end, frequently reaching down to the sea of outstretched hands, the concert felt more like a reunion than a strict performance; he even dedicated one of the last songs to the Avalon itself. But before the management turned off the lights on Badly Drawn Boy's starry night, Gough sang a warm finale to his stateside friends: "I've got a good, good feeling tonight / A feeling that something is right." And it was.<$>
