Brett Anderson shuffles about on stage fervently bashing on a tambourine, mouth open and tongue out, looking nearly every bit as effortlessly cool as he did when fronting Suede in the 1990s. But this wasn’t during an interlude of a classic Suede song. Instead, for his sold out show at The Tabernacle, Anderson is relying on his three albums of solo material to work himself and the crowd into a frenzy.

The first part of the set showcases ten tracks from Anderson’s lauded new album Slow Attack. Supported by a full band (including much to the delight of the audience two ex members of The Cooper Temple Clause, RIP), he begins with album opener ‘Hymn’. With textured instrumentals and lush vocals it sets the tone for the show. Lead single ‘The Hunted’ is rousing, as is a revamped version of ‘Ashes of Us’. A particular highlight is ‘Julian’s Eyes’, which is a melodic wonder and unquestionably some of Anderson’s best work to date.

Live, the influence of the album’s co-writer and producer Leo Abrahams, who joins the band on guitar for ‘Scarecrows and Lilacs’, is evident. The use of additional instruments and their arrangement shows the growth in Anderson’s solo material and the practised delivery makes for a clinical set. He is in his element throughout the night and his enthusiasm proves infectious to the transfixed crowd.

An interlude of tracks from Wilderness follows the new songs, with Anderson on piano accompanied by a cellist, reminiscent of previous shows. The change makes for a sobering moment, but one suiting songs like the poignant ‘A Different Place’.

The rest of the band return with wide grins for three tracks from Brett’s self-titled debut to close out the main set. ‘To The Winter’, with its driving melody and crescendos, remains one of his strongest tracks and the full band serve only to bring it to life in a way unseen before.

An encore of Wilderness tracks ‘Funeral Mantra’ and ‘Back To You’ also receive the full-band treatment. ‘Mantra’ especially benefits from this, with the additional instrumentals giving the song further depth. ‘Back To You’ makes for an outstanding closer with a constant build-up throughout.

While the absence of Suede songs was notable, as they were included in shows as recently as the Jack Daniel’s Birthday gig in early October, his solo material easily fills any void. Anderson’s own back catalogue is now varied and strong enough to fully carry a show, something he tests out (with typical confidence) for this one-off Tabernacle gig. He can play Suede songs if he wants to, but not because he needs to. Given that the major voiced request of the night comes from one man asking for ‘Back To You’ numerous times as Anderson thanks the crowd before his final song, the fans are just fine with that. And given that the major voiced request of the night came from one man asking for ‘Back To You’ numerous times as Anderson thanked the crowd before his final song, the fans are just fine with that.

Tags: Brett Anderson, Cooper Temple Clause, Suede, Tabernacle

This entry was posted on Monday, November 23rd, 2009 at 13:29 and is filed under Music. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed.