Review: Billy Bragg at Freo.Social

Billy Bragg at Freo.Social
Tuesday, April 4 – Thursday, April 6, 2023

After a three-year wait since these shows were originally scheduled, the inimitable Billy Bragg came good on his word and finally made it to Perth for a special three show run at Freo.Social. As Bragg himself quipped “I’m the man who cannot be cancelled! But I can be postponed.” His Australian fanbase showed their dedication with the majority holding onto their tickets for three years, and not asking for refunds. Something which Bragg made a point of saying each night, meant a lot to him.

This tour meant a lot to fans too. Fittingly called One Step Forward. Two Steps Back. due to the format of the three shows – with the first night being his current 40-year career-spanning setlist featuring some of his latest material, the second night featuring songs from his defining first three albums from the mid 80s, and the final night featuring material from his second three albums. For his devoted followers, this was a rare treat, and a hard choice, with many deciding to attend two, or all three nights!

Bragg commenced each night by respectfully acknowledging the Noongar people and land we gathered on, and also acknowledged his country’s part in its colonisation. As he has for much of his career, built on the foundation of being a protest singer for the working class, he performed solo with his electric guitar, though he was joined onstage for some tracks by local keyboard player/backing vocalist Neil to flesh out the sound on some of the more expansive tracks.

The first night featured a wonderful selection of tracks, old and new, kicking off with A Lover Sings from his second album Brewing Up With Billy Bragg from 1984. As he finished the track to huge applause, he summed up the auspicious occasion well by stating, “It’s so good to finally fucking be here!” He joked about how when he was supposed to come here originally, he wasn’t grey and had 20/20 vision!

Since he released the first Mermaid Avenue album with Wilco in 1998, based on discovered old lyrics from the legendary 1940s U.S. protest folk singer Woody Guthrie, Bragg has really embraced that acoustic Americana folk sound. As the other two nights featured all the old material, this night had a lot more of those post-millennium Bragg songs. He recorded and released an album during lockdown, 2021’s The Million Things That Never Happened and it’s one of his best latter career records, so naturally he lifted several songs from that, including the poignant title track that’s about all those little things we took for granted and missed out on during Covid times. Introducing it he aptly said, “This night is another thing we can cross off the list of the million things that never happened.”

Another great song from the new album, that he wrote with his son (Jack Valero – a musician in his own right) was Ten Mysterious Photos That Can’t Be Explained which is about the wonders and perils of the internet, rabbit holes, conspiracy theorists and anti-vaxxers. We were also graced with a song from Mermaid Avenue, Way Over Yonder in the Minor Key, as well as another song Billy wrote based on old Woody lyrics, All You Fascists Are Bound To Lose. Guthrie of course famously had “This machine kills fascists” written on his guitar.

A lifelong democratic socialist, politicised by Thatcher, the Tories and the miners’ strike of 1984-85, Bragg’s tenacity and dedication to the cause is admirable. The roaming troubadour activist is always getting involved in grassroots causes. Since he's been here he said, “There’s been a couple things that have blown my mind – Chocolate bilbies, and fascists marching in the streets of Melbourne.” He had a lot to say about British anti-trans activist Posie Parker, who was in the country and had a group of masked men, wearing black and giving the Nazi salute, turn up to her rally in Melbourne.

His loyal fanbase know that a Billy Bragg concert is as much about the songs, as it is about what he says in-between the songs. He’s such a great speaker, passionate and inspiring, and also very funny – a cross between Joe Strummer and Max Miller as he puts it. He talks the talk, but also walks the walk. He attended a protest for ABC workers in Sydney, speaking and singing songs. He appeared at a protest in Wellington for strip club workers demanding better conditions. He even got up early to attend a Student Union rally at Curtin Uni on the Wednesday morning! The early rallies are tough for him he admits, but it’s what Woody would have done. It's hard to believe he’s 65, as he has the energy and enthusiasm of a young man.

His voice and playing are as good as ever as well, exemplified best on the older songs, which sound better than ever. While focusing more on the latter half of his career, the first night still had some welcome classics, that would be played again on the other nights. His big pop hit from 1991, Sexuality, sounded great as a stripped down number. He’s always been good at changing lyrics to update his songs, and with this one, he joked that “having a drink with a gay guy isn't very radical any more,” so he changed it to be more about trans issues. “If you stick around, I’m sure that we can find the right pronoun.” There were also some great jabs at Morrissey.

He gave a moving speech about domestic violence, which was an intro to another old song to be featured on night three, the moving Valentine’s Day is Over. The thing that is amazing, yet sad, is how relevant so many of his old songs still seem. We’re still dealing with a lot of the same issues. And Billy’s still preaching his same sermon – he talks of doing things for the Common Good. And how while individual liberties are to be defended, sometimes we need to make sacrifices. He mentioned the example of people wearing masks in shops even when it wasn’t enforced, joking that when he was in Byron Bay, half the crowd left when he said that.

There was a great energy in the room, almost like at a rally, and his enthusiastic left-leaning fans were vocally supportive of the ideas he espoused. There were a couple hecklers, but he’s sharp and quick witted as ever, shutting down calls from the audience with empathy, dealing with situations with sensitivity and intelligence.

Another great track taken from the new album Freedom Doesn’t Come For Free is about a real life example of when a group of Libertarians (NOT Librarians he joked) tried to set up their own self-governed utopian town in New Hampshire, that has failed dismally and ended up with bears attacking people. I Will Be Your Shield is another new track that really highlighted how strong his voice has gotten. He performed it with no guitar, just crooning over piano accompaniment.

He stormed home on the first night, pulling out the classics. Milkman Of Human Kindness really got the crowd fired up as they sang the chorus. To Have And To Have Not also incited a mass singalong. The lines “Just because you’re going forwards, doesn’t mean I’m going backwards” made more famous of late by our new PM Anthony Albanese, a Billy Bragg fan, who quoted it in his first speech to the ALP caucus. Bragg responded to hearing the news by congratulating Albanese and saying “I know Albo is the right person for the job. He has a socialism of the heart.”

Finishing the set on a high was the rallying cry of There Is Power In A Union, inciting fists in the air in solidarity, Bragg leaving the stage triumphantly. But it wasn’t long before he was back to play a couple more. One of his very finest songwriting moments – the devastatingly beautiful Tank Park Salute – a song written about his father (a tank driver in WW2) who passed away of lung cancer when Billy was 18.

He finished the night off with an inspirational speech about the Voice to Parliament vote we have coming up, and shared his experience of referenda – the particularly notable one that his country was involved in lately, Brexit, which he likened to the UK 'shitting their pants in front of the whole world.' He warned us to do the right thing and unshackle ourselves from our colonial past – as the world will be watching, no matter which way we vote. “You can do it. Take that great leap forwards!” he said, leading into one of his greatest and most defining songs Waiting For The Great Leap Forwards.

There were similarities across the three nights, some same songs and Bragg made sure to get some of his most important points across, but apart from a different setlist, each night had a different vibe. The second night was a special one for the real old school fans, and it had the best energy. His early material is really the stuff of legend and always seems to invoke the most passionate response and biggest singalongs.

Between 1983-1986 Bragg released his first three albums Life’s A Riot With Spy Vs Spy, Brewing Up With Billy Bragg and the breakout Talking With The Taxman About Poetry or as Billy called them “the orange one, the green one and the blue one.” This was his defining era and the songs are distinct and bursting with youthful vigour, his thick accent and unique, raw “chop and clang” guitar sound.

He might not have played all the songs from each album as many were hoping, but he played a damn good selection. He kicked off with a version of the traditional protest song The World Turned Upside Down – originally released in 1975 by Leon Rosselson, which Billy popularised with his cover of it in 1985.

This night was packed with his classic hits, but also some deep cuts, like the mournful The Myth of Trust and the playful Richard. There were also some great tales of his early days, like the story about Billy bringing John Peel a mushroom biryani while he was on air, in order to convince him to play his record on radio for the first time. It worked. Bragg joked “My whole career is ‘cause of corruption and Indian food.”

Ideology sounded as fresh and timely as ever, with an introduction bashing the Liberal party, and how despite losing badly, they have lurched further to the right and installed Dutton as leader.

St. Swithin’s Day was another one of those songs that reminds you for all the brash, revolutionary anthems, Bragg has that ability to stop you in your tracks with a devastating emotional song. He also can put down the guitar and pull off something as different as the old-fashioned vaudeville, piano bar, song and dance number Honey I'm A Big Boy Now. Likewise, Greetings To The New Brunette is still one of his breeziest, poppiest moments – owing much to Johnny Marr’s guitar work.

Which Side Are You On took on a different meaning with an intro about how trans people need cis allies, and he dropped the “boys” from the lyric. A stark reading of Thomas Hardy’s wartime poem The Man He Killed was an emotional interlude.

Levi Stubbs’ Tears was one of the big moments everyone was waiting for. Arguably his greatest track, it’s undoubtedly a fan favourite, and he performed it brilliantly, after flubbing the guitar break the night before.

Mentioning the healthcare strikes in the UK in these unprecedented times, with the NHS struggling as badly as it ever has in its lifetime, was an intro to There Is Power In A Union. This song was played all three nights, along with one of his other biggest hits, which he closed the night with, A New England – inciting the biggest singalong of all. It was an incredible setlist, though there were a couple notable exclusions in The Saturday Boy and The Home Front.

The final night was all about melodies and emotions – and break up songs, as Billy put it. His fourth, fifth and sixth albums Workers Playtime, Don’t Try This At Home and William Bloke brought Bragg into the 90s and found him in more mature territory, trying new things and writing bigger songs with bigger bands and budgets. Maybe it was due to the nature of the songs or just that Billy seemed understandably a bit more tired, but there was a bit less energy in the room on the Thursday. The crowd also seemed to be a bit less engaged and more chatty. But it was a still a stunning selection of songs to finish an epic three nights on.

The Workers Playtime numbers were most well received – arguably his second-best album, full of great songs. And they were all there performed in all their glory – Neil on keyboards was working more tonight, filling out the songs with warmth and melody, and some great backing vocal work.

She’s Got a New Spell, Little Time Bomb, The Price I Pay and Must I Paint You A Picture – all songs of love and loss, during Bragg’s most sentimental period, all sounded great. We even got the a cappella performance of his socialist anthem The Internationale.

After a few songs Bragg started getting more into the groove and the banter started to flow, cracking some jokes. Getting onto the topic of S&M somehow – Bragg informed us that his safe word used to be Margaret Thatcher, but now its Lonnie Donegan (the famous UK skiffle singer – Bragg wrote a book about the history of skiffle).

“You don’t get these chuckles with Weller do you?” he said. He explained he was getting sick of giving it to Morrissey, so thought he’d take a dig at Paul Weller. He played a wonderful rendition of Gladys Knight & the Pips classic Heard It Through The Grapevine, then explained how he used to play it in the early 80s, until one time when he was touring with The Style Council in 1984, Paul Weller asked him to stop playing it because it sounded too much like Deep Purple’s Smoke on The Water.

A few tracks were lifted from the underrated Don’t Try This At Home including Everywhere, Sexuality of course and back to back, two of his most beautiful tracks Dolphins and Tank Park Salute.

Upfield from William Bloke normally has an upbeat, big band treatment, complete with brass, but a slowed down, solo version changed the whole feel of the song into more of a folky number, featuring the lyrics he applied to Albanese “I’ve got a socialism of the heart.”

Waiting For The Great Leap Forwards ended the set on a big note, before we were treated to an encore which broke all the rules! He had also played Yarra Song earlier, as a warm up for the folk festival in Canberra he was flying to, but he strayed from his own show format to end on two big early classics – and judging by the response the crowd didn’t mind at all, as he brought the night to a roaring finish with a rousing rendition of There Is Power In A Union and then A New England – this time even singing the Kirsty MacColl verses! The late, great MacColl was a backing singer of Bragg’s in the 90s – who died tragically in 2000 when she was hit by an illegal speedboat while diving in Mexico. She was a singer in her own right, most well known for her duet with Shane MacGowan on The Fairytale of New York, but she also covered A New England, adding some extra verses, and Bragg often pays tribute to her.

Again throughout the night Bragg talked of his main themes of empathy and the common good and kicking cynicism to the curb. “Cynicism is the greatest enemy we have. Saying ‘It doesn’t matter. It’s all the same. We can’t do anything.’ Murdoch wants you to believe that!”

He went on, “Playing like this recharges my activism, it knocks down the cynicism. And I want you to leave here with your activism recharged. And whatever happens out there, you can always think, there’s a room of people in Fremantle who give a shit about this stuff. That is the power of music. Maybe it can’t change the world, but it has the power to make you think that change is possible.” Inspiring stuff.

Real activist singer-songwriters like Billy Bragg are a dying breed, and this was his greatest tour ever, giving us a glimpse at all facets of the man and his music – a tour de force through his incredible life’s work, whilst keeping things real and relevant for the current generation. It was an absolute pleasure and privilege to have Billy finally make it here for these wonderful shows, full of inspiration, solidarity, laughs and lots of great songs. His way with words and clever lyricism are second to none. At 65 he’s still going strong and for those lucky enough to see all three shows, it was a once in a lifetime event to remember.

ALFRED GORMAN

Photos by Adrian Thomson