Once Around the Block: BDB Puts on a Great Show

Badly Drawn Boy w/ Adem at the 9:30 Club, Washington D.C.

Recommended Beverage

to go with this show:

Redhook ESB from the upstairs bar hit the spot.

Sigh. The British blokes Badly Drawn Boy put on a brilliant, and lengthy show on Tuesday at the 9:30 Club. For more than two hours, frontman Damon Gough and his band performed songs from their five albums, including their newest one, Born in the U.K. The band always sounds refreshing, though their new material moves a bit away from their experimental sounds to a more mainstream, if a bit pop-inspired, sound but nonetheless they are excellent, catchy tunes. Especially catchy is "Journey from A to B." Especially beautiful is "Promises." Good stuff.

Introducing the rocking title track, "Born in the U.K.," he said we can't choose where we're born and preached a message of brotherhood, harmony, and unity--and then jokingly ripped on the Welsh. (Everytime I hear a British rocker joke about people from Wales, my heart bleeds a little for the Stereophonics).

The band jammed for a while, with Gough alternating between keys and guitar. Then they left Gough alone on stage to perform a long solo acoustic set that included a stunning arrangement of "Once Around the Block." Throughout the show, he had fun with the U.S. crowd, opening a few of his songs with bits of different songs by American artists, such as Madonna, The Beach Boys, and Journey. Having done the About a Boy soundtrack in 2002, he also performed a couple of songs from that, including "Donna and Blitzen."

The opener, Adem, performed a creative acoustic set. He was touring in support of his record, Love and Other Planets, released last spring. At times, he played bells and what looked like a mini ukelele. This singer/songwriter/multi-instrumentalist with his smooth Thom Yorke-sounding vocals was the perfect complement to BDB.