john grant live at the jazz cafe 18/10/2013

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I went with a few friends last night to legendary Camden venue, the Jazz Cafe to see John Grant.The gig was pretty damn awesome, the man played a superb set to a very appreciative and respectful audience. I didn't see anyone filming it and the pauses in his songs were left silent and not a cue to start clapping/whistling/shouting out something inane. This surprised and pleased me. Proof that most people had heard and listened to the albums.

I think his move to Iceland has suited him. There's no doubting where Gus Gus have influenced and given him new musical avenues to explore. We started with techno and it worked well live, his band were excellent although the heavier electronic pieces did look like a lot of them were synching to it. Only on a few songs did he really let rip with that lovely voice of his but perhaps that is what makes it such a treat. His in-between songs chatter with the crowd was very warm and personable with him name-dropping other musicians he'd met recently and referencing his sexuality often. JG seems to be quite comfortable about it now and I suppose that when I think about it this shows a bit more with the lyrics to this latest album as opposed to 'The Queen of Denmark'. That's not to say that there's no venom in Pale Green Ghosts - there's a track called 'Greatest Motherf**ker' on it for a start. He played a few favourites from the QoD album - most notably 'Chicken Bones' and 'Marz'. I forget which track he dedicated to Midlake who were in the audience with us. That was pretty cool too.

All in all a great night and a real shame that with the gig in London, my girlfriend and I had to dash halfway through the encore. This was the first time I have seen him live and I recommend the experience. It has enhanced and put some more context into the albums and I'm definitely going to revisit them with a new appreciation.

This is a great remix from the Limited Edition version of Pale Green Ghosts (which I'm very pleased I splashed out for).