John Grant, New Century. 31st October 2024

I walk into New Century as John Grant is opening with ‘All That School For Nothing’. It’s rammed and already hot. I quickly strip down as far as socially acceptable as he’s going full Frampton with a vocoder. This is gonna be good. Fan fave ‘Black Belt’ follows, the backline throbs and those razor shape lyrics punch through. “Etch-a-sketch your way out of this one reject”. John is backed up by a second and third bank of synths and a drummer with a full kit and some funky electro pads. They create a heady mix of live electro clout. Fuck me the sound is good in here. ‘Marz’ is hot on its heels. It’s much more haunting, largely down to that velvety voice soaring. This is a beautiful song, only even more so live as they let it breathe. Things stay slower paced with ‘It Doesn’t Matter To Him’ as I shush a few people. I’m considering getting shirts made with WE’RE HERE FOR THE MUSIC SHUT THE FUCK UP. I don’t mind the whoops from the crowd though as John takes his jacket off for ‘It’s a Bitch’ and the dancing cranks up. This is from the new, rather excellent record. Grant doesn’t really do anything but excellent records. Sadly there’s not much room to dance in here though. John is left on his own with just the piano and a spotlight for ‘Zeitgeist’. What a joy it must be to sit down at a piano, play and sing like that. The room is gripped. The only sounds are a thousand jaws hitting the floor. Another new one, ‘Daddy’ follows. Again delivered solo, it sounds quite different from its recorded version, more immediate with the piano, less soundscape. ‘Glacier’ is dedicated to “The upcoming election” making it clear how John is voting. “They don’t give two shits about you, it’s the blind leading the blind. Get answers on your own, even if it means that sometimes you feel quite alone”. I could go on, John amongst his many talents is a wicked lyricist that’s very quotable. After he says he’s not sure what to play next, the calls come from the audience. There are a lot of suggestions, but ‘Sigourney Weaver‘ wins. He’s interrupted mid song, but picks up in such a low key humble way your heart just goes out to him. This is one of my favourites. It’s slowed down and stripped back tonight and feels really special, but those lyrics still bite. Poor Keanu Reeves. ‘You Don’t Have To’ steps things up a touch, but it’s still soft and silky with an almost bossa nova backdrop. I could listen to John play like this all night, but it’s time to crank it up once more. ‘Pale Green Ghosts’ will do that. It’s a subtle banger. Bass wobble, sharp synths and that voice tieing it all together. Its menacing house vibes are perfect for a cold night in Manchester. ‘Boy From Michigan’ is a rich mix with the full band back in play, but it has to be said it’s a somewhat uncompromising choice of song for this stage of the set. Some around me look a bit lost. It’s brilliant of course, but with this many people you’re bound to have a few with short attention spans. Its album counterpart ‘The Rusty Bull’ is like three songs in one, moody verses, gloriously blissful choruses and big stomping electro interludes. It’s all effortless cool. Even the room agrees, the AC kicks in and John’s got his jacket back on. This is a first in here, it’s usually hotter than hell in a heatwave. The setlist is heavy on the new record which is what I wanted, but I hear grumbles around me from those that want more hits. The Art of the Lie has been out six months though, plenty of time to have fallen for it as deeply as I have. ‘Father’ is another beautiful song from it, but the atmosphere is dropping in the room. I sincerely hope I’m not the only one that appreciates its brilliantly distorted guitar solo and again those lyrics “Sometimes I just want to run into your arms and let you hold me once again”. ‘Meek AF’ has some great scrunchy synth squelch and John wielding a keytar, I think. To be fair there’s a dizzying array of kit up on stage and they put it to great effect. ‘The Child Catcher’ brings an introspective set to an almost close with stark sci-fi synth swathes that build into an enveloping warmth, before ‘Chicken Bones’ brings back the bounce. It stands out a bit, much more funky and playful, Herbie Hancock could be up there soloing on the piano. It would work on children’s TV if it weren’t for the lyrics “You better fuck off now you better leave me alone”. As the crowd stomp the floor, they return for the encore. John now minus his trademark cap has found a blue gospel style robe as he takes a seat at the keyboard, he leads us gently back in with heavily processed vocals on ‘Laura Lou’, before the band return to close with ‘GMF’. The congregational sway sets in and everyone sings the “I’m the greatest mother fucker you’re ever gonna meet” line. Arms in the air, you know the drill. John Grant never lets you down, every time I’ve seen him I fallen deeper in love. This is definitely a different performance from him tonight though. More controlled, more reflective, brilliant as always.