John Grant, New Century. 6th October 2025

Always try and get to gigs an early! I couldn’t do it tonight and I’m gutted I missed Lynks. Another time hopefully, but I now need cheering up. Enter Mr. John Grant. With half a dozen albums under his belt now, he’s moving into greatest hits territory with tonight’s set. We start with the Germanic electro bludgeoning of ‘That’s the Good News’, it’s sparse, razor sharp angles, focused enough to sync your heartbeat to. That voice is then unleashed in a more pure form on ‘Disappointing’, as John stalks the stage to the operatic banger. Backed by an impressive collection of analogue synths and live drums it sounds lush. ‘Boy from Michigan’ slows us down to a sexy pace, with some heavily processed guitar. The set is split into sections, this opening being pitched somewhere in the middle of the tender moments and out and out bangers. ‘It Doesn’t Matter To Him’ sees the sunglasses come off as John blows kisses into the crowd. It takes on a powerful vulnerability live. The voice is magnificent, but I’m just as in awe of him playing the various synths, all of which sound like they’ve beamed in from the mid 70s, warm and soul enveloping. He’s not alone, joined by three friends there’s guitars and a rhythm section, plus enough synths for everyone to have a go. ‘Meek AF’ gets dirtier. The bass that bit nastier. All the toys are out with a souped up vocoder and demonic looking keytar, as the filthy electro goodness explodes. ‘Touch and Go’ gets dedicated to Trans friends, as he takes to the grand piano nestled to the side of the stage. I say nestled, the New Century stage is pretty wide, so there’s plenty of space. This is more pared back, but he hits the keys with venom and that voice too has space to show just how arresting it can be. ‘Queen of Denmark’ follows as we settle into a run of songs with John solo. Just John and the piano it’s a slow tease, but we know what’s coming. It’s gorgeously playful setting up the bombastic explosions, as John graciously hands the audience the final line. ‘Is He Strange’ rounds this act off, before we switch up with ‘All That School for Nothing’. It starts with an avant garde interlude before hitting its neon disco booty shaking swagger. ‘Black Belt’ is always a big hitter and it puts the PA through its paces. Bizarrely there’s not much movement in the crowd, but this does get some limbs flailing. ‘Marz’ sort of kills it but in the best possible way. It soars grandly. I’m not sure how many times I’ve heard this live, but this might be the best. ‘Substitution’, one of the newer songs, is back on the solo piano (mostly) and does usher some crowd movement toward the bar which is a shame, but we are at the hour mark. With its minimal piano, it shows just how melodically John can use his voice and once everyone’s settled again you can hear the proverbial pin. ‘Glacier’ is like its big brother. More complex, it rolls more, but side by side, the similarities are fun. What a joy it must be to be able to sit at a piano and create this, it’s certainly a joy to witness. ‘Grey Tickles, Black Pressure’ follows with a hefty dose of satirical bite, leading the charge as things start to build once more. Still, the contrast is stark with ‘It’s a Bitch’ bludgeoning it way into our ears, it’s a funky little bastard and gets the crowd dancing again. ‘He’s Got His Mother’s Hips’ feels like it would’ve worked slightly better earlier in the set, but it’s chaotic close is a lot of fun and makes sense next to ‘Chicken Bones’ that picks up the playfulness. I don’t think this got played on the last tour, I’d forgotten how bloody brilliant it is. An impressive stomp then starts to coax them back for the encore. It must have the people downstairs looking at the ceiling anxiosly. It works though and they return for the deeply harmonious  ‘Laura Lou’. Robed and bathed in a single spot. It’s one man and his synth and a nice way to bid farewell to the electronics as we close, after two hours that have gone by in a blink, with the anthemic ‘GMF’. It’s a slightly odd gig in that is normally expect more atmosphere, but that’s nothing to do with a fantastic set. Maybe everyone’s had a heavy weekend, or maybe everyone was just stunned by John Grant’s brilliance.