Adam Ant @ Roundhouse - December 20, 2018

On a recent show in London with my usual concert buddy, we saw a poster for the upcoming Adam Ant shows at the Roundhouse. We laughed about it and then, being drunk, proceeded to sing Adam and the Ant songs all the way home, with requisite dance moves thrown in from time to time. You know, the signature Adam Ant sexy skip-in-place move.

We joked about it a few more times: "It would be so fun, but oh my god we can't!" "It's too expensive just for the nostalgia." And so on. But a few weeks later, she texted to say a job she had lined up in December fell through and why don't we just go for it.

We both were on the cusp of being teenagers during Ant's big years with the Ants and then as a solo artist. We couldn't resist the thought of getting to see the man himself live, and particularly seeing Stand and Deliver, Antmusic and Dog Eat Dog played. The opportunity had to be seized.

Not interested in the openers, we arrived to a packed floor full of 30- to 60-somethings all holding their ground with fierce determination. There was none of the squeezing-down-front possible that is our usual M.O., at least not until much later. We began by finding a fairly okay viewpoint on the left flank and were pleased to see the two drum kits set up speaking of faithfulness to the old Ant sound.

The crowd ratio was more male than we expected, making it about 50-50. But we noticed with amusement how many couples there were and how many of the (let's be honest) middle-aged women were dressed to the nines and looking hot. We speculated that this event would be a good early-date litmus test for a prospective mate, but once the show started we were surprised by just how many of the (straight-looking) men were really into the show. Assumptions...

We were similarly surprised and delighted by how much energy Adam Ant had throughout the entire show. He came out looking dapper in his recent-years look of straw hat, bandana and all-leather, and still as slim as ever. And I was truly thrilled by all his moves, the aforementioned skip, the 360-twirl, the air-sucked-through-teeth face, the flashing eyes. It didn't strike me at all as pastiche, but genuinely his natural performing mannerisms. He's lost little of his aloof charm as an entertainer.

The jacket was removed part-way through the set to reveal one of his own tour shirts. In fact the whole band, bar the female drummer, was wearing the same, which I thought was a bit much. But I guess we know who would call the shots on and off-stage.  Despite the double drums, on one song (wish I could remember which) two of the guitarists picked up marching snare drums to really pump the percussion up to the max. At about this time, Ant also gave a shout-out to the punk legend Jordan, his early manager, who was in attendance somewhere on the balcony.

The setlist was heavy with older material and each song elicited cheers of excitement from different parts of the audience. People clearly had their favourites they were there to hear. Unfortunately, the crowd were pretty unanimated. Certainly zero mosh pits appeared. There was very little movement, as no one would allow people through; mostly just dancing in place. My friend and I jumped up and down to Stand and Deliver, but I think we were the only ones.

All in all, a good night's entertainment, and a good time reliving some of those amazing songs that blew my young mind apart, all those years ago.

Setlist:
Plastic Surgery
Dog Eat Dog
Vive Le Rock
It Doesn't Matter
Friend or Foe
Antmusic
Beat My Guest
Ants Invasion
Killer in the Home
Lady
Fall-In
Room at the Top
Desperate But Not Serious
Cartrouble
Prince Charming
Zerox
Whip In My Valise
Strip
Puss 'n Boots
Kings of the Wild Frontier
Christian D'or
Stand and Deliver
Encore:
Goody Two Shoes
Red Scab
Physical (You're So)

New Model Army @ O2 Forum Kentish Town - December 13, 2018

Arrived at the Forum in time to see most of Shattercones set. It gave me a Nick Cave, David Lynch vibe with a twangy old-fashioned rock weirdness.  I really liked them. They played about 6 songs including A Cheat and In Relief, and I believe The Butterfly Song, all of which you can find on youtube or through their FaceBook page.

I'd heard a lot of good things about Seán McGowan from comments on Solo Armada's social media pages. Tonight he was doing a solo acoustic set which I believe is his norm rather than backed by a full band. He was chatty and personable and funny and seemed genuinely grateful to have been asked to open for NMA. He did a short set of mostly upbeat catchy songs that didn't fully win over the talking audience, but seemed to please quite a few.

Setlist:
Spancil Hill
Off the Rails
Romance Ain't Dead
Springhill
Cuppa Tea
No Show

New Model Army came on at 9:15. This London gig is one of their shows for their annual Winter Gatherings, but it's my first time seeing them. I discovered them sometime around 1991 and became obsessed with their Son of Cain album, and to a lesser degree some of the following LPs like Thunder and Consolation. Unfortunately they played nothing off my favourite album, including 51st State which was a staple on mixed tapes for years, but I realized how much of their other work I really like, so I didn't mind too much.

They have many albums to chose from and seemed to select songs that worked with the winter theme and the current political climate. The later in the set, the more the setlist seemed to be off the cuff with requests from the crowd that it was unclear if the band could hear or not, since many were shouted out in a jumble.

I had agonized a bit about whether to brave the cold evening to see another show alone, but knew I would regret missing a band I have liked for so long, and as always, was happy to have seen them finally.  They have a nice rapport with the fans, who seemed to be a touch on the crusty side, but less so than I feared. Most were in the mid 30- mid 50 age range I would guess, and there were many, many New Model Army T-shirts being shown off. I even dug out my old "Get Me Out" one for fun, and after a wash to shake off the years of musty box smell it was good to go. There was some fairly mellow moshing and a few people not just sitting on shoulders but standing on shoulders, which would have annoyed me, had I not been down the front with a good view.

Justin Sullivan the main and only persistent member of the band repeated a theme of political divisiveness a few times as he spoke to us between songs. His main message being that the politicians will only achieve their selfish aims if we let ourselves become divided; a fitting message for such a divided mid-Brexit country. Nice to hear that NMA's political messages haven't softened any.

Setlist:
Whirlwind
Burn the Castle
Drag it Down
Devil
States Radio
A Liberal Education
Brother
Winter
225
Better Than Them (as a tribute to Pete Shelley)
Too Close to the Sun
Guessing
Today is a Good Day
Autumn
Fater
Green and Grey
Encore:
Drummy B
Waiting
Island
Encore 2:
Stupid Questions
Betcha