The first gigs by Neil Hannon to promote his superb new album Absent Friends involved Hannon backed by an 18-piece orchestra.  This short tour prior to some festival appearances, just two months later, is an altogether more stripped-down affair.  Neil on acoustic guitar and vocals was backed by just two supreme musicians - long-time Divine Comedy member and collaborator Joby Talbot on piano and a superb cellist / occasional harmonica and woodwind player.  The fact that virtually all of the songs worked with this intimate arrangement is testament to both the quality of the songs and the three musicians playing them.

The set list included a generous helping of songs from Absent Friends, some of the finest moments from the Divine Comedy back catalogue and some inspired cover versions.  From the new album, the group opened with the title track and also included the excellent Happy Goth, Our Mutual Friend and touching Charmed Life in their set.  They also included two songs where Neil plucked Bagpuss style guitar including Freedom Road which rhymes "passed" with "iconoclast(ic images)" in one of the greatest couplets in popular music!

Among the greatest hits performed were radically different slower, semi-cabaret versions of Becoming More Like Alfie and Generation Sex.  The new arrangement really suited the embittered loss of (self) innocence of the former song and the extended outro of Generation Sex illustrated what superb musicians the two backing players are.  Other highlights from the Divine Comedy back catalogue included a stripped down National Express with superb harmonica work, Summer House, Bad Ambassador and a rousing finale of Tonight We Fly.  One of the few songs which didn't work so well in this intimate setting was the recent single Come Home Billy Bird which missed Lauren Laverne's prominent chorus vocals.

As well as Divine Comedy originals, Neil and co. also treated us to three cover versions - humorous songs by Tom Lehrer and Randy Newman and a moving reading of Flaming Lips' superb Do You Realize which I hope is released in official form soon.  Neil was in droll form throughout the gig , chatting and casting witty asides to the audience at this most intimate of venues

All in all a near faultless positive gig by a superb singer / songwriter and two immaculate backing musicians.  Whatever size of band Neil Hannon turns up with next time around, it will be another show worth seeing.

18.6.04