The musical live event in the rock genre has changed very little over the decades, with possibly the only fluctuation in its narrow trajectory being the waning of the aggressive attitude to the audience from the artist, which was probably best described at the time as being an ‘anti-performance posture’. Who could forget the almost traumatic sets by such luminaries of this stance as The Jesus & Mary Chain, whose 20-minute drug-fuelled backs to the audience gigs mostly consisted of a “Fuck you” arrogance, which was seen at the time as revolutionary, if not a little lacking in value for money for the audience?
Since then the artists income from the recorded format has dwindled, necessitating a return to extensive tours as a means of financial survival, with crowd pleasing and positive interaction seen as almost sacrosanct. Paul Draper’s current tour stopped off at the Rescue rooms in Nottingham on Monday, the 5th of March, and Draper seems to have taken this bonhomie and crowd bonding sensibility to another level, with his fans being allowed to choose part of the set list for the current tour. The first half of the set was to feature tracks from his solo album, Spooky Action, which was released last year and was promoted in small club venues (QRO live review), with the second set of the evening being a choice between the first or second album’s from Draper’s previous band Mansun, with the result being decided in advance by an online vote.
The first Mansun album, Attack of the Grey Lantern, was released in February 1997, which coincided with the death throes of the U.K. Britpop phenomenon leading to a new seriousness in U.K. independent rock, with albums such as Radiohead’s OK Computer and The Verve’s Urban Hymns both heading the end of year polls. The second album, Six, was an almost antithesis to the pristine pop of the first, and was more akin to a sprawling progressive rock album consisting of three movements, and when released the following year entered a far different musical environment with dance and electronica holding sway, with lauded albums from artists as diverse as Massive Attack, Air, and Unkle.
As the band appeared on stage at Rescue Rooms and launched into the opening track, “Don’t Poke the Bear” from Spooky Action, it soon became apparent that Paul Draper was not playing the game as anticipated. His take on The Jesus & Mary Chain’s ‘fuck you’ stance had been taken to a whole new level, whereupon Draper had decided not to attend the gig at all, and had substituted himself with an homeless vagrant from the streets of Nottingham. The vagrant seemed completely nonplussed with his appearance at the event, but had managed to convince Draper’s staff to supply him with copious amounts of red wine, which he demolished at a rate that would have put Shane McGowan at his pomp to shame. The backing band was obviously unaware of this change of plan, and puzzled looks and raised eyebrows were clearly showing how unsettled they all were.
After four or possibly five songs, the tramp lurched offstage possibly to replenish his glass or to find the gentlemen’s toilet, which looking at the state and the emanating stench from his trousers he had on this occasion left it a little too late. The intermission was taken, allowing the audience to disseminate and question Draper’s motives and left us wondering if Draper or the tramp would appear for the second half of the show.
After over-running the intermission by a good half hour, the band plus the stand-in appeared and proceeded to destroy and obliterate Mansun’s classic debut album, Attack of the Grey Lantern. By now the red, red wine was really kicking in, and any attempt to play or even hold a guitar, never mind stand up, were causing the main man a great deal of stress, and after a few unrecognisable attempts at forming coherent songs, the band left the bewildered audience to try and come to terms with Draper’s audacious and anarchistic decision. Perhaps the next time there is an online vote to determine the agenda for the evening, we should be asked if we would prefer Paul Draper to appear or a dishevelled wreck?
[editor’s note: Paul Draper has since apologized for the Rescue Rooms gig]
