John Grant

In 2013, a song on the radio caught my attention. I just didn't know what to make of it. It was a song about being the greatest motherfucker that one was ever going to meet. I just didn't know if this was sarcastic or serious. A bit more listening pointed out that it was sarcastic. But by then, of course, I was drawn in. I made sure to Google the artist. And that is how I became aware of John Grant. I didn't know at the time he had already released an album a few years before that.

The next song by him that really caught my attention was Pale Green Ghosts, from the same album. I liked the music; there is something about that kind of electronic music that somehow does something to me. I know I am generally a bit of a low tech kind of person, so acoustic guitars would make more sense, but not everything in life makes sense. I also liked the lyrics (important!). So that consolidated my interest in John Grant. And finding out he had done quite some collaboration with Sinead O'Connor didn't do any damage of course.

Then one night I suddenly got a text from Martin. Was anybody interested in going to see John Grant in concert in the Albert Hall? And Albert Hall, wasn't that London? Isn't that a bit far? But he had provided a link, and clicking that turned out there is an Albert Hall in Manchester. That was a bit more doable! I immediately texted back that I was. John Grant! That would be amazing!

The others had reasons for not wishing to join. So it was going to be only him and me. I did point out that my joining was conditional on sharing transport. I was still a bit bruised from the previous concert I had been to, with him and Sue and Dean, and them insisting to travel in three different cars. It's a bit lonely to drive alone to a concert, attend the concert, and then drive back alone, if you know that all three cars are going to the exact same village. He understood and said he would drive. I figured he would suggest that; Manchester is quite far away, and quite some of the way is motorway, and I figured he would not be keen on pootling along fast roads in my slow Corsa. That is the natural habitat of his shiny BMW.

We also agreed to go for dinner beforehand. The concert was listed as starting at 7 PM, so that was the logical thing to do. He would pick me up at 15:30. And he had suggested to dine straight underneath the venue, as there conveniently was a restaurant there.

The time of the day came and I heard a heavy engine. I got into his car and off we were! And without incident we reached Manchester, where Martin knew the way and knew where to park. When we walked to the venue I felt a little bit out of place; how often am I in a city bigger than Bangor? Or even Llandudno? This was a different scale. But we didn't have to go far. Further than intended; the restaurant underneath Albert Hall was too busy and we had to go somewhere else. A little bit of wandering around led us past the entrance of an Armenian restaurant and we decided to go there. And we had excellent dinner!

When we reached the venue again the support act had already started: Stephen Mallinder. I had never heard of him; I had just googled him the night before but not spent too much time on him. I quite enjoyed it, though! There was quite a strong Sisters of Mercy vibe about him. And I could also just enjoy the amazing venue. I had felt a little bit conflicted when I found out that that same week, John Grant would play Paradiso in Amsterdam. I really like that venue! And then I was going all the way to Manchester. But this venue was easily as atmospheric. And of course I had good company to enjoy.

Stephen Mallinder in action

After a while the support act ended, and not much later, John Grant and his band appeared. To great enthusiasm over the floor! And he launched into what I think is his current single: Just so you know. It's not my favourite. I was prepared for this, though, as I had checked what his set list had been in the previous two concerts. And it looked like he was sticking with that list. That meant he would get the songs I liked least out of the way at the beginning. The second song would probably be Boy from Michigan. Better than Just so you know, but still not one of my favourites. And indeed! But it was great to hear him live. He is clearly good at it.

And John Grant!

After that it picked up for me. The next song was the Rusty Bull. That is another song in the tradition of Pale Green Ghosts, with a driving electronic beat. After that came Black Belt; that is as defiant a song as they come, and I like it, and so did the rest of the audience. There was a lot of singing along going on! And John Grant had some great fun strutting his stuff on the stage. 

After that he launched into Rhetorical Figure; that was a song I had to get used to. It is a bit cartoon-esque, but given that the lyrics are about language nerdiness, I warmed to it quickly. So I enjoyed that one immensely as well! And then the mood got a bit darker; the next song was Grey Pickles, Black Pressure, which he dedicated to Julee Cruise who had recently died. I had not heard of her, but it must have affected him a lot. The song is decidedly sad, but very beautiful. He did lift the mood bit after that by moving onto a song that is just about an ice cream parlour. But from there it got more serious again; the next song, the Cruise Room, is quite romantic but also very melancholy. I thought the piano didn't come into its own there; maybe a hiccup of the sound technician. Still a beautiful song. And then a song followed about Chelsea Manning, and another one about not giving up if religious people tell you you go to hell for being gay. He then launched into Sensitive New Age Guy, and closed off with Queen of Denmark. I know that would be the end of the first part. It's a song in which he sings away his anger, and the entire audience was belting along with him. It sounded very cathartic!

It wasn't really the end, of course. After only seconds they were back for the encore. It wasn't long; the ticket had said "curfew 11 PM" so I figured they only had a permit to make noise until that time. And it was rapidly approaching. He did Tempest and Caramel (not my favourites). When I then heard the first notes of GMF I knew that would be the last song of the concert. I think the rest of the audience know it too. The singing was again enthusiastic. And then it was over.

I gave Martin a big hug and thanked him. Without him I would not have been there! And it had been an amazing concert. I should do this more often.

We still had quite a drive home, so we did not linger and went straight back to the parking garage, and then home. The next morning I woke up with my head still completely full of John Grant songs. And that would stay that way for a while! We spent more time driving to and from the concert than being in it, but it had been well worth it…