Of all the reasons for delaying the start of a performance, Peter Wilson’s is one of the most unusual: “I forgot my shaker, so I had to cobble one together out of cups and coffee granules.”
As Duke Special, he has an impressive back catalogue and cross-generational appeal, with the audience singing along to his best-known songs Last Night I Nearly Died, Freewheel, and Our Love Goes Deeper Than This.
An audience request for Stargazers resulted in the heckler being summoned to share the tiny piano stool and turn the pages of Wilson’s lyrics notebook.
He introduced tracks from new album Look Out Machines! with Son Of The Left Hand a powerfully atmospheric highlight, an incantation of the damned chanted over a droning synthesizer while tensely thudding a drum.
He also included the Mrs Mills-style knees-up Wanda, Darling of the Jockey Club; three slow and simple songs by Ivor Cutler, and a furiously thumping Alabama Song.
There’s a lot to like about Duke Special and his unpredictable sets, but many songs simply petered out unresolved.
However, no other musician would create a lament from the point of view of art photographer Alfred Steiglitz, disgusted with easy-to-use Kodak cameras.
Three stars
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