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Young, Beck, Bragg and The The, Bring Vancouver An Embarassment Of Riches
Vancouver
October 8, 2000
Neil Young with Beck @ GM Place
Billy Bragg @ The Vogue
October 1, 2000
Memo to whomever is responsible for scheduling concerts in Vancouver: What were you thinking? Last Sunday night saw not only Billy Bragg and The The at conflicting venues, but also Neil Young with Beck. What are the odds? Vancouver has enough trouble getting this many good acts in 6 months, never mind one night, so you can imagine the frustration of the music connoisseur when trying pick between three stellar shows.
Thus, Citygigs, who considers itself to be among the foremost of music aficionados, opted for the Bragg / Young split, kissing Matt Johnson and The The goodbye (see previous review) and running like a madwoman from GM Place to Billy Bragg and back again.
 Opening up for Neil Young at the gargantuan Garage, the normally electric Beck was decidedly toned down and mellowed out for his acoustic set. An artist who could normally sell out fairly large venues on his own, Beck seemed to have to fight for the attention of an audience finding its seats. Nonetheless, the weirdo folksters set was well crafted and delivered, with songs coming mostly from the One Foot In The Grave album.
Ironically, a set that probably pissed off most of his fairweather fans came off as a treat for those of us unimpressed with the two-turntables-and-a-microphone funky shuffling normally associated with Beck.
By contrast, Neil Young came out with a burst of energy, kicking the night off with a rousing rendition of Motorcycle Mama. Young worked his way through new material from Silver and Gold, asking for, and receiving, the crowds patience.
Sadly, GM Place just isn't the venue for a Neil Young show. The sound echos, the experience is far from intimate and the tickets cost an arm and a leg. One couldn't help but wonder what Neil would think of the patrons in the $90 sections. Is this "The Man" Young has written about in so many of his songs?
Twelve songs in, the real estate developers in the next row spark a huge bifter for their trophy wives, which Citygigs takes as its cue to leave, later kicking itself when hearing of Youngs All Along the Watchtower encore.
By contrast, Billy Bragg and The Blokes at the Vogue played as warm and affectionate show as you could want. Rightfully dubbed the Poet Laureate of Working-Class England, Bragg is comical, heartfelt and passionate.
Between songs, Bragg worked the audience for all it was worth. Whether resorting to base humour, such as balancing spoons on bandmates noses, or dryly lambasting Stockwell Day, The Milkman of Humankind made sure his audience went away with more than a song.
A Billy Bragg show, however, is always about the music. Whether it be the anthemic Socialism of the Heart, or the nostalgic Space Race is Over, Braggs lyrics are the focal point of his songs, written with intelligence and incision. Lyrics written by Woody Guthrie, which Bragg has recently developed into song, share the same wit as Braggs original work.
As usual, Bragg had his rant at the end of the show, making a valid tirade against the IMF and WTO, imploring the audience to be politically aware . However the mood of the show never got too heavy, and Braggs newly acquired propensity to dance made sure seriousness was balanced with comedy.
After two huge encores, Bragg left the stage with his traditional cup-of-tea salute, leaving a mesmerized audience entirely satisfied. Across town , Neil Young and Matt Johnson were wrapping up their respective sets to equally enthusiatic crowds. And thus the evening was over, with Arthur Griffiths Sr. resting happily in his grave, knowing that for at least one night, Vancouver was a world class city.
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