Live Review: Baxter Dury - O2 Kentish Town Forum, London 03/11/2021
The Baxter Show commands Kentish Town.
For a man who's life and family are well known, Baxter Dury still somehow remains a bit of a mystery. Tonight's North London show was both understated and unsubtle, full of careless showmanship from someone not adverse to being the centre of attention.
Having just released Chaise Longue, a memoir of childhood reflections from the midst of his father's success, and now with a best-of compilation coming out scoping the past 20 years of his own musical career, this short 3-date tour seems to come at a crux point in Dury's tumultuous life. However, an emotional man he is not.
Opened by the wild electronic duo Audiobooks, who's frenzied pairing creates a self-aware mash of noise and harmony, the main show had a challenge of leaving an even bigger impression. But for Mr Maserati himself it takes no effort to have the crowd in the palm of his hand. Keeping the fanfair to a minimum, he joins his band onstage kitted out in army camo - a man ready for action and ready for admiration. His bravado onstage is always switched on. There's no chit-chat, no bullshit, he's come to get the job done. From more sultry moments like "I'm Not You Dog" taken from 2020s The Night Chancers, to the biggest hitters like "Miami", he's confident and nonchalant.
But one thing his act does lack is appreciation. There's a grand force of musical talent that goes on behind Dury, and ultimately going into making him look so good. Long-time collaborator, keyboardist, and "backing" vocalist Madelaine Hart dazzles easily in her role as the demure counterpart to Dury's machismo, with a voice now so associated with his music that you may come to realise she actually does a lot more work than he does. With a touring band of bass, guitar, and drums, Dury himself only has to twiddle the odd key between his bolshy vocals. Yet there's no mention of Hart, or the rest of the band, for the entirety of the show. It's the Baxter Dury Show, and that's it.
Perhaps it is a mysterious anonymity that they're all agreed upon, each playing a part in what is the concept of Baxter Dury, but you can't help feeling a bit let down by the mythical man in the limelight.
He puts on a good show, that he can do, and yeah it's definitely part of the image to say "Fuck ya" to the crowd - that's the brutal beatings we're all here for - but it could have been so much more of an enjoyable scene to watch.
Words by Alice Jenner
