Long a champion of everyday people’s rights and freedoms, Billy Bragg has quietly earned a huge adoration of fans and music industry peers alike. Cranking out over a dozen solo albums (and even two in partnership with alt-country titans Wilco), his no-nonsense approach to protest anthems and earnest singer-songwriter balladry is the stuff of awe and reverie that few in the modern era shy of Bruce Springsteen have obtained. Though not as famous on this side of the pond as in his native England, those that know him here in the U.S.A. absolutely love him. This tour finds him performing 3-night stands in each city, taking each night to perform a wholly different set. Night one featuring a smattering of material from the modern era of his material, night two featuring choices cuts from his first three albums (Life’s a Riot with Spy Vs. Spy, Brewing Up with Billy Bragg and Talking Up with the Taxman About Poetry) and this, the final night, the second three albums of his formative years (Worker’s Playtime, Don’t Try This at Home and William Bloke).
The legendary L.A. venue The Troubadour was sold out for tonight’s show, and there was scarcely an inch of standing room anywhere to be found, whether it was amidst the balconies, the loft upstairs or the floor in front of the stage. More than a couple fans could be seen wearing t-shirts sporting the N.H.S. logo (for Americans unfamiliar, that’s the National Health Service, England’s nationalized healthcare program). The throngs present stared intently towards Bragg as he performed solo through the whole night, pausing only to switch between acoustic and electric guitars he had positioned behind him. Otherwise, Bragg was all smiles and indelible wit. “Here’s a song about love in a capitalist system,” he quipped before playing “That’s the Price I Pay.” He joked afterward of the song’s high notes being possible because of his aging. That when he was younger, “That high part had to be medically induced.” He quickly began one of many open ponderings on the merits of socialism, ruminating how it had become fashionable again here in America. “It just goes to show you when you elect an asshole shit can happen,” he stated, obviously referring to President Trump without naming him directly. He went on to explain that he thought socialism only really mattered if it was “a form of organized compassion,” meaning it is only useful if the purpose it serves is the betterment of life experience for the people.
He followed that up with the lush “Upfield,” which fittingly includes the lyrics, “And I flew with them over the Great Wen / ‘til I had seen my fill / Of such poverty and misery / Should it tear my soul apart / I’ve got a socialism of the heart.” Crazily, crisis struck as he went into the next song “The Fourteenth of February” as a fan apparently fell on the show floor and was hurt. Fans near the man who fell called for security to call 911 and indicated that the attendee was bleeding. Bragg stopped the show completely until paramedics arrived and had safely taken the man away. He pressed on with “The Fourteenth of February” and called on fans up front to help him remember verses he couldn’t seem to recall in the moment. After that song and “The Short Answer” and “Little Time Bomb,” he wisely joked how he thought him and the crowd were all “a little distracted,” which provoked a hearty laugh from the fans on hand. He followed those moments up with “Sexuality,” a number from Don’t Try This At Home that he thinks of as his five minutes of being a pop star. He regarded the birth of his son that came not long after as a relief in the face of pop stardom. “The smell of baby poop was a relief to me,” he said.
He went from there into a charming song from William Bloke about being young and whimsically dreaming of space travel, “The Space Race is Over.” Similarly, “Brickbat” is a loving rumination to his wife and family. The set proper ended with “Accident Waiting to Happen” and “Waiting for the Great Leap Forwards.” In between the two, he discussed his belief that “Freedom is a reciprocal right,” adding, “Equality is not enough to be truly free. We have systems where people are marginalized and unable to participate in forms of opportunity.” And on “Waiting for the Great Leap Forwards,” he inverted the line “That the Third World is just around the corner” with “That impeachment is just around the corner.” As the crowd cheered at the hinted prospect of Donald Trump’s possible impeachment and removal, Bragg went one further and proudly proclaimed, “It’s Mueller time!” a reference the Special Counsel Robert Mueller and his ever zeroing-in investigation of Trump’s possible Russian conspiracy and collusion.
As a part of a brief encore Bragg played a sweet song from Don’t Try This at Home called “Tank Park Salute,” one where he wrestled with his child’s fear and explaining the realities of life and death. Appropriately, “The Internationale” and a cover of Bob Dylan’s “The Times They Are A-Changin’” capped off the evening. The former beaming with the words, “Stand up all victims of oppression / You have nothing if you have no rights.” It may be worlds apart from much of what we might normally see at a venue like The Troubadour in this day and age, but Billy Bragg comfortably exudes the folk singer/protest leader champion spirit that not that long ago in America were what the real rocks stars in music embodied. It’s proof that it’s an art form and approach not long lost, and still direly needed, especially in the chaos of these troubled modern times.
Setlist
She’s Got a New Spell – Worker’s Playtime
Everywhere – Don’t Try This at Home
The Price I Pay – Worker’s Playtime
Upfield – William Bloke
The Fourteenth of February – William Bloke
The Short Answer – Worker’s Playtime (incident)
Little Time Bomb – Worker’s Playtime
The Only One – Worker’s Playtime
Sexuality – Don’t Try This at Home
The Space Race is Over – William Bloke
The Few – Don’t Try This at Home
Must I Paint You a Picture – Worker’s Playtime
Brickbat – William Bloke
Accident Waiting to Happen – Don’t Try This at Home
Waiting for the Great Leap Forwards – Worker’s Playtime
-Encore-
Tank Park Salute – Don’t Try This at Home
The Internationale – The Internationale
The Times They Are A-Changin’ (Bob Dylan Cover)
File photo by Raymond Flotat
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