 | | Badly Drawn Boy |
Set against the fading grandeur and ice cream usherettes of the Stockport Plaza, it was pretty clear that Badly Drawn Boy was at ease. Opening with Welcome To The Overground, he showed off new album, Born In The UK. More drama yes, more confidence certainly, but most importantly, the same orchestral brilliance that made Hour Of The Bewilderbeast so powerful. Taking a Journey From A To B along the way to the anthemic title track, he powered on, the slightly heavier and more punchy sound sounding great in the live arena. As the band exited stage right, things dropped back a little with a run of acoustic numbers. Alone in the centre of the stage with nothing but his songs for company, Badly Drawn Boy took his rightful place as unassuming hero as the beauty of A Minor Incident and Once Around The Block rang out. As the band returned and the set continued, he played around with the old and new material making each track a living, breathing work in progress. Interlacing the night with dedications to loved ones past and present, you couldn’t help but feel as though you had been treated to a two hour narrative of his life in music. As his wife and kids joined the stage for the encore and final bow, there was a real air that this was a full-stop, an ambition achieved, that Damon Gough had come home, and that the audience were lucky to have been there to see it. | 
