Baxter Dury, Glasgow review: 'unleashed reserves of puppyish energy'
For this Glasgow show, Baxter Dury spent almost as much time playing to the crowd as speak-singing his cockney rhymes – and they love a bit of it, writes Fiona Shepherd
Baxter Dury, son of the late, great Ian, has found his niche in the family business, chronicling characters, relationships and social strata from the gutter to the stars. He is a character in himself, the pinstripe ruffian, the charismatic car salesman, pulling kung fu moves and suitably sub-messianic poses. He spent almost as much time during this rapturous set playing to the crowd as speak-singing his cockney rhymes. And they love a bit of it – if the fans could reach over the barrier to stick notes in his waistband they surely would.
Dury lapped up, even stoked the admiration which he richly deserves, having steadily built an enviable, idiosyncratic catalogue which sounds like no one else (except his dad, from time to time). He opened with the twisted disco of Alpha Dog, and sustained the groove through the pitchshifted vocals and twinkling keys of Hapsburg, certainly the finest electro pop song on privileged partying named after a historical dynasty. Later, he returned to the history books for the electro punk funk of Kubla Khan (which has nothing to do with Mongolian warrior emperors).
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I’m Not Your Dog was an early set highlight, epic, supercool, dramatic and foreboding with sterling siren vocals from Fabienne Debarre, Dury’s serene foil on keyboards. Ironically, he unleashed reserves of puppyish energy as the set progressed but also accessed his bolshiest street punk persona for the likes of The Night Chancers, Return of the Sharp Heads, the gruff and declamatory Mockingjay and the jabber and rant of Almond Milk.
Having got a certain amount of end of the pier aggression out this system, the charm offensive resumed with the hypnotic walking bassline and glistening synths of Miami, retro futuristic disco vibrations of Schadenfreude and the fidgety electro of his latest earworm anthem, Allbarone, before he simmered down in a mellow encore which included the gentle communal hymn, Celebrate Me. With pleasure, Mr Dury.
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