They were amazing live, Friday night. He gives it all he's got. He didn't seem to extemporise around the lyrics at all, or even chat to the crowd, so I wondered if he was hyper-tense, wound up, even uneasy with the success and adulation they're getting. I thought I could detect some kind of tension.
Here follows a review of a non-event. The crowd of 50 or 60 upstairs at the Prince Albert had to endure the jingle-jangle Iggy Alcopop of Mark Wynn before the manager of the venue hopped on the stage to announce some bad news - Sleaford Mods were "missing in action in South London" and that "it's all over", but that we could use our tickets for a future date. The crowd seemed disappointed but fairly relaxed about this development, almost as if we didn't quite believe we were about to see them anyway - i.e. no evidence of them in the pub, apart from the table with a few 7" and LPs outside.
So, without missing a beat another fella jumped on stage and began an impromptu slam poetry performance, i think along the lines of being an ex-stockbroker who'd moved to Brighton to get real. He wasn't as good as Sleaford Mods, sadly, but you have to give him credit for seizing the moment.
I'm not sure about it, but the hollow-cheeked fella Sleaford, Andrew, might have turned up later to perform to the best of his ability ("Fizzy" three times). That's what Twitter indicated.
Weird night but I've been more disappointed by far worse bands who actually turned up. i don't hold out much hope of ever seeing them now.