There is good news and bad news about Bill Bailey in
2004. The show begins and there is an immediate sense of
deja-vu as Bailey opens with gags about being a "Stars In Their
Eyes" regional finalist, pretending to be Aled Jones, having trouble starting
gigs and classic pop performed in a west country accent.
The "Stars In Their Eyes" line may have changed from Meatloaf to Michael
Bolton but the worry that I had come all this way just to see a live performance
of a three year old DVD was starting to set in.
Thankfully a sigh of relief was warranted as new
material began to filter through and show us exactly why we thought he was
so great in the first place. He glides effortlessly through diverse subjects from doorbells to
swimming with dolphins in the far east, with a liberal sprinkling of off-the-wall asides and trademark musical wizardry along the
way.
Perhaps this use of a fair swathe of old material is the musical
influence showing, like a band playing a selection of their latest songs
interspersed with some "greatest hits". This may well have been the
intention, and the audience lap it up, but something was missing. The
old material seemed to lack impact and Bailey seems to have lost the enthusiasm
for much of it.
It's not until he finds his way back to the newer stuff, clearly still
fresh and exciting to him, that he really shines. In uncharted territory,
particularly when given an unexpected audience response or heckle to work with,
he achieves true brilliance.
Warwick Arts Centre - 18/05/2004 - "Part Troll"
Tour
