Napoleonic Dynamite!

The night had true excitement in the air, as The Ballroom was filled with fans of the 80’s highwayman of pop, from young to the experienced lover of this precocious pirate.  The two tribute acts had been hand picked by the man himself, with Johnny Normal playing a cavalcade of electro Goth delights, including two Ant covers.  Next was the punk fems Georgie Girl & her poussez posse, who seemed pretty laid back for their harsh themes. 

 Adam Ant arrived on stage to an explosion from the crowd.  This man, of whom is fairly unrecognisable until he opens his mouth, was donned in a legionnaire style outfit, with a swagger to boot.  Spending most of the first 20 minutes strutting across the stage like a proud rooster, tracks classic and brand new echoed down the halls.  Hits such as ‘Dog eat Dog’ and ‘Cartrouble’ (part 2) got the crowd surging, but he didn’t just stop there.  As well as wanting to show off his new work, like the rock n roll ‘Cool Zombie’ and the foot stomping ‘Press Darlings’, Ant gave his fans a ride through his whole career in music.  Amounting songs from as far back as the debut album ‘Dirk wears white sox’ and earlier, Ant gave explanations to some of the songs that he favoured so well.

Just before he started the iconic ‘Kings of the wild frontier’ He stated “This will always be my favourite song.  Every time I play it, it feels like the first time”.

“I don’t like the idea of 50 shades of Grey’ he admitted on stage; I’ve been more of a De Sade man myself”, before hitting us with ‘Whip in my valise’.  He also dedicated ‘Celopatra’ to Elizabeth Taylor and followed them with a mix from his early work, giving ‘Never trust a man (with egg on his face)’ and ‘Zerox’ an updated rock feel that astonished the crowd. 

Ending the set with more well known classics such as ‘Antmusic’, ‘Goody two shoes’ and the rare to be heard ‘Lady’, Ant had given everyone a real treat, and to all, even the women throwing roses to him (which he made a light snack out of on stage!), it was if it were a greatest hits tour.  Coming back for an encore with the fetish infused ‘Rubber people’ and the big hit ‘Price charming’, which seemed to lack in something (possibly down to exhaustion), Adam Ant had managed to turn his back catalogue into a rock n roll extravaganza where none of his songs sounded dated. 

A note to all parents of teenagers:  If you want to show your kids what real music is, take them to see this tour.  They will have their foot tapping or even skanking by the end of the night! 

Doka