Badly Drawn Boy

For those of us who are familiar with Damon (AKA, Badly Drawn Boy), we know to expect the unexpected! He is a perfectionist and can be moody. (As some have pointed out in other reviews!) However, he is honest and wants to please. I saw him at Lincoln Hall and it was one of the warmest, most touching, accoustic performances I have ever seen. I think Chicago got a little lucky in that he was settled in with the fact that his band could not be with him, and that most of the sound issues were ironed out. The Sound was amazing! That aside, Damon is one of the most beautiful songwriters today. I could sit and listen to him play guitar all night, and that is pretty much what he did. His lyrics came across beautifully with heartfelt meaning in every word. He was compelling. His guitar playing was stellar as well was his voice. It was such an intimate setting with Damon so close. I loved how he interacted with the crowd, asking for requests and sharing stories. He was very "up" and very funny! His comaraderie with Justin Jones (opening act, also very good) was awesome. Justin joined Damon on stage for percussion and that was a nice change of pace. The crowd attending knew Damon and his music and he definitely felt that affection towards him. He gave a lot of himself and in the end did not want to leave. It was a fantastic show that I am still thinking about days later. The song set was extensive. And it appears he's mixing it up each show. Love that! Real fans will really appreciate this tour. It's different from his last outing. And I can't wait for his next!

If you are going to tour as a band you best bring one along. Blown away with the musicianship of all his players on his past tours we were shocked to have accept a guy, a mic and an acoustic guitar. The set selections were morose for the most part and the concert ended with a dispute with the sound man and the stage vacated. Can I and my 3 pals, who I convinced to come to a relative unknown, have our money back?

Justin Jones should be the opening act,too bad he only sung 5 songs,I wish he would publish "Losing Game", he has so much charisma on stage it made me feel bad for BDB,which was so boring I had to leave after 5 songs

This show was awful. Badly Drawn Boy is one of my very favorite artists, but the show was terrible. First of all, he couldn't afford to bring his band. This could have been an opportunity for a unique acoustic type performance. Instead, it seemed like he was trying to figure out what to do for each song. It seemed as if he hadn't really planned for the show and was unprepared. He told us that he didn't want to be there because he was missing his daughter's birthday. He was also losing his voice. Between each song was a very awkward pause in which he muttered about what to do next and he often started and stopped songs several times before getting it right. All in all, it was a disappointing experience.

First time at the Birchmere, and I loved the venue. You're smart If you arrive early and get to select great seats. My friend and I were able to sit side-by-side on the long cushioned bench facing the stage. Mostly listen to mainstream music over the past few years. I had not heard of either performer until I purchased the tickets (I originally thought Justin was the top billing). Justin was very talented and funny, but we weren't prepared for the Badly Drawn Boy performance. He was just mesmerizing. Lots of people in the crowd seemed very familiar with his music. His very dry humor kept the crowd engaged throughout. If you've the opportunity to see this guy in person, don't miss it. And look for your favorite genre at the Birchmere; you won't be disappointed.

Excellent show. Intimate setting. Amazing atmosphere. Got to request songs.

Although he seemed really tired and was disorganized (which he explained later was due to the fact that much of his music and playlists had been stolen), I really enjoyed the show and getting to know him better. He has an amazing voice and writes absolutely beautiful songs. I hope he keeps coming back.

BDR was the worst concert I have ever been to. This review has nothing to do with the quality of his music. His attitude was, as he said at least 20+ times throughout the show in reference to the sound quality, "complete rubbish", "complete sh*t." BDR complained for at least 40 minutes of the hour that I was able to tolerate his disgusting behavior. He whined about the soundcheck, about the fact that he couldn't get his band mates to the US, about missing his daughter's birthday... Sure, we all have problems, but, man, you are starting a tour in the US and are playing at the Paradise! Is your life really SOO bad that at your tour's kick-off show you find it necessary to act like a spoiled four-year old who didn't get a big enough piece of birthday cake? During the hour I was at the Paradise, I endured four particularly excruciating moments before deciding that I couldn't take it anymore: 1. BDR screaming at the sound-check guy for the first 10 minutes of the show about the sound quality and how he as a "professional musician" can't play in such horrendous conditions; BDR yelling at his trashed drummer, who then proceeded to stumble off stage in the middle of a song; 3. BDR verbally assaulting his bassist, who then decided to stop playing his instrument in the middle of a song in favor of grabbing a seat in the corner of the stage and nursing a beer ; and, finally, BDR being so pathetically self-indulgent that he was unable to get himself together enough to whistle his own song, and therefore had to have his audience do it for him. And, with that, I was gone. What a loser.

Although there were a few bugs (sound, band), particularly early on, it was an interesting part of the process. We felt like we were seeing "behind the scenes" moments. The music, once things were properly tuned (BDB is a perfectionist), was phenomenal, and the play list was all that a fan could want. He took requests from the audience often, there was good energy between him and the fans, and it was a generous performance. Lots of funny moments - enough banter, but not too much - and superb guitar work.

I will say first that it was great to see Badly Drawn Boy play in person. By himself, on acoustic guitar, he performed various of his songs without losing their spirit and pulled off what on the albums are tunes performed with versatile instrumentation. That said, the night was fraught with frustration. Cue problems, sound problems and issues with the band who Damon said had been pulled together on the fly as a result of not being able to get his regular band U.S. visas. All of these things detracted from the performance, but the biggest let down was not the quality but how this professional frontman dealt with it. Rather than continuing through his set in spite of the issues he continually interrupted his songs to address the quality or problems thereby underscoring them and bringing them thoroughly to the audiences attention. He confronted the sound crew as well as the band with the issues, making things awkward for the audience and did so with an attitude that left little doubt that he was having no fun sharing his music. Overall, I enjoy BDB's music and will continue to do so, but I was severely let down seeing him live for the first time.

Badly Drawn Boy has been one of my favorite artists for years. I haven't had many chances to see him play and this was the first of his shows that I got to see. Initially the sound quality at the Paradise Rock Club was way off. The vocals levels were way off and Damon's monitor had no sound. The sound was adjusted well enough for him to play but the quality was still bad. There was a constant buzz and the volume would randomly raise and lower. This obviously put him in a difficult situation to perform. Badly Drawn Boy's performance was great but he definitely wasn't happy with this problem. I would love to see him again soon without having to wait years to have the chance again. I think he should add on another Boston or a RI show to the end of his tour so his fans can have the chance to see him perform without the poor quality sound system.

I love Badly Drawn Boy. I was SO excited that I got tickets to the first show of their US tour. And I was even more disappointed when I went to the show and had to put up with Damon Gough's whining and crying about the sound board being off. He must have said "It sounds like sh*t, man" at least 100 times. Now, I could blame the sound guy from Paradise for not getting the levels right. But Damon kept starting and stopping songs over and over again. And when they did get the sound "right" it sounded exactly the same as it did when he began - great. A real performer can give their audience a good show despite technical difficulties, especially when the "difficulties" are so minute that only he could hear the difference. It's all about their attitude. And Damon's attitude in this case was AWFUL which made the entire show AWFUL. The few songs that he actually did get through were amazing, which only made me angry, because it could have been a wonderful show. And my last complaint - Dear Mr. Gough, don't you EVER shoosh your audience ever again. If you want them to shut up, you should, you know, PLAY MUSIC.