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Billy Brag at Fine Line
Setlist
Tour Dates
4/25 – 4/27 – Lincoln Hall, Chicago, IL
9/19 – 9/21 – The Birchmere – Alexandria, VA 9/26 – 9/28 – The Bowery Ballroom – New York, NY 10/3 – 10/5 –The Sinclair – Boston, MA Read More
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English protest singer Billy Bragg is in a middle of a very interesting “One Step Forward, Two Steps Back” tour… stopping by the Fine Line Music Café from April 18 to April 20. We caught Billy Bragg on his final night, at the very sold-out, very packed venue in downtown Minneapolis.
The idea behind this tour, is that Bragg would play a three-night residency show. The first night consisting of a “Current” song set (although I did peak at previous setlist, he does actually play what I considered some “old stuff” and some covers), and the second night would be songs from his first three albums (Life's a Riot with Spy Vs Spy, Brewing Up with Billy Bragg, and Talking with the Taxman about Poetry), and on the last night, he would play albums four to six (Workers Playtime , The Internationale, and Don't Try This at Home).
Although it was advertised as “songs from the second three albums”, the show, in fact, included many songs from the seventh album, William Bloke. I don’t think anyone minded, as it does mean that there seems to be less songs from the mostly political album The Internationale (also the lowest UK charting album among Bragg’s first seven albums).
If you’ve ever seen Billy Bragg in concert, you know that he has stories on every song he’s ever written. The show was about 40% music and 60% Bragg’s wisdom and stories. Many fans bought all three tickets, and, of course, Bragg recognized them from the previous two nights and would sometime joke about it, saying they really mistaken this show another Billy - Billie Ellish. Although to be honest, the much older audience had never ever heard of the neo-goth, chart-topping 17-year-old pop star.
Bragg mentioned on stage that the first two nights, he was serious and played things by the book. However, it would seem that on his final night, that he’s very loose and just riffing on various subjects. As expected, he had a lot to say about Donald Trump, but really refused to mention his name - only referring Trump as “HIM”. He thinks that there are more important (“bigger fish to fry”) than just concentrate on his idiocy.
Speaking of fish, outside of politics, Bragg is really actively into saving our Earth. At least, trying to do his small part by not using plastic bags or bottles. It occurred to him that perhaps it’s Earth Day, thinking 4/20 was the date. Some “smart Alec” said it was pot day, and someone else pointed out that it’s actually going to be on Monday (4/22). Still, that didn’t stop Bragg from doing an impromptu “Happy Earth Day To You”, sung to the composition of “Happy Birthday Day To You”.
Despite being just a guy and his guitar, Bragg definitely had his fans in the palm of his hands. There’s something to be said about the power of music bringing people together. He described it as “communion”, and you can’t replicate this feeling from sitting on your computer.
If you’re a Billy Bragg fan, you definitely will want to see him on this “One Step Forward, Two Steps Back”. It has a little something for everyone, whether you’re a modern Bragg fan, or were really into those very early Bragg songs. For diehard fans, you might want to get tickets for all three nights, as each night is a very different setlist and stories.
The idea behind this tour, is that Bragg would play a three-night residency show. The first night consisting of a “Current” song set (although I did peak at previous setlist, he does actually play what I considered some “old stuff” and some covers), and the second night would be songs from his first three albums (Life's a Riot with Spy Vs Spy, Brewing Up with Billy Bragg, and Talking with the Taxman about Poetry), and on the last night, he would play albums four to six (Workers Playtime , The Internationale, and Don't Try This at Home).
Although it was advertised as “songs from the second three albums”, the show, in fact, included many songs from the seventh album, William Bloke. I don’t think anyone minded, as it does mean that there seems to be less songs from the mostly political album The Internationale (also the lowest UK charting album among Bragg’s first seven albums).
If you’ve ever seen Billy Bragg in concert, you know that he has stories on every song he’s ever written. The show was about 40% music and 60% Bragg’s wisdom and stories. Many fans bought all three tickets, and, of course, Bragg recognized them from the previous two nights and would sometime joke about it, saying they really mistaken this show another Billy - Billie Ellish. Although to be honest, the much older audience had never ever heard of the neo-goth, chart-topping 17-year-old pop star.
Bragg mentioned on stage that the first two nights, he was serious and played things by the book. However, it would seem that on his final night, that he’s very loose and just riffing on various subjects. As expected, he had a lot to say about Donald Trump, but really refused to mention his name - only referring Trump as “HIM”. He thinks that there are more important (“bigger fish to fry”) than just concentrate on his idiocy.
Speaking of fish, outside of politics, Bragg is really actively into saving our Earth. At least, trying to do his small part by not using plastic bags or bottles. It occurred to him that perhaps it’s Earth Day, thinking 4/20 was the date. Some “smart Alec” said it was pot day, and someone else pointed out that it’s actually going to be on Monday (4/22). Still, that didn’t stop Bragg from doing an impromptu “Happy Earth Day To You”, sung to the composition of “Happy Birthday Day To You”.
Despite being just a guy and his guitar, Bragg definitely had his fans in the palm of his hands. There’s something to be said about the power of music bringing people together. He described it as “communion”, and you can’t replicate this feeling from sitting on your computer.
If you’re a Billy Bragg fan, you definitely will want to see him on this “One Step Forward, Two Steps Back”. It has a little something for everyone, whether you’re a modern Bragg fan, or were really into those very early Bragg songs. For diehard fans, you might want to get tickets for all three nights, as each night is a very different setlist and stories.
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Billy Bragg at Fine Line Music Cafe, Minneapolis (20 Apr 2019) |
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