Daniel Johnston Concorde 2, Brighton 1/11/09
5/5
By: Hayley Leaver
It must be a difficult job, standing alone on a stage in front of a good few hundred people, warming them up, so to speak, for the godlike being that is Daniel Johnston. That was Laura Marling’s job this evening – not a small one by anyone’s estimation - but for the elfin 19-year-old, it should have been a mountain.
However, there is not one twinge of nervousness from the singer’s set; confident and chatty, a matured and ever-more talented Laura warms the wind-beaten ears of the sold out crowd. Tracks from her debut album, Alas I Cannot Swim, sound all the more haunting and powerful years since she first started playing them, but it is the new songs that instil a feeling of impatient excitement. Just how long are you going to keep us waiting for that new album, Laura?
The short wait that ensues provided what must be some of the most fidgety moments ever experienced waiting for a band; as though at any minute, someone would walk out on stage and laugh at us for actually expecting Daniel Johnston to walk in front of our mere mortal eyes. Thankfully that doesn’t happen, and it’s a smiley Daniel who walks on stage, waving as cheerily as one would to your dearest friend.
Being stood within metres of someone like Daniel Johnston must feel the same as being stood in front of Angelina Jolie; you knew they existed, you just didn’t think they’d ever exist in the same room as you. If the man in question has any inkling of the reverence going on in Concorde2, however, he makes no mention of it. The frequent shouts of, “We love you Daniel!” receive a sheepish salute, as he pours his heart out over that same girl.
Opening his set by himself, his comfort visibly increases as he is joined by a guitarist for ‘Life In Vain’. Hands shaking, Daniel proves his enduring love for The Beatles with a sing-along, ‘You’ve Got to Hide Your Love Away’, beaming at the jubilant bunch before him. The seminal ‘Speeding Motorcycle’ is an obvious highlight, but it sits comfortably aside new album track, ‘High Horse’; the latter no less heart breaking than the decades-old album favourites.
Earlier support band, The Wave Pictures, fill up the stage for the latter half of Daniel’s set, but having a greater number of people alongside him does nothing to lessen the fragile compassion oozing from every word that comes out of his mouth. Even “I wish I had a girl, or even a whore”, sounds sweetly tender when sung by the man behind ‘Kurt Cobain’s t-shirt’. The level of respect held for Daniel is epitomised by the guy behind us snarling, “Shh, don’t speak out loud!” to whoever was unfortunate to mutter something next to him.
An encore of ‘True Love Will Find You In The End’ would have been pure perfection if it didn’t spell the end of the set. To be perfectly honest, with a back catalogue stretching back twenty-eight album-filled years, it was virtually impossible for him to satisfy everyone’s favourites, but my god he did a darn good job.
Artists in this article: Daniel Johnston
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