Dean Wareham
The Exchange, Bristol | 20 May
24 years is along time. But that’s how long it’s been since Dean Wareham graced a stage in Bristol, back when Galaxie 500 supported The Sundays at the Bierkeller way back when. It appears he’s been missed; Dean’s voice cracks as he engages with the front row, most of whom remember those halcyon days of US indie. The delicate nature of Wareham’s is writ large across his face.
Tonight’s show is in support of Wareham’s eponymous-titled solo album, his first full album on his own. It’s a collection of songs yearning in their honesty, deeply evocative, the bittersweet nature of existence he deconstructs with such modest eloquence could break even the toughest of hearts. His creations have a directness that few manage to achieve without appearing inept, an impeccably-constructed simplicity. Wareham and his band (including wife and musical partner, Britta Phillips) run through a set spanning his whole career including, of course, Galaxie 500 favourites like Temperature Rising, Blue Thunder and Tugboat, all of which get the loudest appreciation from the small but attentively adoring crowd.
New numbers like Holding Pattern and Happy & Free show that succinctness and the self-awareness are still the order of the day, laying bare his inner voice, with his ever-present sardonic humour lightening the dour tones. The encore the crowd feverishly demand is his renowned version of New Order’s Ceremony. It’s simply majestic.
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Words: Phillip James Allen
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