Check out the gallery from the Brisbane gig

M. Craft and friends were a very soft introduction to the night. The Australian Craft (former member of Sidewinder) now works in London and is a guitarist in Jarvis Cocker’s band. It was subtle and dreamy with boy-girl harmonies scattered throughout. One song about being booty called sounded so innocent and sweet it may be the most delicate song on that matter. You Are The Music was a more upbeat highlight. Whilst it turned a little adult contemporary when a saxophone was added to the mix, the performance by Craft was understatedly divine.

Jarvis Cocker, international man of oddity, was out to showcase his many and varied talents. His attire was trademark Cocker, including his thick black spectacles and a lovely cream blazer with extra wide shoulder pads. His look was boring teacher gone wild… almost like discovering that eccentric teacher really does have an amazing alternative reality to sitting at home marking essays.

Cocker knows how to win over a crowd. Bribery by chocolate was one of his most successful methods. Another was promising to guess every crowd members’ name before launching into Angela. Shaking hands with multiple people, and offering his half drunk bottles of water, beer and whisky were more tools in his kit of endearment. Offering general knowledge such as the importance of the day at hand… including that it was Kim Basinger’s birthday; that in 1854, Pope Pious announced the Immaculate Conception; and that it would have been David Carradine and Jim Morrison’s birthday. All were segue ways into corresponding songs but it made the crowd feel he’d put some effort into making our show a unique experience.

And how did the crowd return the favour? By allowing themselves to be penetrated during the song about the “immaculate fuckfest”, The Fucking Song. By singing along when asked (and spontaneously). By shouting out well reciprocated mockery. By starting an unexpected mosh pit during Black Magic. By waiting patiently after the encore during the monotonous droning that lasted at least 5 minutes just to see if Cocker was coming back again, then welcoming him appreciatively for his rendition of Running the World.

Cocker is a charming man. Charming because of his no-holds barred and occasionally tongue-in-cheek approach to entertainment and song-writing. Sure, he’s not the greatest vocalist to have walked the earth but that’s just not the point. He says and sings what he thinks with no apologies. The anthem of dodgy men everywhere, I Never Said I Was Deep, may have the most obvious example of this being “I’m not looking for a relationship, just a willing receptacle”. He’s not looking to be cool or win points with the ladies. And thank goodness for that because if he were we might miss out on some of his extraordinary dance moves. Cocker’s dancing was just delightful, and enough reason in itself to come and see him live. Like a lanky dufus with overextended limbs pulling out Madonna-esque poses and other wonderfully expressive body motions including convulsions and possessed hand moves, he truly let loose.

Cocker was definitely the star of the show but his band is worth a mention. They gave Cocker the strong support he needed with faultless instrumentals and cohesiveness throughout the concert. From slow ballads to dramatic darkness to space noises and disco they catered perfectly to the moods that Cocker wished to evoke for each particular song. There were no Pulp songs to be heard but Cocker and band did not disappoint.

Check out the gallery from the Brisbane gig