Friday 16/02/07 Malcolm Middleton @ Shepherds Bush Empire, London

“It’s Badly Drawn Boy! Yes! My daughter bought me his album for Mother’s day he’s great! And isn’t he funny in his little woolly hat? Oh yes I do like him.”

Friday night and the Empire is full of forty year olds, some of which are stood at the foot of the stage when ex Arab strap man Malcolm Middleton takes to it, armed only with a guitar and bemused looking drummer. He casually starts playing and the crowd barely raise an eyebrow, it’s Damon they want, not this jolly Scottish fellow.

Matters aren’t helped when, staring unemotionally into the audience Middleton announces, “This next song is called ’We’re All Going To Die’.” Which pricks a few ears. The sparse nature of the arrangement means that the electronic twists and turns which feature the album do not distract from the lyrical content. So the chorus of “We’re gonna die/ We’re gonna die/ We’re gonna die alone” brings a questionable silence over a crowd who plainly want to forget, just for one night, that they are inching ever closer to the grave. Just you try to convince a room of parents with twenty year old kids that your songs are hilarious and emotional, your music; textured and wonderful, and your riffs beautifully crafted, when all they want to do is brag to the young office temp on Monday?

Sadly the few semi-interested members of the audience switch off and as such the wholly more optimistic and catchy track ‘A Brighter Beat’ falls foul of its first line, “Now you’ve gone and left me/ And there’s nothin’ here.” The songs from this point on receive a rather more polite than enthusiastic applause. That said, Middleton looked like he really couldn’t give a toss and never seems to try and convince the crowd. The songs are relayed faithfully and he ambles through, finally exiting stage right with a minimum of fuss.

What seems so unfair is that what follows is so obscenely boring and yet receives rapturous adoration from the crowd. When Damon Gough hasn’t written a good song in years it seems criminal that an artist who has been constantly writing brutally honest and touching music for over ten should be treated in such a way.