Whisperin and Hollerin was invited along to this One Little Indian showcase performance by the fast rising singer/songwriter BC Camplight, who has been likened to Badly Drawn Boy because of his emblematic bowler hat, I think. I thought he looked more like Alexei Sayle though. Ah well, it matters not, his image is academic anyway (and he is light years ahead of Badly Drawn Boy).
What was important was the heartfelt performance that BC Camplight (aka Brian Christinzio) gave during this intimate and friendly event. Armed only with a piano, a drum machine, and a bottle of Jameson's Whiskey, he opened up with a spot-on cover of the superb Kirsty McColl's "They Don't Know", which won me over immediately. Well, it shows good taste!
There was Honky-Tonk, there was boogie-woogie, there were colours of Gershwin and Scott Joplin splashed throughout his music. His on-stage (and off-stage) persona was polite and engaging, but not sickly-sweet - you wouldn't want to cross him though, apparently he's an amateur boxer. He cracked a few funny jokes in-between pouring shots of whiskey. His musical style (vocals and piano) were really clever, and he made his complicated arrangements appear easy (as opposed to say, someone like Tori Amos, who makes relatively easy piano arrangements sound ridiculously hard).
Lyrically, he was a tad like Elliot Smith (but not as dark...), but mainly there seemed to be numerous stylistic musical references to Ben Folds, and therefore Elton John's early music, and also Brian Wilson - i.e., clever, cheery pop.
The piano is under-represented in pop as the main instrument. Proof? How on Earth else did bands such as Keane and Coldplay get so big? Because at the time their focus on the piano was a novelty, and perhaps it gave them the edge (frankly, I can't think of any other reasons for their level of success, but that's a different review). Anyway, back to my original point. Excluding jazz and R&B, there are few contemporary pop artists who define themselves largely through their use of the piano, so its hard to avoid comparisons - and I'd say that BC Camplight is definitely in the same camp as Ben Folds and Elton John.
Listening to BC Camplight's rag-time-esque piano, and watching him sat there in his bowler hat, pouring another whiskey (I'd have been on my back at this point), you could almost be on the set of a Bugsy Malone film. Or he could be the pianist banging away in the Wild West Chicken Saloon Bar. There was a great sense of the cabaret associated with his performance, and his story-telling ability is great - clearly firing up the imagination.
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However, I must say that the heartfelt-ness became a bit too much at one point. There is something a bit cringy about a heavy set whiskey-glugging boxer of a man delicately coming out with lines such as "Show me where it hurts...". Unless said bloke is a chiropractor, it reeks of "Come to me I have healing hands" bleughhh.
And I don't have much time for total self-degradation either. So when BC Camplight announced that "This next song is about how much of a fuck-up I am", I couldn't decide on whether to vomit, or belt him with the happy stick, hard.
Sorry, what? You're a successful, talented musician, who is getting rave reviews all over the shop, including a live performance on BBC Radio 2, and a glowing review in Time Magazine, you're signed to One Little Indian, and you're about to release an album both in the UK and US. Yeah mate, you're life IS awful, I can totally see where you're coming from.
However, he then started playing his new (superb) single "Couldn't You Tell? ", and I was won over again - I picked my rattle from out my pram and got on with it.
This man is a bit of a one-man-opera (although he does normally perform with a full band). I was left thinking this isn't a gig, its a bloody musical. And right on cue he announced that "...this next song is about an affair with a circus girl." Yep, that makes sense.
All in all this performance was lovely, really enjoyable. And afterwards he let me try his bowler hat on. Result.
(BC Camplight's album, "Hide, Run Away" is available on One Little Indian Records. )
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