Baxter Dury returned to Dublin on November 12 with the kind of louche charisma and deadpan swagger that only he can pull off. The room was already buzzing before he even appeared, helped along by a support act Joshua Idehen, who set the tone with spoken-word and a warm, bass-heavy soundscape that suited the venue perfectly.
When Dury finally walked onstage – hands in pockets and shoulders loose, the crowd erupted. There’s a unique electricity to a Baxter Dury show. It’s an odd blend of ironic detachment and genuine emotional punch, all wrapped up in jamiroquai-like synth-grooves and monotone monologues.
Dury’s stage presence remains the show’s beating heart. He prowls rather than performs and is counterbalanced beautifully by his band, especially with the harmonising female vocals that lift and soften the gravelly mutterings. The lighting was moody and cinematic, giving Vicar Street the vibe of a smoke-filled cabaret club.
Dury’s crowds give it all and he feeds off of it. He loosened up even more as the night went on, cracking wry smiles between songs and leaning into the theatre of it all. It was intimate, funny, brooding, and unmistakably him. A brilliant night from one of Britain’s most distinctive musical storytellers.
Joshua Idehen photos:
Baxter Dury photos & set-list:
Set-list:
Alpha Dog
Hapsburg
The Night Chancers
Pleasure
Return of the Sharp Heads
Schadenfreude
Palm Trees
Kubla Khan
Happy Soup
Cocaine Man
Allbarone
Celebrate Me
Aylesbury Boy
Almond Milk
Oi
I’m Not Your Dog
Mockingjay
Miami
Photos & Words by Myles Dunne – @MylesDunnePhoto