Graham Coxon

At the tail end of his UK tour promoting the new album 'A+E', Graham Coxon and crew played to a sell out Exeter Phoenix on Sunday night. The crowd were packed like lemmings at a cave dive festival, the atmosphere hot, steamy and pensive. Coxon delivered a mix of punk, rock, electronica, mental trip dance music for an hour and a half. Instant energy in a simple riff, bang and away we go! The slow driving beats, provided by the drummer who looked like he'd come out of the Hair Bear Bunch, anchored the gutteral rock building guitar of Coxon.



Layered on top of this, the two girls hiding at the back created an experimental soundscape with weird vocal effects, twisted guitar noise and keyboards, adding an extra dimension to this musical experience. An interesting mix of tempos driving you forward then pulling you back, but held in perfect balance showed the true mastery of this musical genius. The auditorium was filled with some serious dance energy, but the crowd were unmoving. Was this due to being packed chest to back? Or a Sunday night come down? No, it was simply the stunned absorption of a crowd that was engaged in mental dancing!

After a brief break the band were back, but the crowd still hadn't moved. It wasn't until the question was asked, "What's it take to make you people dance?", that the crowd began to move. No Graham there's nothing wrong with you. The whole evening was a perfect mix of grounded head trip dance soundscapes, but alas it wasn't until the tried and tested came out of the bag that a mini mosh pit began to blossom. Personally I can't wait to see them at a larger venue or festival where the Dance Machine can be let lose to fully explore Coxon's musical landscapes.



Notable British artists such as Johnny Greenwood and Noel Gallagher praised Coxon who was heralded as the most gifted guitarist of his generation. This musical reverie demonstrates ability beyond just the gifted guitarist. Those who were around during the peak of Blur and enjoyed the musical talent will be reminded of the song style and direct lyrical approach, though Coxon has managed to blend and revamp some of this style with a loud strong rock base interjected with high energy techno sound samples, bringing the music to Generatation Y, and culminating in a great listening and dancing experience.

In today's music scene where drum and bass seems to dominate, it's refreshing to hear a variance providing the same energy impact but with a new an innovative twist. The mix of primal earthy drum beats, punk rock guitar and bass energy overlaid with electronica soundscapes brings dance music to a new level. If you get a chance to sample Coxon's new material live it comes highly recommended.

FUTURE GIGS

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