WAMC Performing Arts Studio
News and Reviews
| Tilbrook squeezes in the hits, playing solo By GREG HAYMES, Times Union Staff Writer (First published in the Times Union of Albany, NY: Tuesday, April 4, 2006) Often, comparisons by the press place undue pressures on up-and-coming musicians. Check in with the current Next Big Thing -- the Arctic Monkeys -- in five years, and see how they're doing. And although it was applied to everyone from Bruce Springsteen to Steve Forbert, every singer-songwriter dreaded having the albatross of "the new Dylan" hung around his neck. Advertisement And certainly it's no easy feat to live up to the reputation as half of the songwriting team that was widely hailed as "the next Lennon and McCartney." Just ask Glenn Tilbrook, who dropped into the WAMC Performing Arts Studio on Sunday evening. Tilbrook and Difford were the songwriting team at the helm of the British new-wave popsters Squeeze, who recorded a dozen albums between 1978-98. Of course, they never achieved the success of the Beatles (who did?), but their impressive catalog of songs held up very well indeed in the capable hands of Tilbrook on Sunday, who delivered two hugely entertaining hourlong sets. Playing solo and accompanying himself on an acoustic 12-string guitar, Tilbrook offered proof positive that if a song is really good, it can be played in a variety of different formats. Sparkling Squeeze gems like the chugging "Another Nail in My Heart," the soulful "Tempted" and the wistful final encore of "Is That Love?" sounded so good that the nearly sold-out crowd didn't miss the support of a backing band. And when Tilbrook needed some musical help, it seemed to magically appear. Opening act Mike Gent (of the Figgs) jumped up to sing and play on a spirited rendition of "Goodbye Girl" to kick off the second set, and the whole crowd was eager to chime in on "Black Coffee in Bed." Naturally, the hits were the biggest crowd-pleasers, especially "Take Me, I'm Yours," a blusey reinvention of "Slap and Tickle" and the encore "Pulling Mussels (From the Shell)." But it was the exquisite first-set closer "Up the Junction" that was the highlight of the night. A taut narrative about working class love gone wrong, the song's dark lyrics sit uneasily atop a bouncy, hooked-filled melody -- one of Squeeze's trademark songwriting ploys. But "Up the Junction" breaks all the rules -- the song doesn't even have a chorus. Tilbrook also served up a sizable handful of tunes from his recent solo albums, and tossed in a few choice cover songs, too, from Elvis Costello, Jimi Hendrix and Stealer's Wheel. It was obvious that he was having a grand time onstage, and so was the crowd. As one woman observed, "Now there's a guy who really loves his job." Mike Gent opened the show with a short solo set on electric guitar, featuring "Mr. Rose" (a nifty tune that poked fun at Guns N' Roses' Axl Rose), TV theme songs, Figgs songs ("Look at Her, She's Walking Away") and covers from Buffalo Springfield, the Lovin' Spoonful and Utopia (accompanied on the latter by the Rudds' John Powhida). Gruff-voiced Long Island singer-songwriter Jim Bianco also played a short solo set highlighted by the contemporary backwoods go this blues, "Tennessee Wedding."
Greg Haymes can be reached by e-mail at ghaymes@timesunion.com.
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