IF PETE DOHERTY's life wasn't like a whirlpool of water emptying down the
plughole, it might look something like this.
Last night in Brixton he came onstage a mere 30 minutes late, appeared
fresh-faced and clean-shaven, spoke and sang coherently and didn't seem
affected by anything other than a touch of nerves now and then.
It was, for him, a solid performance at odds with his wild reputation.
But if you strip away the madness what are you actually left with? KATE MOSS' former squeeze has a handful of good tunes from his solo
work and BABYSHAMBLES' albums - mostly tales of the dark side of
normal British life.
But standing onstage alone, Pete looks more and more like a busker you'd see
on the London Underground. And not toss a 20p to.
Playing to a crowd of just 100 fervent fans for this secret show at Mass, a
former church in Brixton, Pete was in charming mode, thanking everyone for
coming.
A highpoint of the evening was when DOT ALLISON joined Pete for the
sugary duet Sheepskin Tearaway. Afterwards, Pete joked: "We haven't
done it for two years. I don't know why I was bothered about not knowing it
'cos she didn't know the words!"
But the fact he's not really managed to better the songs from THE LIBERTINES'
days is a worry.
For Lovers sounded reasonable, but his versions of oldies The Delaney, Don't
Look Back Into The Sun and Can't Stand Me Now sounded stronger than anything
he's done since.
Pete returns to Mass to play another solo gig tonight at 9pm - going head to
head with CARL BARAT - who'll be leading DIRTY PRETTY THINGS
at the Astoria at exactly the same time.
