Shot! Squeeze at The Dome, Brighton

‘Nostalgia ain’t what it used to be’ goes the expression and tonight at the Dome Squeeze proved it was a trueism. I’ve seen them before here, twice in fact, and both times it was a trip down memory lane with Glenn Tilbrook and Chris Difford rolling out the hits that made Squeeze one of the seminal bands of the late 70’s/early 80s.

This time around things were a little different, in fact they were a lot different. As Chris Difford said “It’s been a long time since I could say we’ve got a new album out.” Now I have to confess coming to the gig not having heard said new LP From the Cradle to the Grave their first since 1998. Neither had I seen the TV show that it’s a soundtrack to. The lure for me, and I’m sure most of the audience, was to hear those Squeeze classics played live one more time.

The Dome looked to be pretty full which was testimony to the draw of the Squeeze name, as was the fact they could demand fifty quid for the privilege of seeing them (over twice the amount James Bay was charging the following week!)

That’s an awful lot of dosh to part with and I’m not so sure they were worth it. On a positive note, Glenn Tilbrook, despite his 58-years, still has the voice that elevated Squeeze’s songs. It’s still as breezily distinctive now as it was back in the day. The sound — as we’ve come to expect at the Dome — was equally good. And, I have to say, the band’s lighting was also better than average. And yet, this was a gig that was memorable for the wrong reasons.

The new songs, which seemed to outnumber the old ones, were on first hearing, average at best, ropey at worst. All belied the undoubted songwriting talents that combined Tilbrook’s catchy melodies with Difford’s memorable lyrics. Whilst the new tunes sounded Squeeze-like, it was mostly because of the vocals. What they lacked was the jauntiness, lyrical wit and killer hooks contained in so much of their back catalogue. And, it wasn’t just the new songs that disappointed.

Musically, it felt like the pair were, after all these years, seeking a new direction, but weren’t quite confident enough to embrace it fully. Much of their repertoire tonight was heavily tinged in country, with more than a dash of Louisiana blues. We had accordions, mandolins, double bass and, I think, even the twang of a pedal steel guitar. Indeed, many songs, including some of the classics, were given the East London hoedown treatment.

It seemed to surprise the audience into inaction, and they remained quietly in their seats for the first 40 minutes. As a result, there wasn’t much atmosphere — certainly not what you’d expect from a Squeeze gig. When Chris said “We’re just stumbling through” one couldn’t help feel they’d have been better showcasing just a few songs off the new album and then playing the hits as they were expected to be played. Instead, we got most of them countryfied and polite applause only turned into something more vociferous when they played Labelled With Love and Slap And Tickle and even then it was an unplugged version featuring bongos rather than drums.

The first sing-along of the evening followed one of Squeeze’s finest moments Black Coffee In Bed with the poppy Goodbye Girl. But straight after that we had two covers: Harper Valley PTA and Tom Waits I Don’t Wanna Grow Up. Bearing in mind Difford and Tilbrook formed the band over 40 years ago and they now have 15 albums worth of material to draw from, it seemed strange to pad out the set with other people’s songs.

In the end, the hits did come, but for me, this wasn’t Squeeze doing what they do best. Of course, just because we pay to see a band, it doesn’t mean they’re contractually obliged to give us exactly what we want or expect. Perhaps I’m just being overly nostalgic, and you know what they say about nostalgia!

Follow Squeeze at @Squeezeofficial

“To me, shooting live music is all about capturing the personality of the performer and the emotion of their performance. And then creating an iconic image.”

Behind the image: All these images were shot handheld with the Olympus OM-D E-M1 and either the 12–40 2.8 Pro or the 75 1.8 lens using available light only. As this was a seated show, I was able to shoot the first three songs but only from the side aisles. Shot in Brighton on 28 September 2015.

This review originally appeared in BN1 magazine

Follow me on Twitter

See more of my images at 500px