Josh Tillman latterly the drummer of the Fleet Foxes or the ooeeaaah band as I called them has ventured on his own under the Father John Misty moniker with two fine albums after what could politely be described as a number of dirgey ones under his own name.
This new character and that’s what it is, is a compete contrast to the introverted hairy drummer hiding at the back of the stage behind his kit. He has metamorphosed into an extravagant front man who dances maniacally all over the stage and into the crowd in something of a cross between Basil Fawlty, Jarvis Cocker and a giraffe.
His humour shines through the whole set not just in his clever lyrical word play but the between song banter too. This can often be awkward with other performers but he handles hecklers and particularly a crowd surfer with equal disdain. With the latter commenting that when he wrote Chateau Lobby in C for two virgins he hadn’t envisaged a tall man with a beard in a leather jacket on someone’s shoulders coming toward him.
He makes ironic comments around this greatest hits set but with one night already sold out in Shepherds Bush later this year a second one added his new found appeal cannot be questioned.
It’s a good mix of songs from both albums and his voice shines through even on the electric numbers. My personal favourites the Richard Thompsonesque ‘I’m writing a Novel’ and the thrashy ‘Hollywood Forever Cemetery Sings’ stand out but special mentions for ‘Only Son of the Ladiesman’ and ‘Strange Encounter’ from the new album. It’s a tight six piece band with the excellent David Vandervelde (check out his album ‘Waiting for the Sunrise’) on guitar.
A great night for an artist whose star is starting to shine in his own right.