setlist:
bobby seale
song for the morning to sing
march
stronger
lazarus
red shoes
realise
i pledge resistance to the flag
down between
new brighton promenade (acoustic)
wake up boo! (acoustic)
the old newstand at hamilton square (acoustic)
lazarus (acoustic)

review:
this was a gig like no other. part wicker man, part american werewolf, the bravecaptain found himself in buntingford and escape would be at a price - a laptop/acoustic gig that would determine whether he could actually leave.

following a support act that is the closest thing you are ever going to get to a laptop dancer that is legal viewing for pre-pubescents, martin strode manfully onto the stage like an glorious gladiator, only for his lappy to fail! this however allowed him to involve himself in some playful banter with the crowd and explain exactly why the hell he was there in the first place.

this was after all a gig for amnesty, and he made his feelings clear about why he supported the group, demanding equality of freedom, education, and chances for all and dissing us foreign policy in the same breath.

then the music began. a low cavernous rumble was accompanied by the beautiful boom of bobby searle's black and proud voice exhorting us to join him in a revolution before segueing into 'song for the morning to sing', 'march' and 'stronger', by which time the audience seemed to get what was going and began to participate more in the proceedings.

the bea(u)tific dub of 'lazarus' shifted it up another gear, before 'red shoes' and 'realise' kicked in as the intro to possible new single, 'i pledge resistance to the flag'. finally, a dirty 'down between' punched its weight through the hall to signal the end of the laptop set, which was met with huge applause and a-whooping and a-howling and a-hollering of delight.

but martin was not finished. picking up his acoustic, he strummed a set of classic boos tracks that had the audience rapt. 'new brighton promenade' was lush and gorgeous (though the introduction contained a jibe about everton fans that frankly, was unnecessary), whilst a reworked 'wake up boo!' pleased
absolutely everyone. meanwhile 'the old newsstand in hamilton square' was given a new lease of life with martin's emotive acoustic rendering of the song.

we had the dub, now the song, as 'lazarus' ensured a fantastic ovation for a combined performance of electronic excellence and 'gee-tarreed' gorgeousness. the thank yous were heartfelt, and martin seemed to enjoy himself at what was prior to the event quite a daunting prospect. this was a reamrkable
gesture from martin, and was tremendously appreciated by both amnesty and the college.

review by alan bread

if you have any reviews, photos or setlists from previous bravecaptain live shows, please email them to sparky@bravecaptain.co.uk.

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