JAN WOOLF applauds the necessarily subversive character of the Palestinian poster in Britain
Roy Harper, Leeds Town Hall
Half a century on, the folk-rock veteran still knows how to connect with an audience
Voice of experience: Roy Harper
MARTIN GRAHAM welcomes a comprehensive history of the national debt, while regretting that it is neither up to date, nor has a class-based analysis
SYLVIA HIKINS is bowled over by a wonderful show that both entertains and educates
JOHN HAWKINS welcomes the straight-talking condemnation of genocide by a queer Jewish environmental journalist
TOMASZ PIERSCIONEK relishes a detailed history of the battles, manoeuvres and tactics that defeated fascism
MARIA DUARTE recommends an exposure of the state violence used against pro-Palestine protests in the US
CHRIS SEARLE urges you to hear the US saxophonist Joe McPhee on livestream tonight
THIS may be being promoted as Roy Harper’s farewell tour but it seems he’s already having second thoughts.
As the applause dies down at the end of the folk-rock musician’s set, he muses that he might continue playing live for as long as he can skip.
The Mancunian then gambols right off stage, his six-piece band looking expectantly at the wings for him to reappear. When they realise he's not coming back, they awkwardly shuffle after him.
By turns humorous, shambolic and endearingly human, those traits define a two-hour set during which he only manages to play a dozen tracks. These are preceded by long, rambling anecdotes or — in the case of Man In The Glass Cage — interruptions to the actual song so that he can explain the lyrics.
That the audience forgive such brain-fade moments is credit to the skills Harper’s learned over the course of his 50-year career. Time has left his voice slightly rusty, markedly so during the 16-verses of social comment on McGoohan’s Blues, but come the second half of the set he’s warmed up for the folk-rock Highway Blues and elegiac When an Old Cricketer Leaves the Crease.
His weathered voice is at its most affecting on the encore of I Loved My Life, a new song that could only have been written by someone his age, he notes, although its sentiments are universal.
Its reflective quality draws on his experiences to express gratitude for the small things in life; experiences that those present tonight are thankful to him for sharing.
Touring England and Ireland from August to October, details: royharper.co.uk
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