[SXSW] Billy Bragg @ Mess With Texas 3.19.10
March 25th, 2010 by Matt
Billy Bragg wins the award for best stage banter I heard at SXSW. He told a story about being in Texas, opening shows for Echo and the Bunnymen, when the group ordered some tea at a restaurant. Seeing that it arrived iced, he asked “Was there ever a bigger insult to our british sensibilities? The next time I have American friends over to my house, I’m going to serve them boiling hot Coca-Cola.”
Fortunately his music was as good as his wit. We got to hear classics like “There Is Power in a Union” and the set-closing “A New England.” The last one is one one that I’m glad to get to check off my “must see” list before I die or Billy Bragg stops touring.
Tags: concert reviews
Ellen // Mar 25, 2010 at 11:32 am
Great story! Wow, I saw Billy Bragg open for Echo & the Bunnymen in West Hartford, CT in 1984 or ’85 – now I feel old..
Rich Martin // Mar 25, 2010 at 1:41 pm
I was at the Billy Bragg set too. Just great stuff thought the sing along with “A New England” was decidedly lackluster from my spot in the crowd. What struck me was that in the whole of SXSW, it was an English bloke who actually bothered to speak up about the impending health care reform vote in Congress and make a case for it. Not at all unexpected from the guy who wrote “There is Power in a Union” but it did point to how decidedly apolitical our music scene can be.