Jeffrey Lewis/Moya Silk @ The Phoenix, Exeter – Tuesday September 5th

 

Regular readers of the Aid over the years (and apparently there are a few of you…bless) will know that my live gig going pretty much slowed to a dribble after we moved to Devon, mainly due to the frankly lousy public transport (and the fact that we got rid of our car back in 2007). Our last train back home leaves Exeter at 10.55pm, which doesn’t leave a lot of room for error, but the chance to catch up with the great Jeffrey Lewis again was too much to resist. Would we catch the train…or am I writing this from under a bush somewhere…oh the suspense.

Anyway, for those of you unfamiliar with The Phoenix it’s a decent venue (more of an arts centre really) with an above average bar - I can highly recommend the Mena Dhu Cornish Stout - just a short stagger away from Exeter Central Station. Tonight’s gig was seated, which was a little unusual, but given that I’m 103 I ain’t complaining. Opening act Moya Silk (sometimes a band but tonight flying solo…her name’s not Moya Silk either but I forgot her real name…as I say I’m 103) warmed things up nicely with some spiky grunge/Riot Grrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrl tinged tracks including recent release Grotbag Girl, which wouldn’t be out of place on a Kim Gordon album in my humble opinion. Moya Silk, the band, play Exeter Cavern on October 31^st.

I’ve lost count of the number of times I’ve seen Jeffrey Lewis over the years but it’s been a while since we last shared oxygen. Joined tonight by his band The Voltage I’m happy to report that he’s lost none of his unique charm, the only slight change being the use of a projector rather than a flip chart to illustrate some of his tracks, including brilliantly witty summaries of Star Wars Episode 4, The Great Gatsby and part 7 of his history of communism…you don’t get that from a Megan Theeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee Stallion gig do you eh? Lyrically Jeff pisses all over…well, pretty much everyone…and it’s a constant source of amazement to me that he’s not revered but there we go, give it another 30 years and maybe the rest of the world will catch up. Tonight I particularly enjoyed his Covid tracks (they’re just begging for an album release) and a speedy thrash through Except For The Fact That It Isn’t, which is rapidly becoming my theme tune. 

Sadly no outing for LPs, possibly the greatest song about collecting music ever written, but that’s just a good excuse for him to come back to Exeter again. How about next week Jeff? Actually screw that, I'd be up for another show tonight.  

PS: I had the great pleasure of briefly meeting Jeff after the gig before making a quick dash to the station, making the train with…ooooh…a good four minutes to spare. What a bloody lovely bloke. 

PPS; Bought one of his bootleg CDs and a signed UK tour poster to add to my stash of Jeff stuff, the lady in front of me dropped £100 on merch which tells you something about the kind of fandomania that Jeff brings out in people.