It was back in 2003, March 19 to be exact in HMV on Oxford Street in the days when HMV sold CDs and even had an alt-country section. The launch of the MOJO Honours List was heralded with a live performance in-store by Evan Dando to coincide with stellar reviews of his just released ‘Baby, I’m Bored’ album (now re-issued on Fire as a lavish box set). In a strange parallel to today’s North Korean stand-off, Evan opened the set with a spirited version of Barry McGuire’s ‘Eve Of Destruction’ during which he tossed his head so violently that his sunglasses flew off. It was planned to be a short 20 minute set but as his booking agent admitted while collecting said glasses, “he’s fired up about this, he’ll play all night.” He did. The assembled masses got a full set and then some.
PRE-SHOW BLURB FROM EVAN’S ARCHIVE
March 2nd 2003: Good Reviews & In-Store Date
So far Evan’s new album has been reviewed in the UK in Mojo and Q magazine. Both reviews have been strong, 4 and 3 out of 5 respectively. Here’s a few quotes from Q: “Most of the time the results are touching and warmly melodic…’It Looks Like You’ and ‘Hard Drive’ are exactly the kind of delights optimistic Dando admirers would wish for…[the album] will be treasured by die-hards”. In other news, Evan is playing in-store at London’s HMV Oxford Street, at 6pm on March 19th, where he will also be signing copies of the album. Also this week’s song on the Setanta site is “Stop My Head”. (Oh yeah, it really is Elizabeth on the cover!)
POST-SHOW REPORTAGE FROM NME
Former LEMONHEADS frontman EVAN DANDO has jeopardised his rock rebirth after he launched a tirade against US president GEORGE W BUSH at an in store promotional gig in LONDON last night (March 19). Dando was performing an acoustic gig at HMV Oxford Circus to launch his new album ‘Baby I’m Bored’, when launched the attack. In his attack he personally named Bush stating that he hated him and that he “loved his country. That guy is trying to kill us.”
Country starlets The Dixie Chicks took a similar anti-war stance last week speaking out against George W Bush, and have since seen their career go into freefall. The trio, who are multi-million selling artists in the US, were banned from dozens of country music stations and saw copies of their records symbolically destroyed during public meetings throughout their heartland in the southern states.
Dando was clearly in a garrulous mood last night as he extended his planned six-song set to 26 tracks, entertaining the 1,000-strong crowd for over an hour-and-a-half.
His set kicked off with a cover of Barry McGuire’s 60s classic ‘Eve Of Destruction’. He also played covers of ‘Thrasher’ by Neil Young and Gram Parsons’ ‘A Song For You’ as well as songs off his new album and Lemonheads’ classics ‘Big Gay Heart’, ‘Into My Arms’ and ‘Bein’ Around’.
AND POST POST RATIONALISING IN THE SCOTSMAN
I saw him do an acoustic set at HMV Oxford Street last week. He began with a spitting rendition of Barry MacGuire’s Vietnam-era protest song, ‘Eve Of Destruction’. Thirty-two songs later he was exhorting Bush – and wife – and dog – to “f**k themselves”, oh, a dozen or so times. Not big, not clever, but vivid, angry and real. “I love my country,” he said, conscious of the cries of “traitor” that US audiences are hurling at any anti-war American artist, “but that guy is trying to kill us all.”
Evan post ‘Eve Of Destruction’
