Jun 16 2009 9:00 am, Pic: Richard Shakespeare
James Rea
The Bulls Head, Moseley
James Rea’s dad’s eyes almost pop out of his head as his son tells a tale of when he snuck a lady of a certain age out of his bedroom window after picking her up at Reflex nightclub.
It’s this kind of honest humour that runs consistently throughout his lyrics and between song banter that really charms The Bulls Head into laughing along with him. There’s no distinct divide between performer and audience, he’s sharing his semi-surreal take on the planet much in the vain of on observational comedian.
Lyrics that can appear banal at first soon become apparent as cutting jibes mocking the hypocrisy and superficialities of much of life. ‘Bound To Hit The Big Time’ in particular raises applauding sniggers with lines such as; “My father isn’t famous, I’m not
If he had a penny for every time he was compared to The Simpsons' Sideshow Bob, he’d be a very rich man. If he had a penny for every time he was compared to Elvis Costello, he might have 8p. If he was given dosh for every time he was given the praise he deserves as a performer and songwriter, then he still would be pretty skint as James Rea is certainly overlooked.
Even tonight, as with many an acoustic gig, suffers slightly as some rude prick talks loudly over the music, but when James rips into the solo during the sweet bop of ‘Quit Hanging Around,’ people thankfully shut the fuck up to respect his honed knack.
Andy Roberts
Oh, and respect to James for raising the matter on stage of the ridiculous fact that The Rainbow, but three miles down the road from here in Digbeth faces closure. Perhaps the best music venue
Check out James here: www.myspace.com/jamesrea
