Carl Barât
O2 Academy 2, Oxford
03/04/2011

Depending out your outlook on life, tonight’s venue is either half empty or half full, and according to the pessimism plagued individual that Carl Barât paints himself to be in his ‘Threepenny Memoir’, he surely can only subscribe to the former. Adding to the disappointing turn out is the fact that The Pigeon Detectives are playing in the larger venue downstairs this evening – has someone been messing with the links in the indie food chain?

Strolling onstage to the carnival tones of ‘The Magus’, Barât is the same – clad in skinny black jeans and leather jacket – but his demographic has noticeably changed; no more Libertines lookalikes draped in rosary beads, instead an older and less excitable crowd, including couples celebrating Mother’s Day, which emphasises the fact that his solo singles have made the Radio 2 playlists. Barât remains relatively sombre throughout his set, keeping his eyes either fixed to the floor or ceiling, as he works through highlights of his solo and band back catalogue, featuring a lightning pace rendition of ‘The Man Who Would Be King’ and a guttural ‘Death Fires Burn At Night’.

Upon returning for a generous seven song encore, he is far more chipper than earlier in the evening when he oddly responded to requests for ‘You Fucking Love It’ with the theatrical ballad ‘The Fall’. When calls are made for ‘Time For Heroes’, he quips, “yes, yes it is” before quickly appeasing the audience, and he continues to play the willing jester when he breaks into a quick sing-along of George Formby’s ‘When I’m Cleaning Windows’. But for all the tomfoolery that colours the encore, Barât performs best when focused and stripped back, free of the unnecessary accoutrement of an accompanying cello, as on the delicate, acoustic ‘Grimaldi’; a track he has recorded for a new solo EP. Tonight Carl Barât has made sure that echoes of his Libertines glory won’t fade away any time soon.

Kate Allen