Live review - Tom Robinson, Best Boy Grip

I've been going to see Tom Robinson every year or two since I was about fifteen, so I pretty much knew what to expect last night. I was not disappointed. He came out swinging with a blistering version of "Don;t Take No For An Answer" that proved that, at the age of sixty-three, he still knows how to rock. The first of two forty-five minute sets was made up of the hits and so was inevitably dominated by material from the Tom Robinson Band. That's not a bad thing, though - TRB were the best band of the punk era, and watching Robinson rip through "Bully For You" and "2 4 6 8 Motorway" it's clear he's as good now as he was then, if not better. Adam Phillips, who has been a constant feature of these gigs for some time, is always good, but last night he was phenomenal. Versatile, soulful and with a perfect command of tone, you could put his guitar playing up against Danny Kustow's and he would not suffer by comparison. As for Tom Robinson himself - he was exceptional. I've seen less-energetic performances from musicians a third of his age. After a blistering run through the songs everyone knew, the second set was reserved for fan favourites - so much so, in fact, that I only knew two of the songs he played (and I normally know them all). It was softer than the previous set, mostly acoustic and with Lee Griffiths providing excellent backing vocals. Robinson finished the second set with a rousing rendition of "One Law for the Rich" that got the entire crowd singing along, despite its relative obscurity. The encore consisted of "Martin" (of course) and "Never Gonna Fall In Love (Again)", both excellent songs, performed fantastically.

Best Boy Grip, last night's support band, play the kind of faux-emotional "I'm being sensitive please fuck me" singer-songwriter pap you'll hear at any open mic night anywhere on the planet. Fortunately, they're energetic and they've got more chops than a butcher's window, which made their set enjoyable. Still, they need to add some balls to their songs - we've already had one Scouting for Girls, we don;t want another.