Former Crass frontman Steve Ignorant could not have timed tonight’s show better. The politically-minded musician is performing at Summerhall on the day the results of the General Election are announced. With the backdrop of the current political situation, the audience at Summerhall are more than ready to hear Steve Ignorant’s Slice of Life and experience their take on life in Britain in 2017.
The gig this evening is taking place in a seated room in the back corridors of Summerhall. The venue is a former veterinary school and the setting feels rather academic and formal… that is, until support act Philip Taylor from Glasgow punk band Paws takes to the stage. He is performing solo tonight and playing a stripped-down set. Paws are usually a raucous three-piece, but tonight their music sounds delicate and brittle. The lyrics from early tracks Bloodline and Catherine 1956 feel poignant, personal and touching when performed with only a guitar and vocals.
In 2014 Slice of Life released their first record Love and a Lamp-post. The nine-track album was a series of pensive acoustic and piano-led songs that felt different in tone to the noise and kinetic energy of Crass. With Slice of Life, Steve Ignorant does not just perform songs, he performs poetry; spoken word would be a more accurate description of the performance style of the frontman. Poets such as Tony Harrison and John Clare, with their depictions of working class life, are clearly a major influence. The singer is a backed up by a band that consists of piano, guitar and bass and they open with a song that references the recent terrorist attacks and the aforementioned General Election. The song sets the tone for the gig and shows that Steve Ignorant has lost none of his punk edge. He is an animated presence onstage and commands the microphone with confidence.
The music tonight rarely strays from its folk roots, where the lyrics and words are clearly the strong point. A cover of David Bowie’s Sweet Thing and a medley of Crass songs bring the show to a close and the small audience in the lecture theatre salute the legendary singer. This latest tour from Slice of Life is subtitled the Windswept and Interesting Tour: Celebrating 40 years of live performance with the Legendary Crass frontman. This is also a good summary of the show; the music was definitely interesting and expressed how Steve Ignorant and his music still finds resonance with an audience after 40 years.