Babybird, Fibbers, York, Wednesday (From York Press)

Babybird, Fibbers, York, Wednesday

10:15am Saturday 20th March 2010 in

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BABYBIRD’S Stephen Jones was as spiky as his jagged blond hair, railing against the low ceiling after four songs of Wednesday’s rollercoaster gig to promote his testy but loveable new album, Ex-Maniac.

“It’s like a joist,” he said, complaining that the beam blunted his view of the audience. Later he would return to his theme, dismissing Fibbers as a “small dump” and advocating the removal of the offending but vital building structure as he exited for the final time. It should be noted, however, that Jones is an agent provocateur, his tongue in his cheek, his love of a reaction leading him to ask if he had gone too far when he advocated extreme physical retribution for the deeds of James Bulger’s murderers.

There was to be a running battle all night over a certain song – the one from 14 years ago that still draws the crowds – as Jones and audience alike goaded each other over whether he would play You’re Gorgeous, or “the absolute low in my career” as he called it. “Did you play it at your wedding?” he sneered.

Did he play it on Wednesday? Of course he did, routinely so as his first encore, but not before he and his regulation rock band gave you every reason to acquire Ex-Maniac, opening with three of its troubled songs, Black Flowers, Failed Suicide Club and Like Them. Unloveable and Drug Time were better still.

He can be a difficult sod, Stephen Jones, but he really should still be playing bigger “dumps” than this.