Sleeper may not have hit the same level of mega-success as Pulp and Blur in the 1990s, but most music fans during that decade will still find they can hum or sing-along to anyone of their hits such as ‘Sale of the Century’, ‘Statuesque’ or ‘What Do I Do Now?’. With a career that has spanned over 30 years, since they formed in 1992, there are thousands of hardcore fans who welcomed their comeback in 2017 with open arms, even if their vintage t-shirts were a little tighter than 20 years ago (all the better to buy the next size up from the merch stall).
I’ve seen Sleeper do full band shows a few times since they reformed, including gigs in 2017 at the Shepherd’s Bush Empire – where I saw them supporting Blur in 1994 – and The Kentish Town Forum. These were shows with full on mirror balls, a standing section that was leapt up and down during the final songs and even a glorious wham-bam-thank-you-ma’am of confetti canons firing into the crowd.
Today’s show at the Komedia in Bath is one of their unplugged shows, a more laidback and personal experience for the audience as they can submit questions for a Q&A section after the interval. The stripped back band features core members Jon Stewart on guitar (well, guitars as he brought five), Andy Maclure on acoustic guitar, keyboards, kick drum and tambourine, and Louise Wener on vocals apart from ‘Alice In Vain’ as a solo performance singing and playing guitar. Hits and fan favourites are all in the mix with songs from Smart (‘Alice In Vain’, ‘Pyrotechnician’, ‘Vegas’, ‘Inbetweener’) The It Girl (‘Lie Detector’, ‘Nice Guy Eddie’, ‘Statuesque’, ‘What Do I Do Now?’, ‘Sale Of The Century’), This Time Tomorrow (‘We Are Cinderella’,’ Tell Me Where You’re Going’, ‘We Should Be Together’) and even a Pixies cover (‘Wave Of Mutilation’) as a bonus.
The Komedia show was even more unusual as it was the first time the band have done a matinee show*. In stark contrast to the bright summer sun outside, the venue was dark and inviting. This was my first time at the Komedia and the venue’s atmosphere, friendliness of the staff, lighting and outstanding sound made a great first impression. Also, the warm hug of the venue meant that the majority of the audience were armed with pints well before the 1pm start time.
The audience could submit questions from the merch stall, but even before the post-interval Q&A the relaxed atmosphere meant that every band member had stories to tell as well as the onstage banter. I won’t spoil the stories, but they included being stoned in an open-topped Cadillac in LA thanks to a man they only knew as ‘Weed Guy’, how Andy’s phone call to Elvis Costello led to Costello covering ‘What Do I Do Now? and recording at George Michael’s Highgate Studio where Jon left his mark on the piano John Lennon wrote ‘Imagine’ on. However, I will share these questions and answers:
Q: “How many squirrels have to be in your house before you suspect someone’s putting them there?”
Louise: “5?”
Q: “Frog or duck”
Louise: “Duck”
Jon: ”What’ your favourite kind of duck”
Louise: “Crispy”
I was left in no doubt that Sleeper have the kind of band-telepathy you only get from knowing each other for so long and the gentle piss-taking they indulge in only comes from genuine friendship. Musically they are fluid and on top form. Jon is a guitarist’s guitarist, a riff-jedi every bit as fluid as Johnny Marr. Andy plays the drums like he’s the lovechild of Clem Burke and Keith Moon, but in the unplugged shows he demonstrates what a polymath-musician he is with a beautiful touch on both guitar and keyboards. Louise’s voice is sounding better than ever (she admitted doing far more vocal warm-ups now than she ever did in the 90s), and she still shines like the star she has always been. The candid confessions that pepper a catalogue of amazing songs make a Sleeper gig a joy whether it’s a full band experience with confetti canons or an unplugged show with full-throated laughs.
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Set 1
LIE DETECTOR – The It Girl
MORE THAN I DO – The Modern Age
NICE GUY EDDIE – The It Girl
WE ARE CINDERELLA – This Time Tomorrow
STATUESQUE – The It Girl
CAR INTO THE SEA – The Modern Age
WHAT DO I DO NOW? – The It Girl
TELL ME WHERE YOU’RE GOING – This Time Tomorrow
Set 2
ALICE IN VAIN – Smart
PYROTECHNICIAN – Smart
VEGAS – Smart
WE SHOULD BE TOGETHER – This Time Tomorrow
INBETWEENER – Smart
WAVE OF MUTILATION – Pixies cover
SALE OF THE CENTURY – The It Girl
* Matinee is from the French: matinée, literally ‘morning (as a period of activity)’, from matin ‘morning’. Oddly when looking this up I discovered it is also a South American alcohol-free discothèque for teenagers.
Review by Paul F Cook
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