Type and hit ENTER

Commonly used tags...

Brighton Festival Brighton Fringe Brighton Pride British Sea Power Cinecity Lewes Psychedelic Festival Locally Sourced Lost & Found Love Supreme Festival Mutations Festival Nick Cave Poets Vs MCs Politics Rag'n'Bone Man Record Store Day Save Our Venues Six Of The Best Source Virgins Streets Of Brighton Street Source Tattoos The Great Escape Tru Thoughts Unsung Heroes
  • Home
  • News
  • Previews
  • Reviews
  • Features
  • Food
  • Tickets
  • Contact
  • Contribute
  • Advertise
  • Home
  • News
  • Previews
  • Reviews
  • Features
  • Food
  • Tickets
  • Contact
    • Contact
    • Contribute
    • Advertise
Dexys
Reviews

Dexys Review

Oct 1, 2012
-
Posted by Jake Kennedy

More scholarly SOURCE readers might well know of one that comes close, but you can bet there isn’t a character in the entire works of Shakespeare that can match the one depicted on stage tonight by Kevin Rowland. Dressed, along with his band, like the cast of Bugsy Malone in comfortable middle age, the ten-piece perform their entire new album, ‘One Day I’m Going To Soar’ for a devastating first half.

Tonight is truly about theatrics, a journey even, as the album would dictate. Rowland’s character flirts, dreams of, woos and then dumps his beau – the formidable, flamenco-esque Madeleine Hyland – often pacing the stage with his cohort Pete Williams, deriding and confiding in him in equal measure, bantering hilariously, then doubting his own decisions.

The highpoints are numerous and dizzying: Hyland, after being dropped during ‘Incapable Of Love’, runs to the front row to steal an audience member’s drink to calm her nerves to mass applause; Rowland, solo for ‘Nowhere Is Home’, turning in one of the vocal performances of the night; an extended and not unexpected ‘Come On Eileen’, comfortably buried mid-way through the first encore; Mick Talbot, returning on keyboards, ever-reliable stage left; but so much more besides – the spectacle, the widescreen vision of one man, confused, self loathing and enduring, even in his downtime.

For the finale, Rowland and Williams gather centre stage, and after a few spoken lines, the audience clocks what’s coming next – the peak of 1985’s ‘Don’t Stand Me Down’ – ‘This Is What She’s Like’. “Kev, I was just wondering – what’s she like?”, Williams enquires, and the cheer that erupts before Rowland replies is one befitting a guitar riff at the start of smash hit single.

Here was a celebration of songs written with heart, performed with a lightness, seemingly off the cuff (although the choreography alone betrayed sophisticated pre-planning). Dexys transport their audiences to wherever artistic or personal whimsy takes them, and 99.95% of the time, these places are well worth a visit – often you wish you could stay.

Dome, Thursday 20th September 2012
Words by Jake Kennedy
Photos by Jon Southcoasting

Oct 1, 2012
Email
Jake Kennedy
Jake has written about music for yonks and once wrote a book on Joy Division’s Unknown Pleasures. He's contributed to The Guardian, NME, Metal Hammer, Record Collector, Nuts and The Angler’s Mail, among others.
← PREVIOUS POST
Motion City Soundtrack Review
NEXT POST →
Dying Fetus Review
Mailing List

Recent Posts
  • Brighton Psych Fest 2025 Review
    Sep 26, 2025

    The second Brighton Psych Fest was a beauty as we got down with Getdown Services as the evening sunlight glowed through the Concorde Stained Glass.

  • David Devant & His Spirit Wife, Friday 12th December
    Sep 23, 2025

    One of Brighton's greatest live bands returns for a pre-Xmas homecoming party.

  • Nick Cave To Play Exclusive Brighton Show Next Summer
    Sep 15, 2025

    Nick Cave returns to Brighton next Summer for an exclusive show with The Bad Seeds in Preston Park.

  • Death Comes to Pemberley Review
    Sep 3, 2025

    Set six years after the marriage of Elizabeth to Mr Darcy, a murder on their estate takes this story into thriller territory.

  • The Lightning Thief Review
    Sep 1, 2025

    A high octane modern musical coming of age adventure about demi-god teens, complete with committed performances, stunning voices, and brilliantly inventive staging.

  • Betty Boo, Sunday 23rd November
    Sep 1, 2025

    The legendary Betty Boo is going on her first ever solo UK tour and you can catch her at The Green Door Store in November.

  • Mutations Festival 2025 Line Up Announcement
    Aug 28, 2025

    FORM are treating us to a Bonfire Weekend full of warm goodness, bangers and fireworks!

  • Pride And Prejudice Review
    Aug 27, 2025

    A beautifully realised adaptation of one of Jane Austen’s best loved books: giving us a grounded, real and hilarious retelling in perfect balance.

Website developed in Brighton by Infobo
Copyright © Brighton Source 2009-2023
Dexys Review - Brighton Source