All Our Good Friends - Live @ The 12 Bar, January 2008

Review by Colin, We7 Music Correspondant
You've probably heard Johnny Daukes - aka All Our Good Friends - before, without having realised it. The singer/songwriter has had a varied career, taking in 16 series of 'comedy porn' TV Series Eurotrash as one of the main voice over artists, a hit BBC Three comedy show, writer, director - and musician, with the critically acclaimed Britpop band Fin.

It is in this guise that we see him tonight at the tiny 12 Bar club in Soho, London. After a long period out of music, his re-entry onto the scene was not deliberate. Daukes never intended his debut album - Promise - to be anything other than a collection of songs recorded in response to the end of an 18 year relationship.

The critical reception to the record was such that Daukes was convinced enough to give the record a full release, beyond the limited edition release it received in October last year. Reviews for the record and previous live shows have been overwhelmingly positive. The show at the 12 Bar tonight forms part of the wider promotional campaign the record is now receiving.

The 12 Bar on Denmark Street must be one of London's smallest gig venues, but it nevertheless provides the perfect setting for the music of All Our Good Friends - small and intimate without being claustrophobic. It is renowned as a place for music lovers looking for an alternative to the hype fuelled mania of the mainstream.

The set up is simple - One man, his guitar, a backing track and a range of monitors showing images of everyday life in black and white. Upon first listen, All Our Good Friends brings to mind mid-90s Radiohead, Coldplay and Aqualung. However, a greater influence on Daukes is Magazine, the arty post punks of the late 70s. Citing the soundscapes created by guitarists John McGeoch and Johnny Greenwood and the lyricism of Roger Waters as inspiration, Daukes certainly sees his music as no laughing matter.

The stand out of the night is Radio (which, Daukes tells the audience, is already receiving radio plays). A gentle melody combined with Daukes crackled vocals is brought to life on stage by the singer's emotional intensity. Songs such as Radio, Replay and To Catch the Stars are typical of the kind of melancholic reflection that occurs when going through a painful break-up. Often mumbling and breathing the songs down the microphone, they do not give a fair reflection of the singer's out going personality.

Refreshingly, Johnny Daukes is keen to stick to the self releasing, DIY method he has pursued so far, arguing that it gives him a greater freedom to make the music he wants, rather than be dictated to by big record companies. He doesn't seek mainstream success or Top 40 adulation. You won't be seeing Mr Daukes in the pages of Heat magazine anytime soon. Rather, he looks for the respect artists such as Johnny Greenwood and Damon Albarn get for making intelligent and challenging yet accessible music. Spurred on by the reaction to Promise, he will soon begin on the next collection of songs. Now remarried with a child, the new album, he says, will take a different direction, addressing political and global issues.

Back at the 12 Bar, All Our Good Friends announces the final song of the evening, A Good Friend of Mine. Although Daukes rarely interacts with the crowd, he occasionally allows his natural comedic instincts to take over, self effacing when tuning up between each song.

Daukes finishes leaving the crowd wanting more. Being first on the bill of the night (by choice - he points out that he has a wife and child so can't exactly live the Rock and Roll lifestyle) there is no time for an encore. Instead, he quietly packs his equipment up and leaves the stage. Daukes' music has come from a dark period in his life. Judging from the resulting album and his performance tonight, the experience of making it was a cathartic one.

Setlist
This
To Catch the Stars
Hope, Glass and Minarets
Radio
Long Enough to Bring You Back
Replay
Sleep Drives
Down
A Good Friend of Mine

Read our interview with All Our Good Friends