Just over two years ago, Ben Folke Thomas played the Kitchen
Garden in the dark shadow of the referendum result. A little concern was apparent
from an artist brimming with principles of unity, comradeship and compassion,
all framed by a progressive outlook. Fully understandable as this Swede has
made England his second home for a number of years as he strived to forge a
successful career.
Now with a pivotal moment
of the fiasco approaching, Ben once again trod the floors of the very same venue
and could not resist a little jibe of the ‘B’ word at the end as funds might be
required shortly to purchase a visa. Whatever the outcome and destiny of this Shakespearean
tragedy, it is a travesty if freedom to live and work across virtual borders curtails
and the music scene loses larger than life characters like Ben Folke Thomas.
On a brighter note, we can gladly report that Ben was on
prime form for this show, maybe still on a high twenty-four hours on from his
album release, but forever dedicated to deliver a performance bursting with credibility.
From a booming voice and skilfully curated guitar picking, the lyrical
outpourings from Ben Folke Thomas flicker like confetti, while landing on the
listener in a haze of poetic charm. Amidst the alliterations, vocabulary extensions
and acute observations lie serious messages, and poignant reflections on how
song writing can morph into a living.
Ben Folke Thomas is breathing proof of how the live
performance can shed a new light on a record. Just playing his new album in the
aftermath of listening to many of the songs live provided the golden key to
realising what an ace songwriter he is. ‘One
Day’, ‘Some People’, ‘One More Chance’, ‘Modern Man’ and ‘Stuff of Dreams’ were just five fine
examples of songs soaring in the unfiltered atmosphere of the live gig. The
latter kept a Kitchen Garden audience alert at the end of a long Monday with a
required singalong, so good that voices were once again lubricated in the dying
embers of the show with the invited chorus of the classic Ben Folke Thomas
send-off signature tune ‘Sex Addict’.
If just one person checks out the hot off the shelves-brand
new album MODERN MAN from reading this piece, then at least the baton has
passed.
To highlight the contrasts that do emanate from Ben’s stage
persona, we had the most impassioned introduction to his trademark anti-fascist
song ‘Finn’ with a story of an asylum
seeker befriended in Sweden. This resides succinctly alongside the wry humour
that placed Birmingham in his Top Ten UK cities and introducing ‘Rhythm and Blues’ as his most famous
two-minute hit.
One of many standout moments from the hour and half long set
was a new song titled ‘All in My Hands’,
where Ben managed to quote the word ‘Peterborough’. Well if ‘Blackburn’ can
serve Lennon and McCartney well, why not a soulless East of England town for
our Swedish friend.
Clad in a Montreal Canadians hoodie, a shout of ‘Go Habs’
fell on the death ears of a Birmingham audience, not even buoyed by the nearby
hotbed of ice hockey: Coventry. Maybe irrelevant to the music, but an example
of who Ben Folke Thomas is; an artist you warm to very quickly on stage.
Good people like Ben Folke Thomas will come out on top and
we need their powerful and insightful songs more than ever. Describing him as
the Swedish Tom Russell is an apt place to finish.
