For a man with a bizarre and enigmatic back catalogue, Newcastle’s folk troubadour Richard Dawson possesses a rare gift: to create songs that revel in the mundane while also providing an elemental musical base that allows his tales to flourish. At Nottingham's Metronome, Dawson, with his leg encased in a surgical boot, was able to put on a show packed with a gamut of emotions; a night of opinion polls, cheese pasties, ghost stories and a ruptured Achilles tendon made for an evening which will go down as one of the most bizarre in a long time...
The pre-gig ritual starts off with a pint of Asahi at The Angel and a side of loaded fries. Because our group had all eaten before, I was left alone to eat the remainder of my meal. The surrounding tables gawped at the fact there sat a lonely figure on a table for six. This was a unique dining experience as it showed the impracticality of eating at a large table awash with empty plates and wooden chairs giving zero leg room. Despite the support act not being on for another hour, I rushed the meal to evade the awkwardness of taking up a large table for six on my own; not the wisest move.
Metronome is a sell-out and a front row seat is the place to be for an intense set. If you want the first wave of vibrations, then this is the one for those seeking truly raw experiences. The support comes from avant-garde composer Bredbeddle (aka Rebecca Lee), whose set comprises a 30-minute composition that delves into the themes of regionality, friendship and the power of communities. The sonic montage creates a ghostly narrative, aptly reminiscent of the M.R. James classic ghost story Oh Whistle and I’ll Come to You, My Lad in terms of its character development and stream-driven narrative.
The piece is made evermore haunting with its lead character: an unnamed woman with an arcane accent - somewhere between an old Lancashire accent and a Cumbrian one - who tells of her “Sweet hearts - how Molly never did not listen to me, who I kept thick and thin”. It is utterly absurd, cryptic and frankly beyond normality. The tape manipulation has something to do with it, which explains its disjointed delivery. It’s an unsettling composition, just like being in an MRI scanner.
Richard Dawson limps on stage in his surgical boot to the playing of Prince’s When We’re Dancing Close and Slow, takes his seat and the drummer soon follows. He opens with Polytunnel, a whimsical song about the joys of having an allotment with its harvest of spuds, turnips, carrots and leeks amongst the cornucopia of goods. The number is the lead single from his latest album End of the Middle, which is some of Dawson’s most honest material for some time, and as he alludes to features many anecdotes from his childhood in the Northeast. As Dawson alludes to these memories, he delves deep into the time where his childhood home was struck by lightning and where each room shook from the kernels that were sent from the lightning, as well as his experience of being bullied in the school playground.
After someone in audience points out the inevitable, Dawson says his leg is in a boot due to rupturing his Achilles tendon while walking in the Lake District after he slipped trying to retrieve a Gregg's cheese and onion pasty from his pocket, something he’s convinced was down to buying the pasty itself.
Dawson is known for his self awareness and awkward behaviour. He asks us “Do you feel as uncomfortable as I do?” when his string snaps and there is a long guitar change; clearly he doesn’t want to take the risk.
The set brings with it a certain charm as it showcases Dawson’s love for banality shown in tracks such as Gondola, which tells a tale of being unemployed and watching daytime TV by going through it like it’s the listings from a TV guide and dreaming of being in Venice.
Another one is Boxing Day sales, which is a view from a cantankerous man filled with a dose of "Bah humbug". Dawson's material draws heavily on his own mental health and spirituality, which he is able to turn into a story told from multiple perspectives. These experiences range from his time in a secure mental health unit to his belief in ghosts and extraterrestrial life. The latter two subjects are ones he wants to share deeply, and so her runs a poll to see if people believe in ghosts and UFOs. Some of us agree, though the notion of spiritual beings existing is an ideal not to give up on just yet.
Dawson finishes with a fitting tribute to late folk artist Michael Hurley with a rendition of Wildegeeses. The cult hero would have approved of Dawson’s attempt, which was surreal yet also moving with the progressive chords and Dawson’s brooding vocal style giving a distinctive flavour to it.
Things come to a head with a 20-minute excursion of Black Triangle, Dawson’s ultimate quest to see if UFOs exist among us. The intensity of this is almost unbearable as people bow down at their phone screens to check the last bus time. However, it is also a merit of Dawson’s ability as a guitar player as his riffs are droning elemental tides that strike a blow to those on the front row. This night proved to be an experience that I’m yet to recover from due to its sheer intensity.
As everyone spills out onto London Road, I pine for a post-gig boost. This boost came in the form of an ice-cold can of Red Stripe courtesy of my gig buddy Sam. What a star! It proved to be just what I needed after an evening of fully loaded music. Cheers!
Richard Dawson performed at Metronome on 2nd May 2025.
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