Beans On Toast

Probably not since the war years has The Ballroom in Margate's Dreamland seen a helping of Beans On Toast being offered up but cometh the moment, cometh the man. From Essex (well, Portsmouth the night before, actually), Jay McAllister - otherwise known as Beans On Toast - brought his raucous road show to Kent's infamous seaside town. 

McAllister and his band came to the South East coast as part of Independent Venue Week. In the refurbished Ballroom below The Hall By The Sea Jay played to those from six to sixty-six, so wide was the demographic spread of his adoring audience. Having, like clockwork, released his tenth album in ten years at the back-end of 2018, Beans On Toast was also here as part of his latest tour, 'A Bird In The Hand'. 

Before Jay took to the stage, it was the turn of his touring support Jess Morgan. Jess played through an acoustic set of songs about friends who'd moved to (and subsequently been evicted from) 'Brooklyn', her love of Birmingham's ring-road system on 'Aston Expressway Kiss Me Quick', a song "about Whitby, written in Whitby, called 'Whitby'" as well as a stirring version of 'All I Want To Do Is Tell You What To Do'. This after telling a photographer not to go round and take a photo from behind: "It's like being snapped in the changing room", she quipped.

Continue reading: Beans On Toast - Dreamland, Margate 01.02.2019 Live Review

It might be cruel to suggest that Beans On Toast only has a record deal because he is mates with Frank Turner, but there is certainly weight to the accusation. Beans, or Jay to his friends, has released a new album on his birthday for the past six years and 'The Grand Scheme of Things' sees Essex's premiere squatter/folk hero operating at business as usual.

Opening with 'Folk Singer', Jay starts things off in fine form with a shaky bit of harmonica and witty, acerbic lyrics about, well, being a folk singer. There's a little bit of banjo and a whole lot of moaning about not getting paid, but it is all in good humour with tongue firmly in cheek. It doesn't set the world alight and it's nothing really special, but it's classic Beans On Toast. At least you know where you stand with it.

Next up you get 'The War On War', which seems to be urging the world to put down the guns and pick up the spliffs. Musically, it is a barnstorming hootenanny and probably one of the best tracks on offer here. Elsewhere, Jay rallies against commercialisation in 'F**k You, Nashville' and against killing chickens in 'The Chicken Song'. The lyrics in these songs are thoughtful, interesting and, in places, hilarious.

Continue reading: Beans On Toast - The Grand Scheme Of Things Album Review