John Grant - Brighton Dome 29.10.2018 Live Review
With a fourth solo album having just dropped and his 50th birthday celebrations behind him, John Grant kicked off the UK leg of his latest tour in style at The Brighton Dome. John arrived at The Prince Regent's former stable block from Iceland buoyed by the positive reception to his latest creation and the excited anticipation of the sell-out crowd. He and his band (including a very special percussionist!) were clearly very happy to be back in Brighton at the start of their tour, a decision John explained as "good routing".

Grant's latest album 'Love Is Magic' took centre stage for much of the night with eight out the ten tracks from the album being showcased throughout the nineteen track set. After walking on-stage to enthusiastic applause, JG started the evening with theatrical aplomb as he set about 'Tempest'. His vocals were immediately captivating and the reproduction of the electro-infused soundtrack was astonishingly good. The slower balladic notes gave way to his latest album's title track as the more upbeat, almost pop tones and sing-a-long chorus of 'Love Is Magic' kicked in.
The third of John's songs was a very early set highlight. His previous album's masterpiece 'Grey Tickles, Black Pressure' saw John sat at the keys and in fine voice as he set about delivering a brilliant rendition of the track. Hearing the song performed live gave it even more gravitas and listening to him sing 'and I'm supposed to believe that there's some guy who'll take the pain away, there are children who have cancer, so all bets are off, I can't compete with that' was devastatingly effective. Grant then lightened the mood with tales of riding 130mph coasters in the heat of Ohio before breaking into the ever more threatening musings of 'Global Warming'.
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