Fun For Everyone.

Originally published by The Birmingham Mail. June 2004.

You are never sure what to expect at a Divine Comedy gig-except that you’ll be leaving the venue in a very good mood.

From the outset main man Neil Hannon had the audience in an almost reverential hush as he told them, jokingly, that he had thrown away the set list and was going to do the music in alphabetical order. By kicking off with Absent Friends, from the new album of the same name, Neil set the standard high. From then, until ending the gig on the letter T, he barely put a foot wrong.

The only time a slight murmur was heard was when he arrived at the letter N and told the audience that he was not going to play National Express.

With other favourites being re-jigged to suit the three-piece on stage its absence was soon forgotten. It was nice to have on stage a man whose talent is well documented but who can still appear to enjoy himself immensely.

Ian D. Hall