Somethings you can’t deny about Bugg’s show tonight; he has some decent tracks, he’s incredibly polite, he wastes very little time. All working in his favour, and mostly a testimony to his behaviour, it’s these small features which help stabilise Bugg tonight after a few mis-steps; he arrives on-stage to a techno-remix of one of his songs, his attendance (clearly hit by worries about being in public spaces) are mostly-adolescents who spend large chunks of time scanning their socials, and the City Hall isn’t a decent venue for a gig which encourages more standing than sitting.
Doing his best, Bugg and his 3-piece band plough through his back-catalogue as best they can. Sounding more Mersey-Beat (and a young John Power) live than on record, tonight flies with his heavier material (‘Lightning bolt’) but stalls slightly when slowed down (‘Simple as this’). A mixture of the venue and some apathetic crowd moments make tonight feel like a missed opportunity.
