Johnny Foreigner w/ Internet Forever – Sugarmill, Stoke 27/11/09

Johnny Foreigner had largely passed me by, for a long time. I was aware they’d got a 100% (or was it 98%?) review from Mr Whyman for their first album back in May 2008. I was aware their second had also just come out, reviewed pretty favourably by Mr Wisgard, and that they’d toured incessantly. But I hadn’t seen the trio live – and when I did, it was that last fact which I kept being reminded of.

Main support were Internet Forever, who were amusingly and endearingly ramshackle. At the start, they bashed a cymbal like toddlers who had never seen one before, and they played toy instruments with abandon. It was very up-close and personal, as the Sugarmill was far from full and the band took advantage of the blocky wooden “barrier” between them and us, using it to stand on and sing down at us. Although rough around the edges, the band were thoroughly entertaining – little did we know then that this was only the first and least important appearance of the evening.

When Johnny Foreigner actually emerged, things started going wrong. The songs were great, but right from the beginning the performance was poor. JoFo seemed tired, disorganised and not entirely bothered – all these things I could easily have forgiven them, knowing that this is a hard working band who have had a huge tour both behind and in front of them. What I couldn’t forgive though, was all the excuses. On and on they poured out – I’ve had to buy a new guitar; we didn’t get time to do a proper soundcheck; we’re tired; we’re not used to playing here. Whole minutes would pass between songs as the band offered these explanations, and attempted banter with the crowd which fell embarassingly flat. Truth be told, it was a little cringeworthy.

Things did pick up, though. JoFo at some point decided to keep their mouths shut and concentrated on their playing, remembering how well they know their material and how exciting it can be. But when Internet Forever came by during the last, chaotic swirl of a noise-song, it still felt like a rescue mission. It was effective though, and it was only at this point that the crowd really seemed to be getting into things. All in all, it was an odd show – maybe Johnny Foreigner just need a rest, but this was not a great performance.