Cool performance: CarlBarât

Forum's a tough one for former Libertine

REVIEW - Dirty Pretty Things - The Forum
Andy Dangerfield

This was always going to be a tough set for Carl Barât.
The last time he performed at the Forum was in December 2003 with fellow Libertines frontman Pete Doherty, which I heard was one of the greatest gigs in recent years, with showstopping stage invasions and guitars being flung into the crowd.
The Dirty Pretty Things’ gritty garage rock had a familiar tone, helped no doubt by backing drummer Gary Powell, another former Libertine, who performed with impressive vigour, but Barât looked considerably cooler – it was half way through the set before he even took off his jacket.
The performance suffered as a result of his nonchalance. The sea of fans looked animated but not electrified, while shoulder to shoulder security in front of the stage made the chances of a stage invasion slim.
And tellingly it was only the Libertines songs, such as I Get Along – performed at breakneck pace – that got everyone in the gallery standing.
But it was this juxtaposition between the two band’s which showed up the lacking in the Dirty Pretty Things’ material.
The set ended with a jaded effort by Barât to crawl into the crowd and Anthony Rossomando made a lacklustre attempt at smashing his guitar on the symbols, before he quit early to spend a good minute fiddling with it, looking genuinely concerned it might be bust.
A poor copy of Barat’s former band’s glory.

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