Review: Bright Light Bright Light’s homecoming tour – joy, pure joy

Stephen Price

I have a confession to make before I share this review of Bright Light Bright Light’s homecoming set in Neath on 10 April…

Up until that date, I’d heard two tracks, both of which landed on my lap to promote their release, and despite thinking they were good, I delved no deeper.

A cursory glance at how many of my Instagram buddies are following him (49 to be precise) suggested I’ve been severely out of the loop, however, so seeing that his UK tour encompassed a stop just up the road in Neath, I thought ‘why not’.

Armed with a pad and pen for the first time ever for a review (a must for someone as forgetful as me), I braved the roadworks at Merthyr for the first time in many years, not overly excited, but glad to be out of the house for a night and to have played some (admittedly morose) music in the car on the way.

As noted by the man himself, Bright Light Bright Light (or Rod as he’s known to a significant proportion of the audience), the weather couldn’t have been better that day, and Neath’s blossom trees added to the feel-good vibes although, unexpectedly (and quite cleverly), the Bright Light Bright Light I’d expected to greet the audience wasn’t (yet) in full glitter-ball get-up mode.

Joys of home

First, some sad songs!

Making his way to the piano dressed in the colours of the Welsh Flag (think a more handsome Mistar Urdd), Bright Light Bright Light introduced himself to the uninitiated (just me it seemed), and gave a heartfelt tribute to his beloved hometown.

Opening with the devastating Cry at Films – a perfect introduction into the musicality of the man. As keenly proven to his family members in the audience, he can play the piano, and well. And the voice – the voice which stayed as strong from the first note to the last, I also hadn’t expected, again, partly due to being unitiated, but perhaps because of the two tracks I’d heard.

Addressing the audience again, he spoke of his joy at being back ‘home’, surrounded by his loved ones – many of those in the packed space being friends from school or close and extended family.

Being the same age (and school year – those never leave us!), I recognised so much from his anecdotes of being closeted in a quite unforgiving, masculine, homogenous valleys town. The fear, the shame, the safety found in arts and music.

And boy, did his safety net reward him. In his case, as I was to see, performance in all its forms are embedded deeply – dance, voice, movement, poetry, music. It was all there.. but not just yet. For a while, it was just him, song and word, at the piano.

Pride

Pride was an important theme of the night too, both of one’s sexuality, and also, in his case, his pride for his family who he shared has supported him from day one, unlike so many of our generation. This was a shame free affair for everyone.

Giving a brief history of his life before moving to New York (which again, helped give so much more context to his musicality), he discussed busking in London as a teen, but how before that it was the Gwyn Hall where he first performed. How that must have felt.

Setting a low bar, he went on to introduce one of his early tracks, As If, which he said was “for those who have heard me sing from when my music was bad”.

How wrong could he have been.

Joking that this was the ‘sad section’ of the show, Bright Light Bright Light talked about loss of loved ones, both human and animal, before a rendition of Sunny, written about the death of his beloved cat, and the first song of his I’d heard.

With the piano-led songs done, the audience was given a teaser.. a special guest was waiting in the wings. A costume change was imminent. A break for the audience. What was coming next?

Disco time

With the ‘sad songs’ out of the way, Bright Light Bright Light was back in business. Perhaps more akin to the version I know of from snippets that had found me previously.

Gone was the red, white and green business attire. Now, it was time to dance. Time to wear the sequinned jumpsuit.

A skilled DJ, his cunning plan was to take us on a musical high and to keep us there…

Now, not unknown to me in the Neath boyo’s history are the impressive number of collaborations he’s been a part of. Having worked with Elton, Cher, Beth Hirsch, Scissor Sisters, Erasure and more, this chap is respected greatly among his peers, and is shockingly doing it all alone with no label, no team behind him.

Jokingly, he puts this down to ‘delusion’, but no – as this night proved clearly, his success and longevity is a result of sheer talent and passion. Act one, at the piano, pricked my ears up, but act two, the penny dropped.

This is someone who Welsh, and indeed UK, radio and TV should have been paying a lot more attention to.

Ramping up the gear, Bright Light Bright Light introduced us to his dancers, Josh and Ryan, who helped set the scene as he sang Boys Etc. A performance that beautifully showcased, again, Rod’s impeccable vocals.

The movement, too, brought something urgent and sensual to the song. These chaps can move. Also, to use a phrase not often heard nowadays, it was all ‘as camp as tits’.

The songs in the second act were well and truly my highlight, and the peak of those, the hypnotic ‘Symmetry of Two Hearts’. Wow. Just wow.

If I hadn’t heard this song at all before Thursday night, I and those around me can probably count about 30 repeated plays since. And an Insta story with it in to boot.

Having been an attendee of London’s G-A-Y on more than one occasion, I’ve never felt closer to the nostalgic feeling of one of London’s prime gay locations than this night. It felt as if the gay world, a history of gay music, had been encapsulated and brought to Neath.

Further songs, such as the sexy Kylie-esque ‘I Used to Be Cool’ brought further touches of camp – a particular shout out to the Macarena touches in one of the dances.

Masterful pop

More memories and anecdotes from Bright Light Bright Light struck chords.. shopping in Woolworths for CDS being a special one.. and then for the big reveal. The guest star.

None other than *spoiler alert* 90s worldwide-chart-topper, Donna Lewis.

Like Rod, neither seem to age, and they performed a touching version of their collaboration, the Welsh language version of Enjoy Youth which was released back in March. Then, fulfilling a childhood dream, the two sang Donna’s smash hit, I Love You Always Forever. My third familiar song of the night.

As well as the music being a highlight, for me, what made the night so very special, were Rod’s interactions with the audience. His humility, his kindness, his passion, his love.

His dad, proudly singing along in the audience, is one of his greatest fans, and it was a joy to see Bright Light Bright Light play a song requested by him towards the end of the show, the sublime Lose This Feeling.

The Erasure-esque track is pure, masterful and unashamed pop. Again, how is this not everywhere?

A euphoric track, and a result of a legacy and love of the greatest of the great pop artists.

The rather-naughty ‘You Want My’ continued the upbeat vibe of the second act, and gave a chance for the dancers to really shine too.

Further tracks maintained the pulsing atmosphere, and, again, the interludes were each as uplifting as the last. His final one, asking us all to support independents – musicians, venues, everyone, and to look out for one another.

He reminded us all, with the world doing its best to dehumanise, to oppress, to ‘other’, that we should give ourselves a piece of joy each day.

To remember that those oppressing others don’t know joy, but we can, and we do.

Leaving the audience on a high with the anthemic, ‘All In The Name’, his decision to squirrel away the less upbeat, more downbeat, moments into the first act was an act of pure alchemy. His cunning plan a success.

Before leaving, beaming, I scribbled ‘I needed that’ in my notes.

What a wonderful, joyous set. Perhaps more so for being my first, and certainly not last, taste.

The world felt sunny that day. Very sunny indeed.

Thank you, Rod.

Follow Bright Light Bright Light on Instagram or hear more from him on Spotify and YouTube.