Grace Petrie – The Phoenix, Exeter; March 22nd, 2024
The concert in Manchester was not my first Grace Petrie show, but the one, where afterwards, I felt the need to see her again as soon as possible, preferably on that same tour. I dates and realized it was absolutely possible to see the last two gigs of the tour in Exeter and Bristol so I booked everything right away. It was such a fun show and I met some lovely people too.
After a fun evening in London I took a bus to Exeter and found myself at The Phoenix on March 22nd. As usual, I got there too early, went for a walk, returned and started chatting with a few more early birds. One of them, J. handed me a little paper bag filled with candy and some lovely affirmations as a random act of kindness. So sweet! Shortly before the doors opened, a queue formed and I got a great spot at the front, surrounded by great people. Someone behind us handed everyone miniature plastic ducks and someone next to me put a bunch of them on a stage monitor “all ducks in a row!” ;)I was already having fun and the show hadn’t even started yet.
First up was Gabi Garbutt, who had not played in Manchester. Grace came out to announce her and told us that she knew we would be respectful, “because only Tori scum talk during support acts”. Gabi was fantastic. I loved her songs. As far as I understood the lyrics, I really liked them and the melodies were beautiful.
She started with ‘Lady Matador’, and told us the next song, ‘Bad Boy Bird’ was about cockerels, which she regards as misunderstood creatures. Someone already knew the song and yelled “Yeah”, when it was announced, singing along too. It was a great song.
‘Notes from the Undergrowth’ was about supporting people with depression and meeting them where they are at. It was my favorite of the set. 🙂 Gabi spoke about what an honor it was to join Grace on tour and how she was going to miss it. “Same,” I thought.
‘Ganet’s Journey’ was beautiful and I enjoyed the rest of the set too. Halfway through, someone handed her a duck, which she gratefully accepted and put in her pocket. ‘Panic’ was about the sensory disorientation during a panic attack and ‘New Kind of Weather’ about solidarity within and among all communities in the current climate. She ended with ‘This Higher Place’ and we even got a little sing-along going. A great kick off for the show.
Setlist
Lady Matador
Bad Boy Bird
Notes from the Undergrowth
Genet’s Journey
Your Blues
Panic
New Kind of Weather
This Higher Place
Soon after Gabi left, Grace was back to announce Molly and we greeted her with loud cheers. She let us know how thrilled she was “to share this person with you tonight”.
When Molly stepped up, someone yelled “I love you” and she had to find out who it was. She accepted a duck too, but joked it had lost it’s meaning when she found out that everyone had a duck. She told us how exciting it was to read to more than 12 people.
Her first poem ‘If you didn’t get the invite, this is the invite’ she asked, who worked in the arts and spoke about how it can be a bit exclusive, so she wanted to invite us all in. Our audience participation was giving the finger up during a line about “a finger up”. ‘My Girlfriend’s Dog’ was a funny one about Grace’s dog.
Did we do dry January? Not many and someone was like “fuck off”. 😀 She talked about turning fourty and not reassessing her life then, but a year later. Before ‘Pylons’ she asked who was in love and a couple answered, who had been together 30 years. It was funny, because their kid was there as well and joked they hoped it was real love. ‘You’re Alright’ was my favorite and her set ended with ‘Whatever you’ve got’ a poem about wanting to be close to people again after the long pandemic. It was the perfect ending to her set.
Setlist
If You Didn’t Get The Invite, This Is The Invite
My Girlfriend’s Dog
Dry January
Pylons
You’re Alright
Whatever You’ve Got
During the break, I chatted with the people around me and learned that some of them had already been to a few concerts on this tour. I hear you! Soon enough, Grace was up and we cheered for her loudly. After telling us how happy she was to be back in Exeter and thanking Gabi and Molly, she asked us if we were feeling patriotic. Nobody did and she was like “Yeah, me too,” then kicked off the show with ‘The Best Country in the World’. I was already smiling hugely and sang along as best as I could, feeling a bit like a fraud, because everyone else did it so much better.
The band was in great form and I loved hearing them play again. Grace introduced all of them and we cheered. Had we heard the new record? Hell yeah. ‘The House always wins’ was written after reading that in the month after leaving the office of Prime Minister, Boris Johnson made a million pounds from after dinner speeches. Sounds like a rigged system indeed and we were all ready for some loud audience participation. What a great song!
Grace got a duck too and told us she recognized some of us from other gigs of the tour and joked “I don’t know who let you in again!”. For everyone else she explained how ‘Build something better’ is a concept album around the question “Am I clinically depressed or do I just live in England?” Turns out, it can be both. A great version of ‘Start again’ followed. The songs sound great on the record, but even better live. 🙂
She talked about the album’s cart entry and feeling lucky about being independent. If we didn’t have independent musicians everyone would end up sounding like what she talks about ‘We’ve got an Office in Hackney’. I love that song and can barely get through it without crying. It was so much fun to singalong to every word. “Save me from my loneliness tonight.” I know why I like independent musicians. <3
‘Storm to Weather’ was another opportunity to sing along. I love it, when everyone in the room shouts out every word. Afterwards, Grace joked about how she has been writing protest songs for 14 years and things have only gotten worse since. Then she got more serious, while talking about abortion rights and fighting the same kind of battles our mothers have already fought. It all led to ‘Meanwhile in Texas’, which was fantastic.
I was in tears already and ‘Pride’ didn’t make me stop crying. A great song, written after a horrific event. The worse the social climate gets, the more we need to support our community, even if “sometimes it’s like an uphill climb”. ‘King and Country’ then was the third song, bringing me to tears. Crying so much may not sound like fun, but it makes me feel truly connected to the music, when I hear someone sing about the things that make me scared and angry, because it makes me feel less alone and it gives me hope that if everyone in the room feels the same, maybe we can change the world after all.
Grace and Ben played ‘Haul away’ for us. It’s such a beautiful song. 🙂 The rest of the band came back for ‘English Culture’. When Frank Turner first sent her the mix for that song she thought he lost his mind, but in the end it turned out great with the band. It truly is a banger!
Before ‘Cynicism Free’ there was a round of ducks for everyone with a some jokes about it. Were there any Madonna fans in the house? Not many responded and Grace told us to check her out. 😀 It was definitely good to have a happier song at this point. <3 ‘Fixer Upper’ was another hopeful song, even though “I know it will be hard”. Somehow, if we all work together, we will”build something better from the parts”.
There was more singing along for ‘The Losing Side’ and especially for ‘Black Tie’. That one feels very much like a hymn to me and it very much made me feel connected to everyone around me that night. There is no better song to end the set with. Before the finale Grace thanked the band, the crew and the audience. Soon after they left we had cheered enough to bring them back and they gave us ‘Northbound’. It’s always fun, because the sing along is not on every line and someone will always screw up. 😉 It was a great end to the show.
Setlist
The Best Country In The World
The House Always Wins
Start Again
We’ve Got an Office in Hackney
Storm to Weather
Meanwhile in Texas
Pride
King and Country
Haul away
English Culture
Cynicism Free
Fixer Upper
The Losing Side
Black Tie
Encore:
Northbound
I went to the merch and wanted to buy Gabi’s CD, but it was sold out already. Hanging around for a while, I noticed Grace near the backstage, surrounded by a few people and went to talk to her briefly. She remembered me and asked if it was worth it coming back. Of course! She signed my CD too and we said goodbye “until tomorrow”.