Photos by Gail Fountain
Squeeze’s music is upbeat, very British, with wordy lyrics describing failed relationships, upbeat melodies and memorable, singable ditties. Four decades later, founders and singers Glenn Tilbrook and Chris Difford still have friendship, harmonies, and the new members can deliver with the same deliberate passion.
Next, Difford opened his songbook and offered a choice cut from Argybargy, “Here Comes That Feeling”. Tilbrook retorted with a track from the When the Wind Blows soundtrack, “What Have They Done?”
Difford and Tilbrook used distinct harmonies on “If I Didn’t Love You”. It was a treat to hear them share those stories of lost love and misplaced affection. Next, Tilbrook played the bouncy “Another Nail in My Heart”, energizing the crowd. Afterwards, the pace slowed down with the graceful flow of “Vanity Fair”, then switched to the herky-jerky rhythms and off-kilter lyrics of “Slap and Tickle”. During the bridge, Difford and bassist Owen Biddle huddled center stage and jammed. As the song ended, Tilbrook rubbed the mic up the guitar neck, making a crunchy sound.
Tilbrook pulled out the nostalgic “Electric Trains” and “Goodbye Girl” and everyone sang along. The drummer Simon Hanson was very animated with some hand percussion, then tossed it to percussionist Steve Smith, who played two tambourines simultaneously through a few songs.
After an energetic rendition of the song “Annie Get Your Gun,” there was a clean transition into the word tapestry song “Pulling Mussels (From the Shell)”. The band sounded wonderful, and the drummer and percussionist performed in sync.
Tilbrook slowed it down, leading into Difford’s “Tempted”. Everyone was standing, smiling, and singing along to the confession about infidelity.
