There's something surreal about seeing half of one of the biggest bands of the 90s in the cramped confines of the Leadmill, especially when that half includes Graham Coxon. The idiosyncratic Blur guitarist is painfully shy and famously loathes the spotlight. This would prompt anyone to wonder just why he is not only embarking on a solo tour but actually fronting a band. However, Coxon has semi-jokingly referred to this tour as "my therapy" and is clearly relishing the chance to get out of himself (and his Blur persona) and return to venues he grew up in.
Having failed to shake off an awkwardness with fame by guzzling alcohol, Coxon has turned to something stronger: unfeasibly loud, American- influenced punk rock. Coxon's homage to punk obscurities such as Mission of Burma and the Meat Puppets could be seen as a rock star showing off his leftfield credentials. But he genuinely loves this music. Assembling a fearsome band (Blur's drummer Dave Rowntree, along with guitarists from Idlewild and unknowns Thirteen Thirteen), Coxon's excursions sound like punk-grunge should: fabulously tight and exceedingly rough. It's actually a compliment to say that on the phobia- confronting The Fear they recall a drunk being attacked by a swarm of bees.
That this isn't a "solo career" intended to be taken seriously is underlined when Coxon howls with laughter as the cymbal stand almost crashes over. And yet, the untold emotion he puts into Mission of Burma's Fame & Fortune shows that there is sincerity behind the tomfoolery.
As a frontman, Coxon makes a fabulous guitarist. Adjusting the microphone stand so he can stare at the floor, he introduces one song as "er about er goats" and another, wearily, as being about "adolescent persecution complexes". The ensuing Leave me Alone may be discordant, but only a cold heart could fail to warm to Coxon's sense of the ridiculous.
Following the hypnotic, Joy Division groove of The Lake, he exits the stage the wrong way. Looking up in mock horror at the chuckling audience, he buries his head in his hands and howls, before running off to the sanctity of the tour bus.
Graham Coxon plays the Garage, London N5 (020-7607 1818) tomorrow and Saturday.
