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The media car crash that is Pete Doherty is out of rehab for the nth time and tonight he and his Babyshambles are playing a secret gig on board Thekla. There’s been no pre-press but word’s got around and the ship is packed. But has the rehab worked? Are we going to see a more respectable, focused Pete tonight?
It gets off to a good start. On the stroke of midnight, the scheduled time, Babyshambles arrive on stage, accompanied by a film camera which is no-doubt documenting Pete’s life outside rehab. With clean hair, dressed shabby chic rather than drug-addled scruffy he salutes the crowd and immediately launches into latest single ‘The Delivery’. The crowd surges forward and beer flies through the air as some still loyal fans try and grab a hold of their idol.
Playing tracks from Shotters Nation, the band are tight but the performance feels flat. Pete rarely acknowledges the crowd, singing so intensely into his mic that it looks like he’ll devour it. But he does show glints of the showman, throwing first his hat and suddenly himself into the crowd. These short bursts are enough to ignite the crowd and there’s an electric atmosphere, heightened still by the thrusting guitars which merge into ‘Killamangiro’. It’s the most energetic number of the night and the band seems most at ease playing it. Pete leads the clapping, crowd surfers ride the crush and the madness escalates.
The pace changes with ‘Beg Steal or Borrow’ and the set ends, after only 35 minutes, with the pulsing swagger of ‘The Blinding’. Pete throws himself and mic stand into the crowd then leaves the stage abruptly: not even a goodnight. The sound guy’s pissed off for losing a mic and the crowd want more. Despite thunderous chants for more, Babyshambles have finished and the chants turn to drunken renditions of ‘Swing Low Sweet Chariot'. It’s nice to see Pete trying to clean up his act but let’s hope that he’ll soon inject energy into his shows rather than any more Class A’s in his body.
