LIVE
GRUFF RHYS
Chalk, Brighton, May 22
One-man multimedia show proves the perfect format for the new abnormal
Sign when you’re winning: Rhys reprises his Resist Phony Encores! show
ANDY WILLSHER
IT’S strange, but not so unsettling as to distract from our common, convivial purpose. Since this is early days in the reopening of live venues, socially distanced seating, table service and a one-way traffic system are the unusual order of things – which, as it turns out, fits Gruff Rhys’ show like a (disposable latex) glove.
The shapeshifting singer-songwriter is performing his autobiographical Resist Phony Encores! show, which he debuted in 2018. Wry, slightly surreal and at times laugh-out-loud funny, it employs slides, cue cards (‘Applause!’ ‘Louder!’) and gnomic signs (‘Ringfence Buffoonery!’), as well as acoustic songs in a loose charting of his career.