In the 1990s, Dando and his band The Lemonheads nearly became absolutely whopping, largely, and I think frustratingly, on account of their cover of Mrs Robinson. It’s A Shame About Ray is perhaps their second-most known song, and just one week before Dando came to Oxford I found myself dancing around my kitchen (ironically, of course) as it was aired on BBC Radio 6 Music. I had forgotten about it, but it had been a pretty significant component to the soundtrack to my youth, offering that oh-so-poignant bittersweet moodiness that exemplifies being 15 years old. So, when the very same day I saw the opportunity to review Dando, I grabbed it. It was like being invited to a school reunion; I knew the experience would make me feel old and nostalgic.
Dando performed a good hour of his solo work together with The Lemonheads better-known works. He played each track back-to-back, almost overlapping each song, with no banter, no introduction, no explanation, no excuses, just a fine singer-songwriter, his guitar, and a voice like molasses. The audience watched with modest admiration, becoming slightly more animated when he diffidently lumbered through the more popular elements of his catalogue. There were outbreaks of little chuckles each time Dando reached to take a swig not from his beer, but from his mug of tea. If this is middle age, I thought as I sipped my lukewarm mineral water, bring it on.- Jobs
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