Saturday, 21 March 2026
Neil Hannon and his friends brought their curious mixture of musical panache and sardonic wit to the Kulturkirken, the atmosphere amplified by the bustling audience that filled the place. The tour supports the new “Rainy Sunday Afternoon” album, which had the share of the setlist. “Achilles” was a confident start, Hannon’s voice sonorous, and the band’s sound full without being over-engineered. “The Last Time I Saw the Old Man” reinforced the Saturday night crypt feel, on the right side of languid, Hannon’s vibrato delicious.
The other third of the set came from the 2010 “Bang Goes The Knighthood”, supported by a cast of hits from another seven albums. The first dip into the past was “Assume The Perpendicular”, which didn’t come off in the acoustics of the church, the band’s sound muddy and chaotic. “Bang Goes The Knighthood” went down well, and got people in a good mood before the low key title track of the latest album, “Rainy Sunday Afternoon” which had a nice swing to it. “A Lady of a Certain Age” got applause from the first few notes of the opening riff. There were clearly fans of some standing. They were happy enough to clap along during “Neapolitan Girl” which was slick and upbeat but gone in a moment. The crowd were delighted but it would be a few numbers before they got on their feet.
There was hilarious theatre with a drinks trolley during the intro to “Mar-a-Lago by the Sea”, and Hannon made drinks for the band (“Is this blasphemous?”), introducing them as he went, even timing the ice and pouring of a cocktail to the music. Next, we were thrown into real earnest with “I Want You”. This was one of the stronger moments, oddly stuck in between the pointed remarks about the current president of the USA and the disposable pop-rock of “Generation Sex”. The rest of the set continued in a similar disjointed fashion, with the pace fluctuating rather than shifting.
Older pieces were delivered with a lot more polish, but it was some of the newer work that shone. “The Heart Is a Lonely Hunter” was the standout moment, ironic that such a yearning piece should be the highpoint for a band whose lyrics are typically funny and sophisticated. Hannon segued into “Other People”, a cappella and then with violin and keyboards, but his voice failed him at the upper end and he had to stop after two stanzas, which was a shame, because he had the whole room in the palm of his hand.
Then we had “Absent Friends” to restore the upbeat tone, and Hannon called the crowd to their feet for “Becoming More Like Alfie”, and people were dancing all the way to the joyous humour of “National Express”. The encore started with the bitter “Our Mutual Friend” which was well received and in another moment of musical brilliance they extended the instrumental ending for over a minute and the gradual building in intensity was so immaculate, it did not drag. “Have you had a good time?” asked Hannon. “YES” was the reply. “Invisible Thread” from “Rainy Sunday Afternoon” was a strange juxtaposition and it didn’t quite come off. The set closed with “Tonight We Fly” from “Promenade”, which had the right pace but didn’t seem like a climax. The set had been a strange mixture of tones and paces, and some people would have been disappointed by omissions like “Songs Of Love” or “Something For The Weekend”. All in all, a slight uneven effort which contained moments of real brilliance but did not come together. 4/6.
Text: Alex Maines
Photography: Anne-Marie Forker
