Father John Misty, Roundhouse, gig review: 'A showman and mover of enormous charisma'

Former drummer in Fleet Foxes, Josh Tillman, plays his final performance of a three-night run at the Roundhouse

Father John Misty (Nicky Rheaume)

In the year that has marked death of the man who created the most famous alter ego in pop, adopting a stage persona still has a powerful attraction. Father John Misty - as Josh Tillman, once the drummer in Fleet Foxes, styles himself - doesn't bear much comparison with Ziggy Stardust but he certainly confounds. Is he a romantic hero or a callous bastard? A believer or a cynic? Body or soul?

Much of the appeal of Father John Misty's acclaimed 2015 album I Love You, Honeybear lay in presenting the listener with these sorts of contradictions. The music was uplifting, the message often downbeat. How would all this personal-political stuff translate into live performance?

The answer was blistering. Tall, willowy and bearded, possessed of a wonderfully expressive voice, there's something about this not un-Messiah-like figure that suggests he belongs in the category marked "sensitive singer-songwriter", and a lot of his work indeed fits that bill.

But this last performance of a three-night run at the Roundhouse demonstrated that he is so much more than that - a showman, a wit and a mover of enormous charisma with, it seemed, any number of brilliant songs at his disposal. The music evoked early-era Elton John, the stage presence Jim Morrison. His backing group - three guitarists, a drummer and a keyboard player - was superb.

The overall effect was further enhanced by an outstandingly inventive light show, and the evening's best moments - as when the audience was engulfed by ticker tape - combined sound and visuals in a way that lifted the gig on to an exceptionally elevated plane. Synonymous with 60s happenings, the Roundhouse can rarely have witnessed anything like it. "A punishing three-day bender" was how Father John Misty described his short residency.

For better or worse, Father John Misty has acquired a signature song in "Bored in the USA", a devastating critique that speaks deeply to the post-crash generation, and its refrain prompted the nearest thing to a singalong moment from a packed, enthusiastic audience. Other stand-outs included "The Night Josh Tillman Came to Our Apt.", "Everyman Needs a Companion", and "I Went to the Store One Day". For an encore he ripped into Patti Smith's "Because the Night".

Somewhat improbably, Father John Misty just got a writing credit on Beyonce's new album, and he has spoken about it as if the honour was all his. No way, I'd say.