Tonight starts with a goodbye and not a hello. Brian Christinzio is blowing out his Camplight in the UK for one last time, not forever, but for this leg of the tour at least. But, as he says in a sorrowful post on Instagram, “this will be the last time… for a very long time." We dropped in to Rock City to say goodbye, for now, to BC Camplight...
Brian Christinzio has kept up the persona of BC Camplight for so long that tonight he is able to take off the metaphorical mask and bare it all. The American singer-songwriter has called Manchester his home since 2012 but his deep affinity with the UK stretches far beyond Cottonopolis. This tour, to go alongside his new album A Sober Conversation has seen him evolve as a live act in addition to his material. The previous night at the Manchester Apollo saw an appearance from Badly Drawn Boy to an adoring home crowd. While Badly Drawn Boy isn’t on the bill at Rock City, the ethereal sounds of Lancashire quintet, British Birds are here to expand our musical horizons.
The Chorley-based group combines nice rhythmic hooks with pleasant harmonies all to the backdrop of modular synchronicity. This, a rural take on the art rock sounds of the early 80s, such as XTC, blends nicely with the warmth of northern tales found in acts like The Coral, Franz Ferdinand and Inspiral Carpets. This music doesn’t just celebrate the traditional folk ballads of the past, but also puts a continental twist on it with the synthesiser providing tones with connotations of futurism found in Stereolab. This music has a nostalgic charm and demonstrates their dedication to the craft with all five members well-balanced as a unit and showing the strengths of the collective over individual flair.
Brian is about to go through the next compelling chapter of the BC Camplight story, right after he fills us in with his trip to Kayal - his favorite curry house in the city centre. Even with curry houses closer to Rock City, Kayal seems to be everyone's favourite - I can vouch for Brian based on my own experience.
As we head into “The Tent” we are confronted with Brian’s demons straight away. He wasn’t kidding that this album would be a sober conversation. In the 20 years he’s released music, this is by far his most earnest, emotive work. His warm baritone voice doesn’t sugarcoat this in any way - it presents the true reality of the abuse and resulting addiction he had to live with.
The justice with which Brian tackles the subject is matched supremely by his backing band who layer upon layer orbit Brian’s words comparatively and majestically.
The Tent resembles a heavier side to Brian’s oeuvre that some of the set doesn’t, but he makes up for in its intimacy and grace when he takes to his aged trusty piano.
As he goes into the next few tracks from his archive, Brian takes a moment to reflect and share his struggles. Despite his first release being in 2005, when he was deported from the UK the day after its release, it has taken him another 15 years to finally receive the recognition he is rightfully due. In a cheeky remark he says "I'm not a Wet Leg - it’s taken 15 years to get here." Wet Leg as it happens are playing Rock City the following night... This late recognition has largely been down to the airplay he’s received from Mark Riley on 6 Music; Riley has been one of Brian’s biggest champions and has featured him on countless sessions on his late-night music show. Brian is now two-and-a-half years clean, but confesses he still likes the occasional drink.
If ever you wanted to find the next best storyteller, then Brian would certainly be it. His stories are cathartic collections of tragedies, triumphs and comedies that any traveller from a foreign land, now assimilated into society, faces. The truth is that his stories are a menagerie of different personalities that seem to travel full circle in the orbit of life. He straddles between a modern day Tristram Shandy and Ernest Hemingway trying to finish The Old Man and the Sea. Utterly captivating.
Brian's new songs are a reminder to all about the demons we face and how it is important to use them as a springboard to better things. From the catchy Two-Legged Dog to the title track, he showcases them with a gamut of emotions and, with a band to lift them onto a pedestal, give the gravitas to match.
As we exit, ‘Bonny’ by Prefab Sprout plays over the PA. Paddy McAloon repeats the chorus: "Bonny don't live at home / Bonny don't live at home”. It is hoped that Brian doesn't depart as a lost love, but as a cherished honorary son of the UK who is always welcome back.
BC Camplight performed at Rock City on 16th November 2025.
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