Most Americans aware of Pete Doherty know him as an un-engaging British tabloid staple, a wide-eyed kid with a drug problem and a penchant for bowler hats. In 2003, when Doherty was temporarily banned from performing with his first group, the Libertines, he instigated a side project, presumably as a kind of spirited flip-off to his former bandmates. Babyshambles, like any band with an (aggressively non-recovering, frequently incarcerated) addict at its heart, has been a contentious and inconsistent ensemble from its inception, releasing a handful of EPs and two shaky full-lengths.
Oh What a Lovely Tour! was recorded at the SECC Glasgow arena in December 2007 (the CD comes with an accompanying DVD that includes five music videos), and given a few pending legal battles, might be fans' (especially those not based somewhere in the UK) last or only shot at experiencing Babyshambles live, at least for awhile. Accordingly, the release feels a little bit like an apology, or, more accurately, a distraction. Still, if you can get beyond Doherty's nonstop adolescent posturing-- "It's not easy getting out of bed, it's not easy getting out of my head," he whines earnestly in opener "Carry On Up the Morning", from 2007's Shotter's Nation-- Oh What a Lovely Tour! sees Doherty keeping it together remarkably well, capably parading through a 75-minute set.
Too bad 29-year-olds don't get green ribbons for participation: Doherty may be (sort of?) sober onstage, but that doesn't mean he's a compelling presence, and Oh What a Lovely Tour! vacillates between boring and inspired. Like any band that exists, constantly, on the verge of dissolution, Babyshambles are most focused on survival, and (understandably, maybe) less concerned with prodding the boundaries of early 2000s guitar-rock-- meaning even now, their songs sound oddly dated and formulaic, all jangly, vaguely punk-inspired retro-rock with depressingly few creative tweaks.
Given his dedicated practice of smoking things, it's surprising that Doherty's voice isn't more textured; here, his pipes are clear and flat, and while he sings with determination, his vocals are lackluster and insistently bland. There are a few exceptions: "Fuck Forever", which closes the disc, contains the kind of woozy desperation that used to make Doherty a gripping frontman (the crowd spiritedly chirping along to the opening guitar chords doesn't hurt), with Doherty mewling and slurring like his tongue doesn't fit in his mouth. When he spits "I'm so clever!" it's hard not to hear the self-loathing dripping from his voice. "It's not the same, it's not supposed to be the same," he insists.
"Lost Art of Murder" ("Stop smoking that, you could change your life, boy," Doherty mutters, still insufferably self-aware) melts-- oh so ironically-- into a downtrodden rendition of "The Good Old Days" from the Libertines' 2002 debut Up the Bracket; "Beg, Steal or Borrow" is similarly dreary, although Doherty's bandmates compensate the best they can. Oh What a Lovely Tour! feels more like a deliberate message-- we can do this!-- than a self-sustaining piece of art. "I never thought we'd make it," Doherty admits at the end of "Delivery". Unfortunately for him, showing up isn't always enough.
