Greg Freeman at Rough Trade East

Greg Freeman

Rough Trade East, 3 September 2025

I was back at the magical Rough Trade East for a second dose of Greg Freeman tonight and I think this show was even more fun than the first one!

Surprisingly, given that The Lexington show was completely sold out, this Rough Trade instore performance still had tickets available despite being free (I did pay myself though, as I pre-ordered the new album to be picked up on the night). When I turned up, which was not as early as I usually do, not only was there no one there but the Rough Trade people hadn't even written his name on the sandwich board outside the shop, as they usually do, which seemed a little lacking. I went off for a little wander around the shops and fortunately by the time I came back people started to queue and I could tell that Freeman was going to have a good crowd (indeed the place was filled by the end, which was good.)

I, of course, got a nice spot at the front and Freeman and his band arrived punctually on stage, all with big smiles on their faces, as if sharing a joke, so it was nice to see they were all in a good mood. 

I though Freeman looked better tonight in his navy shirt, although he still had his cool patchwork jeans on (they reminded me a lot of the pair Neil Young wears on the After The Goldrush album), while Poppy the saxophonist had a trendy oversized, slightly frayed jumper dress on, looking a bit more punk rock in contrast to last night's more boho look (Kim the drummer and Patrick the bassist looked pretty much the same though!).

With smiles still on their faces, they once again opened with Rome, New York, where Freeman immediately forgot the words, but laughed and seamlessly just started over, and I must say, I thought the sound was even better tonight: clearer and more dynamic and I could hear Freeman's vocals far better.

The setlist was essentially the same to begin with, starting with tracks from his first album I Looked Out, like Long Distance Driver, Come And Change My Body and Tower (which was once again absolutely storming), and then coming back to some of the standout tracks from the new record, Burnover, like Point And Shoot, Salesman and Gulch.

The band again was on top form, with Gus once again joining them on many songs to play tambourine, and Freeman showing his prowess as a guitarist, even playing harmonica on a couple of songs. He was definitely in a good mood, though he said he didn't have much to say, "you should have heard me last night, I couldn't stop talking" he joked (as this definitely wasn't the case). 

After playing a beautifully jaunty Curtain, which once again descended into a wonderful whirlwind of sax and dissonant guitars at the end. The sound was full and raw but I did wonder what Freeman would sound like with a bigger band, as on the record, that included piano and pedal steel. He and his small band definitely have great chemistry though and when locked into a groove it's great to see them jam away.

At this point Freeman tells us he just has one more song for us and the crowd boos. I mean, it makes sense, as instore performances are on the whole shorter than regular concerts and usually clock in around an hour. "But these are the songs we learned," he explains to the disappointed crowd, to which someone shouts "Play covers!" Freeman chuckles and says "I don't do covers!"

Fortunately for us, he listens to the crowd and decides to add to the setlist, telling us that the next track is one they haven't played live before, so lucky us, because of the audience's little protest, we got a really moody and atmospheric version of Sawmill from the new album, featuring some lovely intricate guitar and emotional vocals, which of course built up to a more rousing finale. 

He also decided to play the brand new song that we also heard last night, which was down on the setlist as Amber. Someone shouted asking the name of the song and Freeman got all awkward and shy, saying he doesn't like to say the names of the songs, it's something he doesn't do. All the while though I kept thinking, it's called Amber but by the time it finally gets released it may well be renamed, so what do I know. It once again sounded fantastic though, with the affecting chorus of "you don't have to try so hard to be alone" with Freeman scrunching up his face and closing his eyes, really feeling the words.

Then to end with, we got the double whammy of two of the best tracks from I Looked Out, the sad but rousing Right Before The Last Waves Took Vestris (oh to hear this with the pedal steel, maybe one day!) and the distorted wonder of Colorado, which allowed the band to once again go full Crazy Horse, on that Pavement-like riff and ending with Freeman almost shouting the words. It was the perfect way to end the show.

After there was a record signing and somehow I managed to get quite near to the front of the queue, so I waited to get my copy of Burnover signed by the man himself. Freeman was very nice, and refreshingly awkward (as I am too) and I got to tell him that his new album is my favourite this year and he thanked me and said "there's a lot to get into on it, there's a lot of different styles." I said I had been at both shows and thanked him and left it at that, but he seemed lovely. It was a nice end to my two days of seeing Greg Freeman. I had been looking forward to finally seeing him live and he definitely did not disappoint!