Pere Ubu @ Point Éphémère, Paris - April 7th 2016

Père Ubu is forty years old but their music hasn't mellowed or become less abrasive. In fact it seems like David Thomas gives even less of a shit about what you think now than he ever did.

Not that he's rude, mind you. In fact, his stage demeanour is perfectly polite and affable. But he will not cater to an audience, the audience has to make the effort to join him.

So it's not the most accessible music, but if you do make the effort it is one of the most rewarding. The songs are at once surrealistic and political, simple and harmonically challenging. The jerky rhythms are a great gateway to their world: Pere Ubu wants to make you dance, even if their leader is sitting.

Their only concession to the vulgum pecus is in tonight's choice of repertoire: they have (wisely) chosen to emphasise their two most popular albums The Modern Dance and Dub Housing, to the delight of the small crowd of freaks, misfits and weirdos in attendance.