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That show moved me, and I won’t take away from the experience at all by sharing this, but when I read it last week it made a lot of sense to me and said something that few are willing to say.

From the Guardian’s David McNamee: “These days, it’s almost taboo to say anything critical about Johnston. This is incredibly patronising. For one thing, it makes any honest evaluation of his work impossible. He might wring out much beauty from his cartoon-like songs, but he is also capable of lewdness (bizarre, crude references to masturbation and orgasms are frequent) and incredible self-pity.”

What are the chances that we’re going to chalk his imperfect guitar playing up to nerves and personal trauma rather than just saying he’s a pretty raggedy guitar player; know what I mean?

It was a rare experience when I saw him, and one that I still treasure, but the idea that he’s infallible because of his history is something that needs to go and something that I’m glad McNamee addressed.