Walking back into the Star & Garter after many a year, I half-expected some kind of glow-up. Craft beer taps. Neon signage. A QR code where the gig listings used to be.
Luckily, none of that had happened. The place is still gloriously scuzzy: low ceiling, sticky floor, the kind of venue that smells faintly of lager and ambition. Which makes it all the more surreal that tonight’s bill features two performers who are far too charismatic, theatrical and actually glamorous for your average grimy indie hangout.
First up is Louis Barabbas, strolling on armed with nothing but an acoustic guitar and an absurd amount of presence. Within minutes, he’s turned the room into his own cabaret bunker. Barabbas is one of those rare performers who doesn’t just play songs – he runs the space. His set swings between punk storytelling, music-hall absurdity and razor-sharp one-liners, all delivered with the confidence of someone who knows they’ve already won you over.
Then comes Felix Hagan, returning to the stage like he never really left, but with a new album and a point to prove. In the mid-2010s, Hagan was one of the most exhilarating live acts around – part glam showman, part pop provocateur. He then went onto a successful career as one of writers of the hugely successful musical Operation Mincemeat. Seeing him back on stage in his own right at the Star & Garter, launching Happy Songs, feels like the kind of full-circle moment music journalism lives for.
The new material is instantly sticky. Big hooks, sharp lyrics, and that signature Hagan blend of theatrical pop and knowing self-parody. Lines like “strip the harm from the harmony” land as perfectly formed bits of pop poetry – clever without being smug, emotional without being heavy.
What really sells the night, though, is the chemistry. Barabbas and Hagan share the kind of on-stage connection that can only come from years of shared history. When they end up together, it’s playful, chaotic, and completely unforced – less “guest appearance”, more “two frontmen daring each other to outdo the other”.
The crowd is fully locked in. This isn’t just people checking out a new record – it’s a room full of fans who know the words, know the jokes, and know exactly why this pairing matters.
By the end of the night, Felix is talking about the album hitting streaming and planning more shows. Everyone’s shouting for encores. Everyone’s still dancing in a venue that time almost forgot.
words by Lee Taylor
photos by Andrew AB Photography
