Michael More please

Michael Moore - Roundhouse last Friday.

The first thing I noticed about Michael Moore is how BIG he is. Not just tall but fat too, maybe 25 stone. The backdrop to the stage were 4 long oblong photos, one of a young Bush jr in baseball uniform, one of Saddam smiling in a swimming pool, a thirteen year old Bin Laden and Blair in his hippy days. Moore looks like he's just got off from work, then been told that he has to do a show. He wears a faded baseball cap, a t-shirt and an oversized coat (which he doesn't take off for the entire show). He is an excellent talker, like a Duracell battery rabbit, he keeps going and going. He is brimming full of ideas and theories and opinions, but no circumlocution. His ideas may not be the best thought out or precise, but he talks with much vim and passion to batter you into thinking, if not believing in the issues he's interested in.

His targets are sometimes big and obvious (Bush, Blair and the war with Iraq). He echo's Bill Hicks with some of his observations, most noticeabley with the weapons inspectors in Iraq. America should know exactly what weapons they have, because they sold it too them. As Hicks said, America is the Jack Palance character from the movie Shane. America arms all these little countries, then blows the shit out of them. "He had a gun."

Other, more controversial targets are the people "on the comfortable side of life". He argues that the reason people an the hijacked planes on 9/11 didn't fight back is because they are on the comfortable side of life. The side where someone else will always sort out their problems. "The tower will talk them down". "Waiter, the soup is too cold" He confesses he'd do the same, but he also thinks that people from the other side ("the uncomfortable side") would have fought back. 4 hijacker with knives versus 90 people, who wins? "4 hijackers versus 90 people from Brixton, or the South Bronx or firefighters, who wins?"

One of the more moving stories is the people making big changes with doing a little. He admits that he's a slacker, and all he wants to do is watch TV and eat junk food. He regales a story of how he went to the vending machine in school one day and spotted a competition to write a speech. The speech had to be about Abraham Lincoln, and was sponsored by the Elks, a US men's club "think Stonecutters in the Simpsons". Moore's father once tried to join the Elks, but terminated his application when he discovered the line that read "Caucasians Only". Moore thought it was ironic that a racist club was running a competition about the great emancipator, the guy who freed all the slaves. So at 16 he wrote a speech "how dare they besmirch the memory of Lincoln... like any 16 year old does" He read it in class in front of the teacher, who was acting as judge, and to his amazement, he won. To collect his prize, he had to read out the speech in front of the Elks club the next day. So he did this and added "And you can keep your stinking prize" and walked off. Soon local papers started to call him up for an interview, as did some national news stations. Being 16 and a slacker he didn't give any interviews and hid from the press, but the story ran anyway. After a few embarrassing days for the Elks, they climbed down and were forced to integrate. This also paved the way for making it illegal for other clubs to be white only. "All because I went to the vending machine."

Moore's views and opinions are refragable, but they are passionate, brave and provoking, even if only for the fact you don't agree with them. At one point in the evening he tell us in sobriety our ticket money is going on security at the Roundhouse. After a few shows, a couple of these security guys started asking why is book was called Stupid WHITE Men and soon start making whispered threats at him. He informs the Roundhouse and one of them disappears. Soon after he gets a note on his door say how he's going to die, with a bullet in his head. We know where you live, with his address written down underneath, signed C18.

He's not funny enough to be a stand up comic and not focused enough to be a satirist. But he's a big, loud, brave and clever, enough to make us cogitate the news around us. He may not have the correct answers, but he's gives us questions.

Michael Moore is the author of best selling book, Stupid White Men and director of acclaimed film Bowling For Columbine.