13 October, 2000 - Experience Music Project, Seattle, WA

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review by Mark

I have seen Mark perform at least 25 times in the last 14 years; 5 solo. Now that he is healthy, his live voice is more powerful than ever. Without question, the most powerful live instrument I have ever seen.
Sky Church, the EMP venue, was a real loser. No alcohol, smoke or other rock friendly vices were allowed on the floor - and all those McHeadsetted black turtlenecked doofusses telling everyone what to do..... Further, the venue was Showbox sized but with 100 foot ceilings: any intimacy that may have existed in the songs was lost in the venue. The crowd was also imperfect. Past shows have consisted largely of huge Lanegan fans. Tonight it seemed mixed between Seattle Weekly readers and real fans. There were not nearly enough hoots of "Mark Fucking Lanegan" or cries for "Ugly Sunday."
These criticisms aside, Mark delivered the goods. His voice was as good as the June, 2000 Showbox show. His band included Mike Johnson, Ben Shepherd and Duff McKagan. I couldn't see who was playing bass, but I think it was Ben. In all honesty, Mark's band was not as good as previous bands - including the band in June - they simply did not seem as tight. Mark thanked them for getting together "on such short notice," but there were definitely glitches. It should also be noted there was no drummer. Mark said that he had prepared for an "intimate venue," but he thanked us for coming out any way. It seemed as though he wished he had a drummer to fill this large room -- I would've loved the reappearance of Dan Peters.... but that's another story.
Mark worked through a one hour-plus set, drawing heavily from the last album and sprinkling new tunes - which seemed like covers - in the mix. Revisited classics included: River Rise and Winding Sheet (which blended into Because of This). The show had great pacing, but it must be said that it wasn't loud enough. Mark was really belting it out, but I could still hear the dot.commers behind me talking about their stock options. The encore consisted of just Johnson on guitar and Lanegan. Lanegan stated they were "relearning the songs right in front of us" and he declined to sing a couple of songs that Johnson started to play. In the end, the encores consisted of Mockingbirds and Last One in the World.
In sum, this was a great show, but not the best Lanegan show I have seen. His voice keeps getting better and his live song selection is great, but I wish his band would practice more together before the shows. The 95 band is memorable because of great talent and the 98 tour stands out still as the high point of musicianship because they had the benefit of an entire tour. I hope Mark forms a touring band again (with Mike Johnson) because his music deserves the effort and his fans will gladly soak it up.

Mark Hentschell, One week after the show.

review by Neil
(reprinted from the onewhiskey mailing list, with permission)

Here's a brief report on last night's show in Seattle. It was another amazing show, which probably goes without saying. Mark was backed by Mike Johnson on electric guitar, Ben Shepherd on bass and acoustic guitar, and Duff McKagan on acoustic guitar. It was more of a stripped down semiacoustic thing this time, like the '98 Deck the Hall Ball show -- and as they had done at that show, Mark sat on a stool in the back and the other guys sat on chairs in front of him. Everyone seemed very relaxed, and they joked around between songs. Looking around the cavernous EMP Sky Church (which was packed to capacity), Mark commented that they were expecting a more intimate venue. But despite the size, the sound was excellent. I can't remember the exact set list this time, but it was many of the same songs they played at the Showbox in June.
One addition that stands out was what started out as The Winding Sheet and went right into Because Of This. There were two songs I hadn't heard Mark sing before; I think they were covers, and one of them sounded familiar, but I don't know what either of them was. Maybe someone else will be able to provide a more complete list later.