The band eventually come on at 10.30 (45 minutes late). The audience irate greet Lanegan's introduction of 'How are you feeling?' with the words: 'Fucked off'!. None the less - this was not a show to to miss, and soon the band seemed to be forgiven. Despite their late appearance we certainly weren't short changed with a half measured set. Quite the opposite.

Lanegan's unique live sound was perfectly reinforced with a great sound on his vocals throughout. This time round his band sound lean and very tight. The female backing vocalist really adds an extra dimension - though her vocals were too quiet on 'Hit the city'. The two guitarists flanked to the right and left of Lanegan seem to take turns in playing the lead giving a wonderful stereo balance to the show and give each of them the chance to show why they deserve to share this stage. Wonderful drumming, effects and strong bass complete the perfect canvas for Lanegan's finely tuned lyricism to work it's magic.

Although I've been lucky to see Mark Lanegan on a number of occasions and with a variety of acts sadly his set still does not include songs such as the brilliant 'Waiting on a train', 'Wheels', his 'Mad Season' tracks or even latterly 'Wish you were here' or indeed 'Can't come down' however dusting off such a masterwork such as 'Resurrection song' was an inspired move and beautifully excecuted. I must confess it took me a while to get my head around the 'Bubblegum' album - luckilly I managed it before I saw this show. Now it fits perfectly into the expanding jigsaw of Lanegan's epic career - and this set was proof of that.

Personal favourites this time round included: 'Wedding dress', 'One hundred days', a wonderfully bluesy 'I'll take care of you' followed immediately by the groovy shuffle of 'Like little Willie John' and the phenomonally powerful 'Skeletal history'. The final extended encore of 'Fix' allowed the band the justifiable opportunity for an instrumental finale once Lanegan had finally left the stage with his usual subtle exit. Roll on the next tour and keep fighting the demon's Mark, the world would be a in impoverished place without you.

1 When your number isn't up
2 Hit the city
3 Wedding dress
4 Creeping coastline of lights
5 No easy action
6 Miracle
7 One hundred days
8 Sideways in reverse
9 One way street (faster version with loud synth sounds)
10 Come to me
11 Resurection song
12 Driving death valley blues
13 I'll take care of you
14 Like little Willie John
15 Skeletal history
16 Methamphetamine blues
----------------------------------------
17 Sleep with me
18 Pendulum
19 Fix

review by Emily

Awesome night......Mark Lanegan IS god and his band ROCKS

Band came on 45 minutes late but the perfectly executed performance was well worth it and the atmosphere was only heightened because of it. The venue was packed and everyone there had come to see this band, people had been waiting weeks for it, already coming up on Mondo Generator, only just over a week earlier . The crowd were shouting for Mark Lanegan and he did not disappoint, delivering a "fuck you I'll come when I'm ready attitude", smoking Marlborough n only growling at the crowd when QOTSA songs were shouted for but carrying the set on till 11:45, hardly ever pulled off in this venue....such is his command...He is cool as fuck, you feel in the presence of someone who operates on a higher level than schedules and closing times.

Guitarists (Brett Nettson n Michael Barragan), Drummer (Norm Block), female vocalist (vocally gorgeous n beautifully tattooed) and bassist (Ed Nappi) were all a surprise to most of audience, that was instantly won over by their commitment to a fucking brilliant sound and wicked on stage aesthetics. Everyone from the sound check guy (Dave) to the tour bus driver (Ollie) helped to create a stunning set and beautiful experience. The vibe was electric created by anticipation and a band that couldn't help but excel in everything they did. The instrumental that finally finished the set was awesome, drum (Norm Block) and bass (Ed Nappi) were funky as fuck and just kept rolling as the guitars (personal favourite: Michael Barragan, mesmerising guitar riffs, tight n wickedly effected) and their sound effects, magnificently showed that music live and direct beats anything recorded...ever!!

They are playing one more UK gig, before other dates in Europe, tonight in Islington...get tickets n go...rock lives!!

review by mokkly

Hmm… reading the other reviews of this show, I have to wonder whether I was being over-critical when I described it as half-arsed. I wasn't though. This was a poor show, with the band making little genuine effort. It just didn't gel, and the whole thing felt counterfeit. I'm guessing they must have been unhappy with the sound or the venue (or something). I'm not gonna try to use sweet metaphors or go into my Lester Bangs review style, I'm just gonna explain this show simply.

I've seen Mark play solo about 6 times, over 4 different tours, and I think this was the worst show I have ever seen him play. For me, that is the simple fact here. I was at The Islington Academy the following night, and the band, and the sound, were at least twice as good as this.

I'm not completely slating the show, it started pretty badly, but picked up as it went on - skeletal history was superb, and it had its moments. Just not enough of them.

The band came on stage at 10.25pm, which is VERY late for a headline act in this country. 9 - 9.30 is the norm... but Mark isn't one to play by rules, which is no problem - we all know that. There had been very little in terms of soundchecking equipment after the support band (in sharp contrast to the following night). After such a long wait, certain sections of the rather bizarre/varied crowd were unhappy at having to wait around for at least an hour more than they were expecting. Bad vibes. Bad vibes from Mark and the crowd.

The sound was best described as mushy. (I think this was the inherent problem, I couldn't TELL if it was a good performance at times, cos all I could hear was noise) There was not enough groove or dynamic to the music, just a big fat wall of noisy rhythm guitar. Unless it is punctuated with other sounds or silence once in awhile it has no impact. The drums had no impact at all - they just sounded flat.

Someone shouted for Hanging Tree. Idiot. A guy shouting for 'Ivy' (well, at least it's more original than Dollar Bill or Nearly Lost You) was, as usual, met with a sarcastic and disdainful 'that's some other band' (when will these people learn?)...

The lighting on Mark was minimal, probably at his request. It was clearly designed to keep him in the shadows.

Also, as I mentioned earlier, it was a strange crowd. Quite a few 'kids' and quite a few old people... bizarre.

setlist -

when your number isn't up
hit the city - mark singing WAY too low.
wedding dress
creeping coastline
no easy action
miracle
one hundred days
sideways in reverse
one way street
come to me
resurrection song - in my opinion, horrible. Mark badly struggling with the vocal. Maybe the monitors were bad, but he was all over the place on this song. it was actually one of the highlights in London the following night - so I'm guessing it was just the sound in MK)
driving death valley blues
I'll take care of you - excellent vocal. sounded good.
like little willie john - another excellent vocal.
skeletal history - best song of the night.
methamphetamine blues

encore:
sleep with me - v.good.
pendulum - unexpected and good.
fix - pretty good, mark disappeared and left the band to finish it...

I tried to pick up a setlist from the stage after the show, but someone (presumably stage manager?) told the roadie not to give any of them out (one had already been given to someone though). I explained that we had all heard the set anyway, and we knew what songs were played, but this didn't sway them. Basically, there was just a bad vibe all the way through the evening. Which often happens at Mark's shows (that is the nature of the attitude and music) but this bad vibe was born of a complete lack of emotional investment and effort, rather than passion or vitality.

The whole just looked like they didn't really wanna be there. The 300ish people there who'd paid about £10 each probably DID want to be there. I was with a group of six of my friends at this show, three of whom have seen Mark before and were equally unimpressed (although all agreed it got better as it went on), of the three 'Lanegan Virgins', one 'just didn't enjoy it', and the other two thought it was great. Swings and roundabouts I guess, and I'll still be the first one to buy tickets for the next UK shows (or maybe even that acoustic show in New York I can get hold of some money…)

-Mokkly.

review by Tranquil Soul

Having a huge interest in Mark Lanegan for many years I have silently observed this site for quite some time. However after I saw Lanegan play at Milton Keynes I was curious to see what had been written online and largely agreed with the feedback overall. None the less I felt that I had to level the scales somewhat after a scathing almost incendiary review that seemed to have little relationship to the show I saw.

For the record this was the ninth time I've seen Lanegan, and although I couldn't afford the London show the following night - I am unable to quantify how good that one actually was. However I can say that this was a great show. Mark's vocals were clear and precise and rarely strayed from their target. The emphasis on clarity of vocals which has developed with Mark's tours is an important facet of any Lanegan show. For instance his first two main solo London performances at the Astoria 16/10/98 and then again 02/12/01 both suffered from poor vocal volume - considering this aspect is in effect Lanegan's instrument - it's baffling what happened at those shows. Anyway the point being if you went to this MK show, you got the real vocal deal, and despite a subjective evaluation of the set list, a superior experience than those earlier shows.

Considering how musically tight both the Screaming Trees and QOTSA were it was hard for Lanegan to ever expect to get a band together that could play so seamlessly as them. On the evidence of his Mean Fiddler show 28/11/03 his new project still had a way to go but this Milton Keynes performance showed a band on form who had obviously been doing the rounds together and each seemed competent with each others capabilities. There was a great balance between instrumentation and a healthy joust between guitarists. I certainly saw no evidence of animosity or lackluster within this 'unit'. It was a pleasure seeming them gel together like this.

Okay the band arrived late, the crowd irate and the second song suffered from slight technical hitches such as both the main and backing vocals being too quiet on 'Hit the city'. But from 'Wedding Dress' onwards it was wonderful set. Okay I accept that the louder songs got sucked into a a slury of noise however Lanegan's vocals still cut through on songs such as 'Driving Death Valley Blues'. Reading the reviews online I agree with aspects of all those already written. But to describe this appearance as COUNTERFEIT is frankly unjust on all accounts. Yes, Mark was moody - but I've never seen him anything other than! I'm sure none of his fans would have him any other way - that's why partially he's so charismatic. Accepting Mokkly's general praise of the latter half of the set and the encores and X3X2X's praise of 'Wedding Dress', 'One hundred days' and 'Fix' amongst others I'll add that Shelley Brown's co vocals on 'Come to me' were superb and 'Resurrection Song' in my 'humble' opinion soared. Although I shan't bother re-listing the set list again, forgive me for wanting to balance the overview of this show. But I couldn't have slept until I had. Thanks.