15 & 16 October, 2004- Doug Fir Lounge, Portland, OR

review by Don

Mark took the stage at 11:00 both nights and played until after 12:30. He was all about the rawk w/ little talk. Typical Lanegan. Excepting the brief cussing out of a fan who threw something, he may have said half a dozen words each night. Typical stage pose, too - left hand wrapped around the mic, right hand a foot or two lower on the stand. Head cocked, glowering out at the crowd. And the Gutter Twin's sporting short black hair now...

Here's last night's (Saturday's) setlist:

sideways in reverse
wedding dress
hit the city
one way street
no easy action
miracle
message to mine
like little willie john
come to me
low
resurrection song
on jesus' program
when your number isn't up
driving death valley blues
i'll take care of you
skeletal history
methamphetamine blues

ENCORE

one hundred days
sleep with me
pendulum
creeping coastline of lights
fix
Friday's setlist was nearly identical, though 'sideways in reverse' was buried later in the set (they came out to 'wedding dress'). Plus, 'when your number isn't up' wasn't played. The woman supplying backing vox for Mark, Shelley Brien, was magnificent. She spelled PJ Harvey perfectly on 'hit the city' and 'come to me'. And fleshed out everything else beautifully. Also, Michael Barragan on lead guitar was just awesome. I thought Troy Van Leeuwen was great on Mark's last pass through town, but Michael is an upgrade. He's a perfect fit for Mark's tunes. Nice "chimey" tones alternating with *crunch*...

Some highlights were Mark's ferocious vox on 'jesus program' and the spectral rendition of 'when your number isn't up'. 'Driving death valley blues' SMOKED and the pairing of 'skeletal history' and 'meth blues' is perfection to close out the main set. 'Skeletal history' HAS to be my fave Lanegan song to date. The night's closer, 'fix', was a twelve-minute extended jam both nights...

Mark's making me a HUGE fan. The sonofabitch can sing with anybody and I think his newest material is his strongest to date. Good show, Mark. Thanks.