It's unusal to see Mark on these shores, apart from the few songs he did with QOTSA when they were last here, so I was pretty thrilled that he was playing here on Sunday (Oct 31). So were a lot of other people, many of whom had come in contact with his singing from just QOTSA. The venue -- the beautiful Berns, built in 1863, which has housed entertainment from varitée shows and Josephine Baker to White Stripes (though not usually known as a venue for rock bands) -- was pretty crowded, and this was surely the first time I've ever watched a show sitting on a couch just in front of the stage! Nick didn't open as announced, however, and neither did anyone else, so we all just waited until Mark & co came on around 10.15pm. As per usual, the stage was pretty dark with the only light coming from behind the band.

Both the band and Mark sounded great, and the crowd was cheering and in good mood. The encore was especially interesting, with the band (sans Mark) opening with "Blues for D", followed by Shelley singing "Strange religion" on her own. It was nice to hear her sing more than backup, and she sounded really good. Then Mark came out, and they played "Gospel Plow" - a real surprise!

So all in all it was another great show. The only thing I missed was "Creeping coastline", which sounds awesome live, and the beautiful "One hundred days". And, of course, Jeff :)

Setlist:
When your number isn't up
Hit the city
Wedding dress
One way street
No easy action
Miracle
Like little willie john
Can't come down
Resurrection song
Come to me
On Jesus' program
Driving death valley blues
I'll take care of you
Skeletal history
Methamphetamine blues

Encore:
Blues for D
Strange religion
Gospel Plow
Pendulum
Fix