A Kiss out of Nowhere

Bad Bonn, Dudingen, Switzerland. Fields to the left and to the right. A small lake close by. Must be beautiful in summer. In november it is dark. And cold. Even colder with the wind which was blowing yesterday. How this place ended up a concert venue I have no idea. A place out of nowhere. Well, at least there are no neighbours around who could complain about the noise and the traffic. Nice place, though. Restaurant/Bar. Holds maybe 150 or 200 people. Tiny stage, about 50cm high. They just about managed to put the equiment on, but with no space to spare.

Nick Olivieri took the stage at about 9:45. I had never seen him before, so I didn't know what to expect. Clearly the rest of the audience didn't know, either, 'cause the reaction was somewhat restrained. It didn't help that the songs he played aren't easily accessible, what with changing rhythms and complicated guitar tunes. It showed when Lanegan's drummer joined him for one song, people immediately responded to the beat and it drew the loudest applause for his set. I liked him, but I think his music would sound better with a band, one guitar is just not enough. I'll be interested to hear what other people who know him better will have to say about his performance, though, because as I said, I have nothing to compare this with.

Oliveri played for about 30 minutes, and then we had to wait for another 50 minutes until the band came on. I almost didn't notice that Oliveri was onstage again playing guitar, because I was standing in the back corner and he was almost out of my sight. Usually I go to the front of the stage because I'm not very tall. Only when they played in Zurich last september I ended up right in front of Lanegan's microphone, so close I could actually count the star tatoos on his hands. I found this position rather disconcerting, so this time I decided to stand at the back, and because I could climb on a box and the venue was so small, I had a perfect view.

The set list was pretty much the same as has been posted in previous reviews. "Wedding Dress" was a personal highlight, with a much heavier sound and the band really rocking out between verses. "Willie John" on the other hand I found strange, the rhythm was different and the bluesy feeling it has on record was somehow lost. Lanegan introduced it with "once a band walked into a bar", whatever that means. He was almost chatty, said something at the beginning which unfortunately I didn't catch, several "thank you"s and a "we appreciate you coming out here" at the end. As usual there was little light onstage and no direct light on Lanegan at all (the first thing Oliveri said when he started his set was "Can we have some more light onstage"). Another highlight was "I'll take care of you" which was very intense and sounds much better without the keyboards, methinks. They ended with "Metamphetamine Blues", left the stage for about 2 minutes and returned to play the encore. I had the impression they wanted to get it over with. Well, after playing 5 shows in a row and having to drive up from Italy I can't blame them if they were tired. They did "Blues for D" and "Strange religion", sung by Shelley, nice and in tune, I might add. I couldn't hear much of her voice otherwise, the sound wasn't too good. Two months ago in Zurich Shelley had also sung "Strange Religion", and it must have been one of the first times she did, because she didn't know the words by heart then. She had them written down on a piece of paper which she taped to the floor and had to look at between singing. Now she did just fine. Lanegan returned for "Gospel Plow", my biggest highlight of the evening. They stretched it, almost like "Fix" with the band going on for a long time, only Lanegan didn't leave the stage. He stood there shaking his head, and considering what other people have written in reviews and my own limited live experience I think that must have been the Lanegan equivalent of headbanging. I really enjoyed watching him! That was the last song they played and the lights went up immediately afterwards, so they probably wouldn't have returned even if the audience had cheered a little bit harder. Which they didn't. The applause was friendly, but not enthousiastic. I think most people at the Bad Bonn didn't know Lanegan. Although how one can stand still during an entire concert, like some people I saw, even if you don't know the music, is still beyond me. So, spent some more money on Lanegan t-shirts and then headed for my hotel, smiling in spite of the cold and the wind. You know, a kiss out of nowhere, really.

review by Russ

First of all, it was a total coincidence that I was even in Switzerland for this show. I originally made the trip from the USA to see a friend's wedding near Zurich. I got word via the internet that Mark Lanegan would be playing a show around the same time I was there. The day after the wedding, I hooked up with another Swiss friend who agreed to make the 2 hour drive to Dudingen after hearing a sample of the Bubblegum CD. We hopped on the Autobahn and off we drove for the show. After a short visit in Bern, we finally made it to Dudingen around 8:30 pm. The club, Bad Bonn, wasn't the easiest place to find, but after asking a few locals for directions we managed to find our way out a remote road leading to the venue. Not a place you'd usually find such a top notch club, but I guess maybe it was constructed there for noise regulations and such.

We entered the club around 9 pm and were quickly greeted by a friendly doorman. The cost for the show was $56 (Swiss franks) for two people. We gladly paid the ticket price and made our way to the bar for a beer. Cardinal was the choice brand for this evening. I must say that the staff was very courteous and nice. That's always a good sign in my book. The club was very small and only held around 150-200 people (if my guess was right). As we sipped a Cardinal, we noticed some patrons having no problem emptying a sack of green onto a neighboring table while proceeding to roll some smoke. Apparently weed is not a drug that is well enforced in Switzerland. Well, at least no one seemed to mind this night (not even the staff).

Around 10 pm, Nick Oliveri (Mondo Generator/ ex-Queens of the Stoneage) entered the stage equipped only with an acoustic and a microphone. The crowd was fairly quiet and the response was very minimal as Oliveri ripped through his set. I thought the QOTSA tag would have them wound up, but apparently not. Nick dropped a few comments about how tough the Swiss crowd was throughout his set. Once, he even glanced over to Lanegan's bass player sitting beside the stage and said, "I told you I would warm them up," with a mischievous grin. I don't think the Swiss crowd took too kindly to the comment or possibly it just blew right over their heads. All in all, Nick played a great set mixing up several Mondo Generator songs, like "So High, So Low" with QOTSA favorites such as "Auto Pilot"(joined by Norm on drums from Lanegan's band). He even threw in a brand new tune that he announced was recently just completed.

Everything was set up and ready to go for Mark Lanegan's show, but there was almost an hour break between sets. The crowd was getting a little agitated waiting around for it to start. Suddenly a member of the road crew began pulling off current setlists from the stage monitors and replacing them with a shorter list of songs. My guess was that it all stemmed from the crowd's original reaction to Nick's set. Maybe Lanegan's band thought they would receive the same response. I caught a quick glimpse of the original list that included the classic Screaming Trees song "Ivy". Of course, this was one of the tracks cut from the list, so the mystery of what that would have been like still remains.

Finally after much waiting, Lanegan and band appeared and blasted into "Sideways In Reverse". The sound was right on and everything sounded great right out of the gate (at least from where I was standing in front)! The stage was so small that the members had barely enough room for their gear, let alone much space to stand next to each other. They didn't seem to mind and continued to deliver the goods. Energy levels were high and the crowd appeared quite impressed. Lanegan's voice sounded utterly amazing blaring out of the front wedge monitors while being backed by a super tight lineup of musicians. My Swiss friend leaned over during the first song and commented how he thought Lanegan had a "Whiskey Voice". Funny how he knew nothing of his background before making such a statement. And was he not ever right on?

From "Sideways in Reverse", the band launched into "Hit The City" complete with Shelley Brien's complimentary backup vocals (originally sung by P.J. Harvey on the Bubblegum CD). Lanegan appeared to be in good spirits and was enjoying the show despite whatever may have lead to the long break between sets. For some odd reason, band member, Michael Barragan must have left the band somewhere on the second leg of this tour, because Nick Oliveri was filling in the gap on guitar. Nothing was ever said from the mic, so who knows what happened? Oh yes, the glory of life on the road. Nick did look a little unsure of the songs, but sounded great despite just learning the material. The band continued to play through a solid mixed set of the Bubblegum CD and a few older tracks throughout the night. Bret Netson's Fender Bassman sounded like a million bucks and Norm Block's drumset was tuned to absolute perfection. The Swiss crowd was more than warmed up by the end of the set and gladly showed their appreciation.

I got a good laugh out of Lanegan saying, "So there was this band that walked into a bar," just before they played "Little Willie John". I knew it was classic American wit and that no one probably really picked up on it anyway. Other than the band and roadcrew, I'm guessing I was the only other person from the US in attendance (although I could be very wrong). The band closed the set out with a well crafted "Methamphetamine Blues" that included loops provided by Norm's quick activation of a multitrack machine while still keeping perfect time on the drumkit. Without a doubt, a slamming closer to the list. Everyone exited the stage, but returned shortly with an encore solo by backup singer, Shelley Brien doing her own rendition of "Strange Religion". Her voice was very sultry and seductive, easily delivering a fine performance.

Lanegan then reappeared as the band performed the intro to "Gospel Plow". I couldn't believe my ears and reflected on the fact that it had been around eight years since I last heard this song live during the Screaming Trees' Dust tour. It was super awesome to hear such a staple Trees song as the night's encore finale. Once again, Lanegan delivered an amazing performance. Mark gave a quick wave and a "thank you very much" before he was off to the airport to catch a jet to Barcelona for tomorrow's gig. The rest of the band stuck around to chat with the crowd and hop the bus for a late night drive to Spain. This show was well worth every frank and overall a great visit to Switzerland. Thank God for so much fun being squeezed into one week. Cheers!
R. Fox

Setlist:
Sideways In Reverse
Hit The City
Wedding Dress
One Way Street
Number Isn't Up
No Easy Action / Miracle
Little Willie John
Can't Come Down
Resurrection Song
Come To Me
Death Valley
I'll Take Care Of You
Skeletal History
Methamphetamine Blues

Encores:
Blues For D / Strange Religion (Shelley Brien solo)
Gospel Plow