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Reviews Paradiso,
Amsterdam, June 8,2008 Bloody brilliant it was I'm not one for reviews and stuff but i
did manage to keep a tracklist Much like Maidli's list and i was very
happy indeed. Tonight's 3rd mystery is Lanegan's right shoulder movements.... i've had some serious aches in my arm these past few weeks (cos i fell off my bike a while back) and watching Lanegan moving his arm and shoulder all night long kind of made me think he must own a bike too and he must of fallen off at some point cos he's doing the same thing i keep doing but really mark, its not helping much is it? Tonights 4th mystery is why can't i find any fuckin jaffa cakes anywhere? I need them to buy someone off.
Oh yeah, they started round 8.35
and finished about 9.50-ish. Isobel Campbell and
Mark Lanegan – Manchester Academy 2, UK, June 12 2008 A strange experience for me – a Mark
Lanegan-flavoured show where I had no real expectations whatsoever. I liked Ballad of the Broken Seas (albeit in bite-sized pieces) and really like Sunday at Devil Dirt, although the latter has been out for too short a time for me to really get into it. So to be in an absolutely packed – right up to the back doors – Manchester Academy 2 on a comfortably warm Drinky Thursday was a rare treat. One thing that becomes immediately apparent is the chemistry between the two main performers. They work incredibly well together, and every single song in the set benefits from this. The respect that each artist has for the other’s input is impossible to miss and a joy to witness, as the very best is brought out in each and every song. Both Mark and Isobel’s voices were impeccable throughout, helped in no small part by a mostly excellent sound mix (although Isobel’s cello kind of got lost after the first song, which is a shame). The set began with a confidently-delivered
Seafaring Song, followed by an excellent Deus Ibi Est – a song
that seems to be equally loved and hated by most on record, but there’s
no denying that live, it works incredibly well. Who Built the Road
builds on the album version by showcasing the talents of both vocalists,
both as individuals and as a pair. And so it carried on through the
evening, with an extensive set culled from both albums plus the added
bonus of a top-notch rendition of Little Sadie and a Jeffery Lee Pierce
cover (Free to Walk), both of which fitted well into the evening. Manchester Academy 2, UK, June 12 2008 It was amazing I got a set list at the end and I think it was pretty much the same as the other shows but I'll put it up just incase. Seafaring Song (lovely) Revolver And that was it, I was right infront
of Mark at the front and it was amazing, his voice sounded really
good. Isobel looked gorgeous but seemed to be unwell and in the first
few songs she looked a bit unhappy but then she got into it. She fluffed
up her whistling part in Keep Me In Mind Sweetheart, but it didn't
seem to put her off and she kinda just done her giggle and continued
on. I loved Little Sadie it is one of my fave Mark songs and it was
made even better by Isobel and the band. Come On Over was brilliant,
I got goosebumps. Isobel Campbell and Mark Lanegan
– Bexhill-on-Sea, UK, December 10, 2008 Bexhill-on-Sea. A lovely, but odd place.
It's a bit like Hitchcock's The Birds but with benches with people's
names on them instead of seagulls. And a crazy golf course that was
more clinically depressed than actually crazy. Surprise 1: The appearance of ex-Eastender Francis Magee (Claire's real Dad, Liam. Boo! Hiss! etc! Well, it is Christmas) in the audience. Surprise 2: The support act. The Miserable Rich were astonishingly good. Baroque is a word that has once more become a bit hip in a world with Fleet Foxes in it, and I guess that this lot will also be painted with the same folky brush. Beards will no doubt also be mentioned. But there's a bit more of a modern pop sensibility to The Miserable Rich's beautifully-orchestrated stylings than the more antique sounds of Seattle's 19th-Century musical Waltons. The frontman is incredibly confident and engaging, and the audience were completely into it. And it's not often that support slots can try for a bit of audience participation and get away with it, least of all with the sort of idiotic grins that we were all pulling. This certainly won't be the last time I see them, and if there's any justice, then this won't be the last time that you'l hear about them. Something very special indeed. And then it was time for the main act (which
wasn't surprise number 3 for anyone still paying attention). The set
performed was similar (almost identical) to the performances of earlier
in the year, but the band this time around had a much more airy and
light touch to the subject matter - Honey Child What Can I Do? in
particular coming across almost like a Belle and Sebastian number.
The overall sound was really good, lighting was - even by Lanegan
standards - incredibly minimal, and it all could have come across
as being a bit, well, workmanlike. That is, if it wasn't for Bonus points however were lost when Creeping
Coastline of Lights wasn't dedicated to Eastbourne, whose very own
creeping coastline was visible from the rear of the venue, but that's
just me being picky.
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