Gutter Twins dates

summer leg

GUTTER TWINS reviews, 2008

21 February, 2008 – London, UK – KoKo

review by Foz

Hard to think that it was 2004 when Greg Dulli first said the the Gutter Twins’ album was almost finished. So last night’s show had rather a lot of expectation perched on its shoulders.

And it didn’t disappoint. Not one bit.

>From the moment that the first notes from The Stations played out, it was obvious that the night was going to be special. We were treated to the Saturnalia album in its entirety along with visits to the Twins’ respective back-catalogues, beginning with Live With Me near the start of the set and culminating with closer Number Nine.
Although the setlist wasn’t a huge surprise having seen the NY and Paris shows, it didn’t really make any difference to my enjoyment of hearing new songs for the first time and old songs revisited (huge highlight for me was River Rise, with Greg taking over vocal duties for part of the song). And the delivery of material old and new in a live scenario was amazing – Idle Hands in particular came across as having much sharper teeth than the studio outing (I should qualify this by saying that Idle Hands is in my top 3 GT studio tracks), I Was In Love With You came across with surprising tenderness and the track that a lot of people seem to be firmly in two camps about – Each to Each – came across magnificently, surely convincing many of the song’s naysayers that it has a place in the band’s repertoire.
The main set was concluded with Front Street, an emotional tour de force that surpassed both the album version and the original Italian live performances in terms of beauty and sheer passion.

Martina Topley-Bird made a surprising – and welcome – appearance for first encore The Body, although it’s a shame that her voice seemed to get lost in the mix. And then Greg announced that “we’re now going to play some songs that you know”, starting with the already mentioned River Rise, the Twilight Singers’ Papillon (complete with powerful segue into the Screaming Trees’ Shadow of the Season) and King Only, and Mark Lanegan’s No Easy Action and Methamphetamine Blues before Number Nine brought the evening to an end. This last part of the show was a tantalising delve into the singers’ respective pasts (although the Afghan Whigs were notable by their absence), hopefully the post-release tours will allow for greater exploration of each others’ work.

All in all, a great evening.

Setlist:
The Stations
All God’s Children
Seven Stories Underground
Live With Me
All Misery/Flowers
Idle Hands
Circle the Fringes
Bete Noire
I Was In Love With You
Down The Line (Jose Gonzalez cover)
Who Will Lead Us?
Each to Each
Front Street

Encores:
The Body (w/ Martina Topley-Bird)
River Rise
Papillon (+ Shadow Of The Season)
No Easy Action
King Only
Methamphetamine Blues
Number Nine

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What a great show. Show didn’t start till 1:30 in the morning on an extremely cold night. It was a full house, over 1000 people showed up. Like always, it was a dark theater. When Dulli and Lanegan took the stage, it was like watching two Gods walk up in front of you. The atmosphere was intense. The whole audience could feel it. Once they started playing, you could tell you were part of something special. You can tell that they love playing together and feed off each others energy. They appear to have a friendship most of us only dream of. They played the whole of Saturnalia plus a few of each of their own from past albums. Show finally ended at 3am. Wish it would of gone on forever.

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11 March, 2008 – Newport, KY – Southgate House

review by Jen for Tone and Groove

Spring is coming slowly to the Ohio River Valley, but the decaying piles of plowed snow and icy wind off the river served to remind us that sunny doesn’t always equal warm. Husband Larry and I, Russ Fox, and Brian Lusher met up with former Afghan Whigs drummer Steve Earle for a pre-show supper and chat at a sub shop a few blocks up the street from our hotel. Short as the distance was, we wished we had driven. Nonetheless, Lusher couldn’t resist making a few dingy snowballs and lobbing them around. He seems to have a child’s fascination with snow.

The ballroom of historic Southgate House, which serves as the main band room, was on the chilly side, as well. Many of us patrons never removed our jackets, and neither did Great Northern for most of their set. As the hall filled up and body heat had a chance to accumulate, it became quite comfortable. The balcony was full when we arrived (perhaps it was warmer up there, and it is the only area in the ballroom with tables and chairs), but the floor was mostly empty, so we had no trouble staking claims right up at the stage. Being short and toting a camera, this was good news for me, and I positioned myself right between Lanegan’s and Dulli’s mics. It pleases me that Southgate House is camera friendly, though for this show, posters plastered various places said, “No flash photography, by request of the performers.” We looked at each other and knowingly said, “Lanegan.” (I’ve nicknamed him Mark-in-the-Dark, since he prefers as little light as possible when he performs and always requests “no flash”).

Great Northern hit the stage right on time, with their melodic, melancholy, but energetic indie rock. Lead vocalist and primary keyboardist Rachel Stolte has a lovely voice and good stage presence. Solon Bixler throws a bit of noise into his guitar playing, and his voice is quite good as well (and he’s handsome as the dickens). They’re much livelier and punchier live than they come across on their album, and I very much enjoyed their set. I was familiar with a few of their tunes from their MySpace page [www.myspace.com/greatnorthern], which I checked out when I learned they were the openers, and had immediately latched onto the beautiful “Home”, which appears to be the single. I was quite excited to hear it live. If you plan to see Gutter Twins on this tour, with Great Northern opening, don’t regard them as a band to skip while you grab a quick bite to eat or sip drinks with your pals in an ante-room. They are well worth seeing.

At the end of their set, they quickly disassembled and removed all their gear from in front of the Gutter Twins’ gear, and the Gutter roadies were swift in setting up the new mics, checking everything out, and clearing the stage. It was rather humorous to watch the shortest roadie straining to adjust and check the microphones for Dulli and Lanegan, who are both well over six feet tall.

Then we waited. And waited. Why? Why, when we knew from a friend who works there that they had spent several hours that afternoon sound-checking? Why, when all was set up and the band appeared to all be at the venue (we saw most of them in the balcony, chatting with Dulli’s mom and other guests in the roped off section)? I was thirsty, but didn’t feel like pressing through the now full house to get a drink and then pushing my way back. I should have. We waited over half an hour after the roadies left the stage. Great Northern had done a great job getting the crowd engaged and primed for the main act, but that was wearing off now. The jocular crowd grew restless and there was a bit of annoyance stirring in the air. A few started stomping and chanting for the band. My feet hurt from standing on the cement floor. What’s the point of annoying your fans before you’ve even hit the stage? It seems unprofessional. I noticed that once the chanting started, it wasn’t long before the band appeared. Perhaps Dulli remembered the massive displeasure last fall when Twilight Singers decided not to do an encore because the crowd didn’t seem appreciative enough, then had to rush out to do a half-unplugged impromptu one to appease the angry mob.

When the band hit the stage and the meager lights, mostly red, went up, the crowd cheered and we were on our way. It was interesting to try to pick up on how people’s fandom shaded one way or the other, either to Dulli or Lanegan. (A couple of girls to my left, catching a glimpse of Mark before the set shrieked delight, and one said, “I’ve seen Mark. Now my life’s complete.”) I have no doubt that Lanegan is a huge draw for this project. His fans, deprived of a solo record from him for years now, hang on his every collaboration and hit any shows in which he might appear. Lanegan fans flocked to the Twilight Singers gigs just to see him perform his four songs. Not that we don’t enjoy the rest of whichever band or show, but seeing Lanegan east of the Rockies at all is a rare thing in the US. He did not disappoint. There he stood, eyes closed much of the time, gripping the mic stand as though he might dissolve without it, in typical Lanegan form, thrilling us with that rich grits and molasses voice, a terrific foil to Dulli’s tenor. There was one very visible exception between the current Mark onstage and his past self. Nary a single cigarette for the entire show. I had read that he has quit all harmful substances, and others who have seen this tour reported the lack of smokes. (Unfortunately, the rest of the band are a veritable smokehouse.) His voice seems improved for it, just as Chris Cornell’s voice has started to rebound since he packed in the packs. Unfortunately, the sound mix was poor, and many of those subtle nuances that make Mark’s vocals so special were nearly inaudible.

It’s odd that a band whose big claim to fame is its vocalists would be playing with the vocals too low in the mix and so muddy that even when they spoke between songs, it was difficult to understand what they were saying. It doesn’t help that the band arrangements are busy and noisy and fill every space. Now, I know what you’re thinking, that it’s the venue, the P.A., the house mixer, but if that were true it would have been a problem for Great Northern, as well, and it wasn’t. Their sound was very well balanced and the vocals loud and clear. Mission of Burma had no problem with muddy sound or vocals too low in the mix when they played Southgate. Twilight Singers, however, sounded very similar in sound mix to Gutter Twins in this venue. A friend in Portland, Oregon commented to me that for the Gutter show there, the sound suffered the same problems. Maybe their soundman is guitar deaf from spending too much of his life at too-loud shows. It can happen. But if so, they should get a new soundman.

The main set consisted mostly, as you would guess, of songs from the album. With a release date mere days before the show, many people were still unfamiliar with the songs, but I was glad we diehards had had a few days to learn them. It’s easier to get in the zone if you are at least acquainted with the songs. I was very happy that they performed “Bete Noire”, perhaps my favorite track. Mark’s cover of Massive Attack’s “Live With Me”, one of his Twilight Singers contributions, was a real pleaser, and I could feel the glowing souls of the Mark fans in the audience shining around me on that one.

As with Twilight Singers, Dulli switched between guitar and keyboards and acted as spokesman. I don’t think Lanegan spoke, except to take on a heckler in the crowd. He didn’t have to say much. I’m amazed anyone would intentionally provoke Lanegan. Alcohol + a big mouth = courting disaster. Despite the bad apple, we were privileged to see an onstage rarity for Lanegan — the occasional smile.

After the band left the stage, they didn’t waste much time before Greg came out to joke with the audience about whether they really wanted an encore or not. The crowd took the funning in good humor. No doubt many of them had been at that Twilight Singers show and knew exactly what the joking was about.

The encore, mainly Twilight Singers songs and songs from Lanegan’s solo albums, was the highlight of the show. The energy level of both band and crowd seemed at its peak, and nothing pleases a crowd like old favorites. “Papillon” always seems to bring down the house, but when Mark launched into “The River Rise”, it was sheer magic. In addition, he did “Methamphetamine Blues” and “Hit the City”, which apparently Dulli doesn’t know the words to yet. A roadie had taped a handwritten lyric sheet for it to his monitor, and I deftly snatched it at show’s end. The setlists were out of my reach. An old friend of Greg’s was in the audience, and went up onstage to sing with him on one song.

Despite the sound problems and the long wait between bands, it was a very enjoyable show. They’re a good band, they work hard, they put a lot of emotion and power into their performances, and the songwriting is top notch. The crowd was clearly having a good time, yet the overall vibe was laid back and considerate — no shoving, no crowd surfing. Lanegan and Dulli make an interesting pair, and quite the odd couple onstage; Dulli is more outgoing and gregarious, more talkative, more engaged with the crowd. Lanegan pulls into himself and channels power from deep within. Different voices, different styles, but they mesh well, and both know how to give you your money’s worth.

The US tour wraps up very soon, and then they’ll hit Europe. You can get the tour schedule at theguttertwins.com, as well as sample the new album.

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12 March, 2008 – Cleveland, OH- Beachland Ballroom

review by Mary Allegre
Mary’s review at her site, including photos: http://fahrenheit128.com/cms/reviews/concert_reviews/gutter_twins_at_beachland_ballroom_1.html
photos: http://www.photos.fahrenheit128.com/p1057768203

The Gutter Twins performed with Los Angeles-based openers Great Northern at Cleveland, Ohio’s Beachland Ballroom, a mid-sized venue and lounge. For those not familiar with Gutter Twins’ two front men’s other projects, Greg Dulli fronted the bands Afghan Whigs and Twilight Singers, and Mark Lanegan was the front man for Seattle’s Screaming Trees and has collaborated with many musicians such as Queens of the Stone Age and Isobelle Campbell. Expectations aside, fans were treated to a deeper, more avant-garde experience.
Opening band Great Northern initiated the illusory feel of the evening with dreamy songs and intense stares. Singer Solon’s musings, with their soft surface/strong undercurrent, resonated with the crowd. The band proved to be an appropriate, uniquely talented opener, with solid musical backing (including lovely keyboard solos) and memorable lyrics (from Our Bleeding Hearts- “Here is a song for the only one that you know that you never know.”) The flow of music went from soft to sweetly driving, as the set ended with the front rows of the crowd swaying appreciably.
Dulli self-describes the Gutter Twins as “the Satanic Everly Brothers.” All of the Gutter Twins songs showcase the talents of the pair and explore their inner psyches– a dark but comforting conglomeration of Dulli and Lanegan’s other projects with a surprisingly pure core. The songs flow with the mystery and darkness that are of Mark’s disposition, and characteristic of Greg’s many personas. Spiritual overtones, personal mantras, honest pleading and foreboding themes spiral and interact in the songs of the Saturnalia album. Each front man’s perspective is brought into the songs and swirled into each emotionally wrought piece. Performed live in ultra-dim lighting, the songs were moody, saturnine and deliciously atmospheric.
The band opened with Stations, a vaporous song which mentions loss and the Rapture. Certainly an attention-getter, as the song carried the heavy yet dreamy mood of the evening. The piece “Circle The Fringes” was a stand-out that ended with Lanegan’s growling caveat as punctuation.
Ever-expressive, mysterious Dulli and the more dusky, pensive Lanegan have an intense yet abating presence and chemistry as a performing duo. Dulli worked the room, at one point perched on a stool at the edge of the stage, arms stretched out over the crowd. Ever Dulli’s equivocal accompanist, Lanegan leaned into the microphone and used his deep voice to fill the room. The crowd responded either with closed eyes and nodded heads or with arms raised, chanting the choruses and responding to Dulli’s candor.
The most satisfying part of the show came at the encore. Our dark pair put the Gutter Twins spin on each man’s own songs and pasts, turning songs such as Screaming Trees’ “Shadow of the Season” into a haunting, penetrating stunner and Twilight Singers songs into poignant anthems. Mystery and darkness abounded, yet even the stony Lanegan ended up cracking a smile. I walked out of the venue having experienced something familiar yet strange, and achingly satisfying.

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22 March, 2008 – New orleans, LA- One Eyed Jacks

setlist image by Mark

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29 March, 2008 – Boulder, CO- Fox Theater

review by Jim

The set list from Boulder went like this:
The Stations
God’s Children
All Misery
Live With Me
Seven Stories
Idle Hands
Bete Noire
Down The Line
I Was In Love With You
St. James
Belles
Each to Each
Front Street
————
Papillon
Hit The City
King Only
Number 9

Some of the songs were new (to me anyway). Amazing show. The band was great. I was given permission to film the show as long as the band can see it before I post in on YouTube.
I’ll let you know.

Jim Hucks
Boulder, CO

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On a cold, rainy night, a cold, dark band came on stage. OK, so it wasn’t that cold, and it was barely drizzling, but the ambiance of the night seemed just right for the Gutter Twins (nee Greg Dulli, the Afghan Whigs, and Mark Lanegan, the Screaming Trees). I got to the Avalon (after spending $25 to park… that’s not a typo) about 9:20 or so, just in time to hear a number of really good songs from Great Northern. They worked hard and the crowd seemed to be getting into it. My anticipation grew as the roadies were tearing down the Great Northern gear and setting up the Gutter Twins set. After a long, drawn out process, the full band finally appeared.

They started off heavy singing “The Stations.” I, as well as others in my section, seemed to be really into it. They continued with “All God’s Children” and “All Misery/Flowers.” One of the few songs that were sung that were not on the album was “Live With Me,” which appeared on the Twilight Singers Stitch in Time EP. They also played a breathtaking version of the “St. James Infirmary” blues made famous by many including jazz pioneer Louis Armstrong and more recently, Isobel Campbell. The slow, brooding nature of the Gutter Twins’ vision fit that song really well.

Highlights of the night, for me, included “Seven Stories Underground” and “Bete Noire.” Dulli seemed to be frustrated with the audience when he asked for participation and got a very timid response from the hipster LA scene, at one point asking, “You guys still out there?” I was sitting almost directly in front of Jeff Klein playing keyboards. What a joy to watch. Some songs playing keys, some guitar, some playing his recorded loops from the laptop, all while smoking a cigarette. He really is an underrated and under appreciated musical talent. After Dulli introduced the band, Lanegan uttered the only non-singing words he uttered all night – “This is Greg Dulli.”

Dulli closed the set with an amazing version of “Front Street” that blew me away. The band went offstage, to what seemed to me, great applause. The band went backstage. The applause lasted a few minutes, it seemed, and all of a sudden, the lights came on and the roadies started dismantling. I did not want to believe it, but then the curtain came down. There would be no encore tonight. There is a difference between going to a Mark Lanegan concert and a Greg Dulli concert. Dulli wanted the crowd to clap, and move and show emotions, and the crowd reacted like they were at a Lanegan concert, quietly listening to incredible songs. Still, even with no encore, it was a great show, packed out at the legendary Palace Theatre, now the Avalon venue.

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Can I just preface this by sayin I’ve never been much of a Greg Dulli fan. Never got into the Afghan Whigs, and Twilight Singers were ok but Dulli tends to Dulli-cise everything he does and all sounds a bit homogenous.

Anyway rant over. We missed the support band, Television Room, who are kind of up and coming in Dublin, but what the hell. We were really excited for Gutter Twins as my girlfriend Sarah Jean had never seen Lanegan before.

On they came and launched into the album. Couldn’t help but notice the major contrast between Greg and Mark. Greg is so very ‘rock n roll’ whereas Mark is, well Mark. Hanging onto the mic stand for dear life and utterly nono-syllabic between songs. Which is why we all love him! Anyway gradually Greg’s rockist persona started filtering through, he was trying to get us to clap hands and telling stories etc. Idle Hands was a definite highlight here, as was Bete Noire and Front Street.

Don’t really remember the setlist that well (it was a few weeks ago) but they threw in a few random songs like ‘Hold on I’m coming’ the old Sam and Dave song which was a bit incongruous but worked all the same.

But they REALLY got going for the encore. They started singing each other’s songs, joining in on Twilight and solo-Lanegan songs, but the real highlight was then doing Hit the City which was amazing. The only words Mark spoke (apart from singing) during the whole gig was when Greg introduced the whole band, Mark said ‘Greg Dulli’. Greg said that LA didn’t get an encore because ‘they were bitches’ (?!)

I’ve never been to LA.

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With no support act, it was a little strange that the band stepped out onstage some 20 minutes late. A small detail, but it meant that this scribe had to leave before the end, thanks to Greater Manchester’s crap transport infrastructure.

Anyways, step onstage they did, and to a room that was packed to the rafters with some very noisy fans indeed.

This venue is brilliant. The stage is very low and shallow, so the band are almost milling around with you as they play. This sort of intimacy between artists and audience is really the best way to catch this band, and this had an immediate effect on everyone present. The Stations began, and we were off.

First surprise of the evening came with All Misery/Flowers – a lot more boisterous than on record (and more so than the last time I heard it live), with Greg sharing vocal duties to a much greater extent. This was a definite early highlight, along with a chilling rendition of Bete Noire and a never less than excellent Live With Me.

For me though, the party really got started with their cover of Jose Gonzales’ Down the Line. Leading the clapping at the start, Greg implored us to join in “Like you were at a Football match – getting your asses kicked by Liverpool”, which brought out a couple of playful boos from the crowd, and at this point Greg even told the two girls he really had a go at earlier on in the set for something to do with a red light (presumably cellphone-related. Never a good idea to be at a Dulli gig and then start doing something else) that they should also join in, as he was no longer mad at them. Bless. And the song itself absolutely brought the house down, even if a sizeable portion of the audience didn’t know what it was.

Following that, I Was In Love With You came complete with a When The Levee Breaks intro, with a bluesy St James’ Infirmary Blues and really nice rendition of Vetiver’s Belles to follow. And after that (as if that wasn’t enough), a storming version of Each to Each kicked in – on record this isn’t a favourite of some (although it certainly is of mine), but there’s no denying that this is a (if not the) highlight of their set. Breathtaking. A beautiful version of Front Street was next, and that was the main set over.

As I said earlier, I had to cut the encores a bit short as I had to make sure I got the last train, but the ones I caught were great – Papillon with its now-customary Shadow of the Season bit, Hit the City (although I would have much preferred River Rise, which this now seems to have replaced), a great rendition of King Only and then a blistering version of Methamphetamine Blues, by which point I had to bugger off.

Hope I didn’t miss too much, but there’s always tonight…

Setlist (sadly abbreviated. Hope someone else can finish it off):

The Stations
God’s Children
All Misery/Flowers
Live With Me
Seven Stories Underground
Idle Hands
Bete Noire
Down The Line
When the Levee Breaks / I Was In Love With You
St James’ Infirmary Blues
Belles
Each To Each
Front Street
————————
Papillon/Shadow of the Season
Hit the City
King Only
Methamphetamine Blues

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The Gutter Twins? In a comedy club? With their reputation?

Ahem. Sorry. Fast Show-isms aside, after reading a lot of the (somewhat inaccurate at times) media about the Gutter Twins of late, you’d be forgiven for thinking that they’d be more at home in a graveyard than performing in front of a 7-foot high sign that said “GLEE”. But here they were, and they played a blinder.

It should be said that the sound was a bit on the fluffy side, with the louder songs really struggling for clarity. But the twin (sorry) vocals of Lanegan and Dulli shone through the fuzz, and were – Greg especially – as good as I’ve ever heard them. Sound issues aside, every performance was nailed-on perfect, and I should also point out that Dave Rosser’s guitar-playing was fantastic, especially during Bete Noire, St James’ Infirmary Blues and an incredible Each to Each. It’s a shame that these efforts seem to have been largely wasted on an utterly unresponsive crowd, who barely moved the entire time, coming to life only during the encores (which, from this scribe’s point of view and given past shows, they were bloody lucky to get) and when prompted by Greg – who had to ask on more than one occasion if people were still there, and Bassist Scott Ford (who got one of the biggest cheers of the night when Greg introduced him as being from nearby Rugby) also mentioned that “It’s quiet… never be quiet”.

Still, for those who were there to enjoy themselves, there was plenty to take in and enjoy. Bete Noire sounds better every time I hear it, I Was In Love With You was perfectly and soulfully delivered, and the final three songs of the main set – Belles, Each to Each and Front Street flowed wonderfully.

Encore time, and for me (and probably not more than about another ten people) a highlight, albeit a very brief one. During the past shows, it has been noticed that one band from the Twins’ collective pasts hasn’t been visited, so it was a joy to hear a snippet of the Afghan Whigs’ Crime Scene Pt.1 before segueing into King Only (and finishing that with a nod to Babe I’m Gonna Leave You). The crowd finally came to life during Hit the City and Methamphetamine Blues, before Number 9 brought the set to a close.

A great set in all, and I certainly had a great time. If only the club had better acoustics and a non-moribund audience…
Setlist (and no, I didn’t memorise it…):

Stations
God’s Children
All Misery/Flowers
Live With Me
Seven Stories Underground
Idle Hands
Bete Noire
Down The Line
I Was in Love With You
St. James’ Infirmary Blues
Belles
Each to Each
Front Street
———————–
Papillon/Shadow of the Season
Hit the City
Crime Scene Pt.1/King Only/Babe I’m Gonna Leave You
Methamphetamine Blues
Number 9

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11 April, 2008 – Brussels, Belgium – AB
review by Niek

The Gutter Twins were playing in Brussels as the main act of the second day of the Domino Festival (a really nice festival with in the past bands as Sunn O))), CocoRosie, Melvins, Daniel Johnston…). The opening act of the evening was the Belgian band Creature With The Atom Brain. You probably heard of them, because it’s the band of Aldo Struyf and the one and only Mark Lanegan is a guest-singer on their album. I hadn’t seen them before so I looked forward to their concert. And it was good, but it wasn’t great. Of course I hoped they would play Crawl Like A Dog with Mark Lanegan, but unfortunately, they didn’t. So we had to wait on Mr Lanegan till the Satanic Everly Brothers came on stage.

After CWTAB we went to the front of the stage, just two metres before Mark’s mic. Everyone was ready for the show (it was sold out), and then… “Bonjour Belgique!”, there they were! They started really great with the trio Stations-God’s Misery-All Misery, they really seemed to enjoy this show (They both have a special band with Belgium, Lanegan even lived here for a while). And then it was time for the first highlight of the show: Live with me. It was clearly that Lanegan is just the best singer in the business. It was followed by Seven Stories Underground (really good!). “Heaven, it’s quite a climb…”, well, if those two don’t know that, no-one will. Then there was the best rocksong of the year: Idle Hands! They really set the place on fire with that one, it’s been since qotsa’s ‘a song for the dead’ that I heard such a great rocksong live. It was followed by Bete Noir and José Gonzalez’ Down The Line. But meanwhile, we became aware of the fact that Greg wasn’t feeling well at all. Mark spontaneously gave him some water and a roadie had to come on stage to wipe the sweat off his head during the song. But they continued with a great version of I was in love with you. After that song, Mark and Greg talked briefly with each other and then they played the magnificent traditional St. James Infirmary Blues. And after that one they just disappeared from the stage…

They had only played for about 45 minutes, so everyone was clapping their hands for a lot more. After a few minutes, the band came back on stage with only Mark Lanegan. Then Mark spoke to the audience! “My partner is not feeling well, he won’t come back” (or something like that…) The first song of the encore was a nice version of Vetiver’s Belles. Then they started to play Hit the city and the audience responded really enthusiastic on that song. Some jerk even climbed on the stage and went to stand right next to Mark until a roadie took him of the stage. Mark never even looked at him… Guitarplayer Dave Rosser did the PJ-parts and he really seemed to enjoy his role. They ended the show with a steaming version of Methamphetamine Blues. Everyone really enjoyed that song, the audience, the band and even Mark looked kind of happy. After that great ending, the show was over…

Of course it was short and I think a big part of the audience will complain of that, but hey, when I saw Lanegan this summer with the Soulsavers, he only was on stage for 35 minutes! I really enjoyed it and I hope they will come back this summer just as they promised.

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18 April 2008- Hamburg, Germany- Logo
review by Gary

This is a bit late, as I’m writing this review over a week after attending the concert, so apologies if the set-list isn’t 100% accurate (I couldn’t get hold of one, and didn’t take any notes).

The first thing that struck me was the size of the venue. Though I’m from the UK, I travel to Hamburg a lot, though I’ve never ventured into logo before.

The venue is very small and intimate, not really much more than a large bar with a stage in it, and only seemed to hold about a few hundred people, which after buying the initial few beers made it easy to make my way to a position right at the front of the stage (I could actually rest my beers on the stage), just to the right of where Mr Lanegan’s mic was stood.

First of all, we had an excellent set from Ed Harcourt, which got the crowd in the mood, before a 25-30 minute wait for the main attraction.

The first strains of ‘The Stations’ then hit, and we was treated to a mesmeric rendition, with Mark Lanegan on top vocal form, while remaining stoic and still as always, while Greg Dulli was somewhat more animated, encouraging the crowd to show some energy (in fairness, most of the crowd did seem to be into it).

They the followed up with the next two tracks as they occur on the ‘Saturnalia’ album, before an excellent rendition of ‘Live With Me’.

‘Seven Stories’ and ‘Idle Hands’ then both followed and both of these songs seem to take on an added edge when played live, with the harmonies really noticeable on ‘Seven Stories’, while ‘Idle Hands’ becomes an energetic piece, filled with edge and menace through Lanegan’s vocals.

‘Bete Noire’, ‘Down The Line’ and ‘I Was In Love With You’ then followed before a wonderful version of ‘St James’ Infirmary Blues’, which left much of the audience almost spellbound.

Then came ‘Each to Each’, which when heard live dispels any arguments of it being a weak track, it was very good indeed.

After this, Dulli introduced the rest of the bank, before Lanegan uttered his only spoken words of the night when introducing his fellow ‘Twin’.

Then followed which a version of ‘Front Street’ which was absolutely electrifying, with Lanegan’s backing vocal’s exquisite while Dulli wrung emotion and passion out of every line he sung particularly his repeated ‘Give Me Five Minutes’ towards the songs’ climax.

At the end of this song the band left the stage, though with the crowd baying for more, it wasn’t all that long before they took to the stage for an encore.

Starting with the ‘Papillon/Shadow of the Season’ blend that seems to have been a staple of the encores throughout the bands’ tour, they the launched into a blistering version of ‘Hit The City’ from Lanegan’s ‘Bubblegum’ album, with Lanegan’s voice and presence taking on almost devilish proportions as he delivered this one.

After a little fine tuning, we were treated to a Gutter Twins take on ‘Amazing Grace’, before going into a version of ‘King Only’ that had the crowed enraptured, until a couple of minutes in when a shower of electrical sparks shot up and the power to the mics and guitars was lost (which seemed to draw a wry smile from Lanegan).

The band then left the stage while a number of technicians got on with trying to rectify the problem after Dulli got on the mic to assure us that once fixed, the band would finish the encore.

After about 15 minutes, order was restored, and they picked up at exactly the poin at which power was lost, before rounding off with Lanegan’s ‘Methamphetamine Blues’ and finally the Twilight Singers ‘Number 9’.

After that, the band were gone, after delivering a set lasting just under two hours which was absolutely brilliant (as an aside, for such a small venue, the sound was very good, and bar the late technical hitch would have been near-perfect), and having been so close to the band, was one which I will remember for a long, long time. I can only recommend trying to see The Gutter Twins live if the chance arises, they really do give their material a whole new energy when playing live, and I hope to catch them again in the future.

Setlist (I believe this is accurate)

The Stations
God’s Children
All Misery/Flowers
Live With Me
Seven Stories Underground
Idle Hands
Bete Noire
Down The Line
I Was In Love With You
St James’ Infirmary Blues
Each to Each
Front Street
——————
Papillon/Shadow of the Season
Hit The City
Amazing Grace
King Only
Metathetamine Blues
Number 9

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2 May, 2008 – Athens, Greece – Fuzz Club

review by: apelpis

OK Americans, you’re going to hate us.
This is the setlist.
The Stations
God’s Children
All Misery
Live With Me
Seven Stories Underground
Down The Line
Who Will Lead Us?
I Was In Love With You
Bete Noire
St. James Infirmary Blues
Each To Each
Spanish Doors
Idle Hands
Front Street
The River Rise
Papillon/The Joker/Shadow Of The Season
Hit The City
King Only
Methamphetamine Blues
Number Nine
Basically everything that’s ever been on this tour except for Belles/Hold On (I’m Coming) and I’m Ready.
Highlights: * Thy Will Be Done at the end of the Stations. Final. Perfect. Your life was fucked because it had to be fucked. Take it man, take it hardcase. Blow the blues and take it.
* Live With Me. Incredible. No words for this one.
* The lighting off of Lanegan’s tattooed hands. The man is the Grim Reaper incarnate when he sings.
*Front Street. It exploded. Greg came down a catwalk and sang in the midst of the crowd, howled, screamed, tore it through the roof.
* Spanish Doors. This is the gothic Papillon. I have no idea why it didn’t make it onto the album.
*Meth Blues. You could feel it in your toes.
These boys rock the world.

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12 July 2008- Seattle, WA- Showbox
review by Christopher

Although both opening bands were finished 45 minutes earlier than listed, the band still didn’t come on until midnight, to the same intro music as March. Greg paused at the mic to address us briefly “What’s up motherfuckers?”

Idle Hands
Bonnie Brae
Seven Stories
Live With Me
God’s Children
Hit the City — I was having a good time, but I thought the sound was fairly poor this time around up until

Stations — wow suddenly the sound is perfectly mixed and Mark is great as usual on this song. During the ending Greg looked back at Dave Rosser several times, seemed to me like he didn’t like the harmonizing maybe?

Somewhere around here Greg mentioned that it was Sub Pop’s anniversary and that both he and Mark lived here in the past, that he loved the honorary flag on the Space Needle, thanked so and so, etc

Bete Noir
Down the Line
St James — Greg became very animated as soon as he’s loose from his guitar onto the keys, this portion of the set is the definite highlight, these 3 songs could almost be called a medly it was so tight. Greg swayed and preened alot during St James which seemed a crowd favorite

tease Spanish Doors — Dave and Jeff both started playing the circusy riff while Greg went to strap his guitar back on, and he was like “both of you, stop it you guys are reminding me of Life Goes On” and Dave said he wanted to play it and Greg replied “I know you do Corky, but save it for Europe they’ll appreciate it more”

Each to Each
Front Street — with the usual band introductions, when it came to introducing Mark, Greg just held his hand out towards him and the crowd went nuts, and Mark did the same for Greg very nice way to go about it this time. This song is 100 times better live than on record, kills again

encore

Papillion>Gospel Plow — The band comes out and jams on Papillion for a couple minutes, then Greg and Mark come out. Greg has a bottle of champagne and toasts the crowd briefly. Err, count me among those who appreciated a new tag but also felt it was completely out of place. It was only the “Mary had a golden chain, hold on … if you want to get to Heaven” part, after which the band played 30 seconds or so of an ending jam

No Easy Action — fucking rocked, after Greg stops everybody and quickly says something to Mark, before they jump to

Number Nine

and that’s the way the cookie crumbled, I was halfheartedly expecting a 2nd encore maybe of the same cloth as the 03 just Greg and Mark variety, but the house music killed off any chance of an audience rally again this time. Seriously, when it starts blaring away before the band has even left the stage it’s kind of ridiculous.

So all in all, not as good as before but it was welcome that the main set wasn’t at all similar to March, so it kept me in the mode

Christopher

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13 August, 2008 – London, UK – Shepherd’s Bush Empire
review by Foz

It would seem that people’s enjoyment of this show largely depended on where they were stood. Fortunately, I was milling about the place for most of the evening and so managed to avoid most of the pockets of sound so fluffy it was as if it was being pumped through kittens. Apparently this is a general malaise associated with this particular venue, so we all had to make the best of it.

That aside, it’s always a pleasure to be at a Gutter Twins show, and tonight was no exception. The show opened with The Stations and God’s Children, songs which manage to be sombre and upbeat at the same time (and so I guess encapsulate the band as a whole), followed by a great rendition of Massive Attack’s Live With Me.
This was followed by a blistering Idle Hands, which has been working its way up the setlist, and I felt that this was a great move as this got an already appreciative and vocal crowd moving about, and this enthusiasm continued throughout the rest of the evening (evidenced by the very short time between the end of the main set and the commencement of the encore).

The set has evolved nicely since the tour began, and tonight was a fine continuation. The Screaming Trees’ Change Has Come and the Afghan Whigs’ When We Two Parted were very welcome additions, Eleven’s Flow Like a River (a tribute to Natasha Shneider, who sadly passed away recently) was a moving eulogy, and new track Spanish Doors got everyone salivating for forthcoming EP Adorata.

Biggest surprise of the evening was reserved for main set closer Front Street, when Manuel Agnelli from Afterhours turned up for a quick spin on the keyboards. Although it wasn’t the only surprise of the evening, as Greg piped up with Mark’s When Your Number Isn’t Up during the second half of Papillon. The encore got bigger and bigger cheers throughout, culminating in a roar that accompanied the intro to Methamphetamine Blues. Number Nine was the usual impeccably-performed slowdown to the evening, and then it was all over.

All in all, an exciting, evolving set performed by a band whose love of what they are doing is evident in each performance. Sound issues were certainly a problem for some, but that’s what legs are for.

I can’t wait to see them again. And for those following this sort of thing, Scott Ford was born in Essex at this particular show.

Setlist:

The Stations
God’s Children
Live With Me (Massive Attack)
Idle Hands
Seven Stories Underground
Change Has Come (Screaming Trees)
Flow Like A River (Eleven)
Bete Noir
Down The Line (Jose Gonzalez)
When We Two Parted (Afghan Whigs)
St James’ Infirmary Blues (Traditional)
Spanish Doors
Each to Each
Front St.

Encore:

Papillon (Twilight Singers) / When Your Number Isn’t Up (Mark Lanegan Band)
Hit The City (Mark Lanegan Band)
Bonnie Brae (Twilight Singers)
Methamphetamine Blues (Mark Lanegan Band)
Number Nine (Twilight Singers)

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27 August, 2008 – Sheffield, UK – Leadmill
review by Foz

Ah, Sheffield.
An entertaining and occasionally frightening drive across two counties (one of which – Derbyshire – apparently containing nothing except hills, sheep, another hill, something calling itself The Donkey Village and rumours of a colony of wallabies), Sheffield is a horrible place to bring a car, as it goes out of its way to fill its small area with as many confusing one-way streets as possible. I suspect that it might not actually be able to be accurately mapped in a mere three dimensions.

Anyway, without too much of a fuss (for a change), I managed to find my way to the Limelight and enjoyed a lively support set from Carina Round before the now-familiar strains of the Gutter Twins’ intro tune swept into a small room containing what can only be described as not an awful lot of people. And then we were off, with opener Idle Hands blasting out as a definite statement of intent for the evening’s entertainment.

I am very lucky to be able to say that this was the fifth time this year that I have seen the band perform, and even luckier to be able to say that last night’s show was the absolute pick of the bunch. Great sound married with a band on the absolute top of their game made for a fantastic night – knowing looks and the occasional giggle seemed to be standard procedure onstage, and this relaxed demeanour really enhanced the performances – in particular an outstanding fast-paced version of the Screaming Trees’ Change Has Come, delivered with love and venom. This was followed by a rendition of Circle the Fringes that made the most of the excellent sound mix, losing no subtlety and giving no quarter. Mention should also be made of the lighting, which some people had a bit of an issue with in London recently – as before, illumination was kept to a minimum, but the intimate setting of the venue and the laid-back nature of the audience (a bit immobile as with the Birmingham show, but not quite as annoyingly so for some reason) brought the performers that little bit closer to us, like a classic Twilight Singers show when it felt as if they were playing in a friend’s front room. The atmosphere was brilliant, despite the venue’s insistence on half-heartedly letting off the dry-ice machine every now and then in scenes reminiscent of the bits in Korean film Oldboy when the protagonist was occasionally gassed so they could cut his hair and tidy up a bit.

It’s hard to say what the highlights were without wittering on about every song, which I am trying very hard to avoid doing. Hard Time Killing Floor was great barroom blues. Down the Line was just as impressive as on every other night. St. James’ Infirmary showcased Greg’s talent for delivering Soul with his Blues. Each to Each was just amazing. Front Street was the show-ending epic to end all shows.

The encore was shorter than it has been elsewhere on the tour, but it was as entertaining as always. Greg has always had a wickedly knowing way with communicating with fans, and there’s nothing that gets a crowd smiling quite so much as a cheeky nod at the local area. Fortunately for us, his offer to regail us with a repertoire of Def Leppard songs was not carried out. It should be pointed out though that Scott Ford was for once not announced as being from the surrounding area – presumably because technically, Sheffield doesn’t have one.
So in brief: a remarkable Bonnie Brae, a stunning Hit the City and the wonderful comedown of Number Nine finished off a great evening.

The fifth time I’d seen the band, the final time I will see the band until they come swanning round this neck of the woods again, and by far the best. A real privilege to have been there last night.
Idle Hands
Seven Stories Underground
God’s Children
Change Has Come
Circle the Fringes
Hard Time Killing Floor
Bete Noir
Down the Line
St James’ Infirmary Blues
The Stations
Each to Each
Front Street

Bonnie Brae
Hit the City
Number Nine