Mark Lanegan Live Appearances, 2013
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Thebarton Theatre, Adelaide, Australia, w/Nick Cave; 3 March, 2013
by Brendan

I live in Adelaide, Australia and last Sunday I went to see Nick Cave & the Bad Seeds @ Thebarton Theatre and was utterly shocked to find out on Sunday morning, when I rang the Theatre for show times and to find out who was supporting Cave that Mark was supporting so got there early to see him….there has been very little publicity here regarding Mark supporting…most of Cave’s shows sold out quickly so maybe that’s why? – ie they don’t do as much advertising in print media with tour advertisments mentioning support slots etc. I couldn’t find any mention of support slots on the three ticket websites I use…anyway, it was a very pleasant surprise.

As you’ve said on your site, Mark was there just with a guitarist playing acoustic guitar…he played, in order the following songs :

When Your Number Isn’t Up
The Cherry Tree Carol
One Way Street
No Easy Action
Miracle
Creeping Coastline of Lights
Don’t Forget Me
Mirrored
The Gravedigger’s Song
On Jesus’s Program

I think Mark got a really good reception at the concert and I was really happy for him….as I’ve said there was virtually no press regarding his support slot (which, come to think of it, matched the last Nick Cave gig I saw here) so everyone turned up to the sold-out gig (sold out as Cave’s new record debuted at #1 here) early not knowing the playing times or who was supporting and the theatre was over half full when Mark came out…his voice was in top form and given the quiet backing of the acoustic guitar I could hear it better than at any of the previous gigs I’ve seen him at….I think a lot of the eclectic crowd were pretty mesmerised by his performance and his intensity and given the often similar subject matter of his lyrics to Nick Cave’s he probably won over a few fans on Sunday night.

Alhambra, Paris, France, 15 November, 2013
by Mimie

It’s the 6th time I’m seeing Mark on this night of November, and the second time I’m going to a solo show after the Union Chapel. So my expectations are very high, and I won’t be disappointed. I arrived at the door opening time, the venue is a standing one which is unusual on this tour (and a pity for me, as my knees were aching a lot that evening, but that didn’t prevent me to enjoy the gig). I was on the second row and the audience was extremely respectful, which, believe me, is rare in Paris (the two nights before, the piano songs at the QOTSA gigs were wasted by people in my opinion). Mark wasn’t there at the second QOTSA gig, I was missing him on In The Fade. But back to the Alhambra gig!

I had already seen previously the two opening “bands”, Lyenn (whose set was shorter than at the Trabendo, and who made us laugh by saying he was our aperitif) and Duke Garwood. Liked them but I will not say I’m really a fan. Both of them played with Mark that evening, but you already know that.

And then Mark, who has begun the set by… an irritated movement of his arm towards the lights 😀 I really think he exaggerated the look on his face at this moment, you can’t be so angry about a light, no? But people found it amusing so it was a very good way in for the show, very Mark-ish if you understand what I want to say, just before the lovely When Your Number Isn’t Up. The sound was excellent, Jeff’s electric guitar wasn’t too loud or too soft, the strings added some depth to the songs, and Mark’s voice was simply the best I’ve ever heard him sing. Maybe it was the mainly acoustic show that made his voice so beautiful, but anyway it was awesome. And I already found it awesome at all the previous shows I went, so that means something. It was a bit too early in the year for The Cherry Tree Carol but I was very happy to hear it. My favorite part of the show was the beginning with his solo songs, but I loved everything, Black Pudding tracks, the covers… These covers are really a great idea because, even if the original ones are not songs I usually listen to, they allow Mark to have a happier part in his set. I don’t really know how to explain that (all the more so as English is not my language :D) but even if these songs are not really happy songs strictly speaking, I think Mark seems happier, more relaxed when he interprets them than when he sings his own material.

The Lou Reed tribute was generously acclaimed, someone screamed “merci!” and I think Mark was touched by the public’s reaction. The first part of the show was ended by On Jesus’ Program, one of the best vocal performances of Mark that evening. As usual only Jeff Fielder came for the encore, but Mark had introduced the band that night. After the calm moment of Bombed, Halo of Ashes ended the night magnificently, by reading the previous reviews I knew that Mark will probably be sitting at the end to let Jeff into the spotlight, but even without the surprise this moment was great, what a guitar player he is, oh my God!

Last waving for Mark, but Jeff took a photo of us, thanked us a lot and informed us Mark will do the signing. So I hurried to the merch table, it was a bit of a mess because I hadn’t bought my things before, and Mark was already signing things while people were buying merch, so I gave up the idea to buy the bobblehead in front of him 😀 I am very shy and the fact to have to choose what I will buy, pay and give the things to Mark in two minutes was hard for me, I didn’t even had time to see all that was on sale, but I bought the Union Chapel CD and a little foil version of the Justin Hampton poster. I gave my ticket of the show and the CD to Mark to sign but I hid the mini poster as I thought it was creepy too to make him sign that 😀 And there was a member of the Alhambra staff who was hurrying people so that didn’t help me to feel comfortable, but I managed to say something like “Thank you so much for this awesome gig” (I regret I didn’t manage to say to him that I was at the Union Chapel gig) and the “You’re welcome” and the smile he gave to me in return (I swear you, he smiled!) was way better than the grunt I obtained in the Trabendo the year before (and this grunt was already cherished in my heart).

It was a wonderful evening and I want to thank Mark and the band one more time for this. Especially Mark for the signing after that he is not obliged to do, but the rest of the band was perfect so thank you all guys!

PS: Black shoes ^^