Mark Lanegan and Soulsavers at The Garage
Mark Lanegan and Soulsavers
The Garage, 27 August 2009
For some reason I've seen Mark Lanegan live more than any other artist but then Lanegan has to have more bands and projects he's involved in than any other artist. Other than seeing him with his own band, I've seen him sing with the Screaming Trees, Queens Of The Stone Age, The Twilight Singers, The Gutter Twins and of course Isobel Campbell. But one of my most memorable Lanegan experiences was the first time I saw him with Soulsavers.
Playing the tiny Bush Hall in Shepherd's Bush, I found myself standing right in front of his microphone and although the stage was quite low his mike was placed almost at the edge and I found myself staring up in awe at this giant of an artist, and as it happens, of a man for the entire show, close enough to touch his star-tattooed hands, that clung to the microphone, without even reaching out. His presence and close proximity was scary and strangely awe-inspiring.
Sadly I didn't get that close again for this Soulsavers show at the newly refurbished Garage (amusingly re-titled The Relentless Garage because it's being sponsored by the energy drink). To my eyes it looks exactly the same except it's been re-painted, has a new red curtain around the stage and, bizarrely for a tiny venue, there's a barrier in front of the stage with loads of room for photographers. Weird. Still I'm close enough and it amuses me when a roadie comes on stage to fix Mr Lanegan's microphone that he has to bring a case to stand on to check it's working.
When the Soulsavers arrive on stage, followed by Lanegan, he is indeed a monster, plus, unlike many times I've seen him before (particularly earlier this decade where he often looked gaunt, thin and at times seemed so frail that it appeared he was holding himself up by the microphone), he looks especially healthy with a little meat on his bones. Dulli must have fed him well while they were out on tour, good man. Of course this makes him look even meaner and scarier. The band starts as he takes his position at the front of the stage, barely acknowledging the audience, holding the microphone like a potential weapon, eyes squinting like a lion, jaw jutting and lips pursed. And then of course he opens his mouth to sing and, oh my God, buildings quake. The first song is one where his voice sounds the deepest too, Ghosts Of You And Me, but although growling and dense, the years of whiskey, cigarettes and, God knows what other abuses he's put himself through, seem to have just improved his vocals because it sounds so strong and loud, even competing with three guitarists and a drummer going wild. Like that whiskey, he just gets better with age.
Obviously Lanegan doesn't mutter a word all night (until the very end) but that towering, gigantic presence and that voice is all that is needed to keep the crowd enthralled. They play a mixture of tracks from the two Soulsavers albums that Lanegan was involved in, It's Not How Far You Fall, It's The Way You Land and the newly released Broken, and all are pretty magnificent. In particular there's an epic, breathtaking version of Gene Clark's heartbreaking Some Misunderstanding, which builds and soars, despite the lack of backing singers on the album. In fact this is a very stripped down, rockier affair than the last time Soulsavers toured with Lanegan: last time there was gospel-singing girls, keyboards and beats, this time it's darker, grungier, bluesier, arguably just the way Lanegan likes it.
Before the encore, the show ends with two nice surprises, a suitably gloomy but groovy re-telling of ZZ Top's Jesus Just Left Chicago and one of Lanegan's own solo songs, Hit The City, during which a bunch of drunken Lanegan groupies (about four women in their 40s by the looks of it) excitedly sang along.
The encore saw Red Ghost, the Aussie girl discovered by the Soulsavers guys who features on the album, sing alone, but although she sings well, she's pretty unremarkable (also I'm unable to see her from my angle, she's seems hidden at the back on the left side of the stage). Thankfully the domineering presence of Mr Lanegan returns and begins the praise-worthy Gothic gospel of Revival, probably the stand-out track of the last album. After telling us "there's going to be a revival tonight", that was it and with a "thanks very much" (his only spoken words that night) he and the rest of the band were gone. They had only played for just over 60 minutes and there was still 15 minutes left until curfew. Worst still apparently To Bring You My Love, the awesome PJ Harvey song, was on the set list as an encore but not played. Still it was a treat to hear that thunderous roar of a voice in the flesh once again. I can't wait until next time.
Playing the tiny Bush Hall in Shepherd's Bush, I found myself standing right in front of his microphone and although the stage was quite low his mike was placed almost at the edge and I found myself staring up in awe at this giant of an artist, and as it happens, of a man for the entire show, close enough to touch his star-tattooed hands, that clung to the microphone, without even reaching out. His presence and close proximity was scary and strangely awe-inspiring.
Sadly I didn't get that close again for this Soulsavers show at the newly refurbished Garage (amusingly re-titled The Relentless Garage because it's being sponsored by the energy drink). To my eyes it looks exactly the same except it's been re-painted, has a new red curtain around the stage and, bizarrely for a tiny venue, there's a barrier in front of the stage with loads of room for photographers. Weird. Still I'm close enough and it amuses me when a roadie comes on stage to fix Mr Lanegan's microphone that he has to bring a case to stand on to check it's working.
When the Soulsavers arrive on stage, followed by Lanegan, he is indeed a monster, plus, unlike many times I've seen him before (particularly earlier this decade where he often looked gaunt, thin and at times seemed so frail that it appeared he was holding himself up by the microphone), he looks especially healthy with a little meat on his bones. Dulli must have fed him well while they were out on tour, good man. Of course this makes him look even meaner and scarier. The band starts as he takes his position at the front of the stage, barely acknowledging the audience, holding the microphone like a potential weapon, eyes squinting like a lion, jaw jutting and lips pursed. And then of course he opens his mouth to sing and, oh my God, buildings quake. The first song is one where his voice sounds the deepest too, Ghosts Of You And Me, but although growling and dense, the years of whiskey, cigarettes and, God knows what other abuses he's put himself through, seem to have just improved his vocals because it sounds so strong and loud, even competing with three guitarists and a drummer going wild. Like that whiskey, he just gets better with age.
Before the encore, the show ends with two nice surprises, a suitably gloomy but groovy re-telling of ZZ Top's Jesus Just Left Chicago and one of Lanegan's own solo songs, Hit The City, during which a bunch of drunken Lanegan groupies (about four women in their 40s by the looks of it) excitedly sang along.
The encore saw Red Ghost, the Aussie girl discovered by the Soulsavers guys who features on the album, sing alone, but although she sings well, she's pretty unremarkable (also I'm unable to see her from my angle, she's seems hidden at the back on the left side of the stage). Thankfully the domineering presence of Mr Lanegan returns and begins the praise-worthy Gothic gospel of Revival, probably the stand-out track of the last album. After telling us "there's going to be a revival tonight", that was it and with a "thanks very much" (his only spoken words that night) he and the rest of the band were gone. They had only played for just over 60 minutes and there was still 15 minutes left until curfew. Worst still apparently To Bring You My Love, the awesome PJ Harvey song, was on the set list as an encore but not played. Still it was a treat to hear that thunderous roar of a voice in the flesh once again. I can't wait until next time.
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