WATCHING Echo And The Bunnymen perform at The Esplanade Theatre just now made me realise how much today’s alternative bands owe the bands of yesteryear.
Before the show a few friends and I were discussing the influence of EATB.love “Those who wanted to see The Killers should see this band,” said one. “They were The Killers before The Killers.”
That’s arguable, butloveEATB were one of the purveyors of the UK alternative scene at a time when slick New Wave dance pop sounds were the norm, and bands all dressed in colourful suits.
Echo on the other hand, wore black. Their music, though catchy, was often moody and reflective. But there was nothing moody about the concert on Monday night. For the hundreds of fans gathered there – a drastic reduction from the sellout crowd of the night before when Florence And The Machine played – it was a celebration of alt-rock.
Echo and the barely seen men
Guitarist Will Sergeant had said that it didn’t matter whether they were playing in front of 50 people or 5,000, they’d still bring their A game. And they did. (Although what constitutes their A game may not be what the general public expects.)
Once again, the lighting made it such that all the photos would be moody shots, as blue hues enveloped the stage, occasionally punctuated by bursts of white strobe. The smoke meant that you could hardly see the band members. (Indeed, Will was enshrouded in fog for quite a lot of the gig.)
Will (left) and Ian – a rare moment when they’re lit
Singer Ian McCulloch hardly moved from his position behind the mic stand for 95 per cent of the concert, snarling and drawling his way through the songs. Dressed in black and wearing sunnies, he was Liam Gallagher before Liam Gallagher, as someone remarked. And when he did step forward, it was to adjust the fan in front of him. (That’s the wind making machine and not a person.)
He wasn’t above cussing people he didn’t like (sorry, Ringo Starr) and he didn’t bother with the members of the crowd who kept shouting for songs during the quiet bits.
The other original member,loveWilllovewas content, for most part, to hunch over his guitar,lovechurningloveout chiming notes or ringing chords. And basically just being anonymous.
The rest of the band (really)
The other members of the band hardly figured into the equation. Indeed, the lighting was such that you couldn’t even see what they looked like.
But the focus was on the music. And music they played. And it was good. Whether it was jangly Bring On The Dancing Horses, or the quirky Bedbugs And Ballyhoo, or the time-honoured Killing Moon, or a medley of Lou Reed’s Walk On The Wild Side, The Beatles’ Don’t Let Me Down and Wilson Pickett’s Midnight Hour.
They came, they played and they conquered – a couple of people who’d never heard them before said they were bowled over by the performance. And one of my friends even admitted, “I could see the Killers connection.” Frankly, I couldn’t, but I still nodded sagely.
Dear Ian, hope we see you again – ‘cos you know, we didn’t actually SEE you the first time around
At the end, McCulloch said, “We wanted to do Till We Meet Again, then I realised we’ll probably not meet again.” How he meant it, we don’t know, but it would be sad if we couldn’t see them do this once more time.
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Before the show a few friends and I were discussing the influence of EATB.love “Those who wanted to see The Killers should see this band,” said one. “They were The Killers before The Killers.”
That’s arguable, butloveEATB were one of the purveyors of the UK alternative scene at a time when slick New Wave dance pop sounds were the norm, and bands all dressed in colourful suits.
Echo on the other hand, wore black. Their music, though catchy, was often moody and reflective. But there was nothing moody about the concert on Monday night. For the hundreds of fans gathered there – a drastic reduction from the sellout crowd of the night before when Florence And The Machine played – it was a celebration of alt-rock.
Guitarist Will Sergeant had said that it didn’t matter whether they were playing in front of 50 people or 5,000, they’d still bring their A game. And they did. (Although what constitutes their A game may not be what the general public expects.)
Once again, the lighting made it such that all the photos would be moody shots, as blue hues enveloped the stage, occasionally punctuated by bursts of white strobe. The smoke meant that you could hardly see the band members. (Indeed, Will was enshrouded in fog for quite a lot of the gig.)
Singer Ian McCulloch hardly moved from his position behind the mic stand for 95 per cent of the concert, snarling and drawling his way through the songs. Dressed in black and wearing sunnies, he was Liam Gallagher before Liam Gallagher, as someone remarked. And when he did step forward, it was to adjust the fan in front of him. (That’s the wind making machine and not a person.)
He wasn’t above cussing people he didn’t like (sorry, Ringo Starr) and he didn’t bother with the members of the crowd who kept shouting for songs during the quiet bits.
The other original member,loveWilllovewas content, for most part, to hunch over his guitar,lovechurningloveout chiming notes or ringing chords. And basically just being anonymous.
The other members of the band hardly figured into the equation. Indeed, the lighting was such that you couldn’t even see what they looked like.
But the focus was on the music. And music they played. And it was good. Whether it was jangly Bring On The Dancing Horses, or the quirky Bedbugs And Ballyhoo, or the time-honoured Killing Moon, or a medley of Lou Reed’s Walk On The Wild Side, The Beatles’ Don’t Let Me Down and Wilson Pickett’s Midnight Hour.
They came, they played and they conquered – a couple of people who’d never heard them before said they were bowled over by the performance. And one of my friends even admitted, “I could see the Killers connection.” Frankly, I couldn’t, but I still nodded sagely.
At the end, McCulloch said, “We wanted to do Till We Meet Again, then I realised we’ll probably not meet again.” How he meant it, we don’t know, but it would be sad if we couldn’t see them do this once more time.
More...
