DETROIT, MICHIGAN – The torrential rains came and so did the
floods. Driving over to Detroit I couldn’t help notice that the skies were
completely black and there were plenty of traffic back ups along the way. There
were accidents and swirling red and blue police lights and yet I was determined
to get to Saint Andrews Hall to see Echo and the Bunnymen. I parked the car and
made the long walk over to the venue getting completely sloshed in rain and
walking through puddles of water. This was more than just a simple rain storm –
it was more like, Ocean Rain.
I grabbed a brew and waited downstairs in the Shelter – the small
music venue below the main auditorium. I could hear the opening act upstairs
play on his acoustic through the sound system. It is there where I heard the
terrible news about late comedian Robin Williams. Eventually I made my way
upstairs to go stand in the main ballroom which was filling up with people and
we were all soon elbow to elbow.
Ian McCulloch, the impressionable lead front man, walked
onto the stage and the crowd went wild. There was a lot of blue and purple
lights and all you could make out of the band members were shadows. That is
typical. This was the closest I ever got to the band other than the time I
caught them at Toad’s Place in New Haven, CT. At that show they brought the
full prop list of fishing nets, twigs, dry ice fog machines, strobe lights.
This was the first time I really saw the band completely stripped down. The
stage setting was very odd – even for them – it consisted of a coffee table, a
tiny lamp with lampshade and a couch. This was like a living room concert –
literally.
The band launched into, “Meteorites” and it was very subtle
but it drew you in close. Mac, (Ian’s nickname) has an very strong stage
presence and always has. His trademark messy hair was piled up into a big rats
nest and he wore a long coat and completed his mysterious look with a pair of
sunglasses. I see a lot of rock stars doing this lately. How they can see or
work around in all that fog like that is beyond me. The somber sound of, “Meteorites”
is very slow and intriguing. Even while I am watching this band perform I can’t
even believe that I am actually in front of them. The crowd was very
enthusiastic.
Will Sergeant was there too but I couldn’t recognize him. It
has been a while since I had seen them. This wasn’t the same band I saw in 1988
when they had all original members play in Hill Auditorium in Ann Arbor,
Michigan. But make no mistake these guys know what they are doing. The second
track they played was, “Rescue” off the first album and as soon as the opening
notes shrilled through the speakers people were howling and cheering. These
guys really make it look so easy. Ian brought the song to a slow pace at the
words, “I broke my neck…..” and the guitar makes this guttural chopping sound
and it wasn’t quite the right pitch. Ian sang that line three times until the
guitar effect was perfect. Then he brings it back to full pace with the words, “Is
this the blues I’m singing?”
YOU BET.
I put on a ton of Echo and the Bunnymen living room concerts
of my own. I got the 4 disc set with the full collection of B-sides and rare
tracks and pretty much wore it out. I then ordered that same collection off of
Itunes so I would have a backup copy. Seeing the EATB perform in a living room kind of scenario made
total sense to me because I have done it so many times. Maybe that is what the band was kind of going
for here? The setting was intimate. Saint Andrews Hall in Detroit is actually
kind of small compared to others places I’d been like New York’s Bowery
Ballroom and Irving Plaza. The stage at
the Royal Oak Music Theater is actually bigger than Saint Andrew’s Hall too. Then
the other thought I have is that maybe the roadies just left the lamp and chair
on the stage because they were too lazy to pull it down from the opening act.
I didn’t want to read the other reviews until I saw the show
first hand. It would ruin the surprises and there are some good ones on this
tour. EATB jumped into, “Never Stop” and the crowd was ready. I don’t believe I
had ever seen the band do this live before. It sounded like awesome and the
audience joined in on singing it. The audience participation was incredible.
Remember that the band had this kind of support in their native England back in
the 80’s where their fan base borders on fanatical. They had a Beatlemania type
period early on in their history and rightly so. Bassist Wil Patterson and
drummer Pete DeFreitas were relentless on the beat and there was a powerful
sound. It was almost too good to last. Shortly after the 1988 US leg of the
tour De Freitas would drive his motorcycle into a tree tragically cutting his
career short.
“Bedbugs and Ballyhoo” was a surprise too. I hadn’t heard
this one since the 1987-1988 tour which supported their self titled release, “Echo
and the Bunnymen”. A lot of those tracks on that album had a certain energy
about them that was never duplicated or topped since. They were a different band
then and the songs that later followed on subsequent albums went off on another
tangent. The songs were still imaginative and soul gripping but they didn’t hit
the same emotional marks. “That’s The Way The Bee Bumbles…. That’s The Way The
Thunder Rumbles….” Taunts Ian and the house erupted in applause. The sound was
on the mark and delivered so perfectly I didn’t want this experience to end.
Echo and the Bunnymen have certainly gave us a lot over the
years. They gave us the manic dancing and overall mania. I remember Ian doing a full body shake dance
where he would lose control over every muscle in his body amidst cheering women
and flash bulbs. I have yet to see any of that on YouTube but welcome seeing
that again because it was quite strange and wonderful. They also gave us a
range of desperation and have taken us down dark roads of hopelessness and
isolation and terror and then left us there. On the return album, “Evergreen”
Ian McCulloch even assures us that, “Jesus Loves Us” and ends the song on a
happy note on, “Don’t Let It Get You Down”. On the newest release, “Meteorites”
there are shades of emotion on here that sort of fill in the missing gaps. This
is a holistic release with songs like, “Holy Moses” and, “Constantinople”.
These songs work. They are not from left field but
compliment the full collection of songs that we have come to, “Learn and Sing”.
They even stand up in the same level of quality as the other songs. After a few
listens you really cannot imagine life without them. This tour really blends in
the old Echo and the new sounds bringing them together as one.
The band has never lost any of its original fire and that
has never been more apparent than in, “All That Jazz” off the first album.
Damn. This still sounds really good and they drive it in with sharp
precision. “See You When The Lights Go Low
Joe… Someday When The Sky Turns Black.” Bellows
Ian and the jolting words are interrupted with a machine gun drumming. This
could almost be a new song because it’s got all the hooks in it and all their
signature sounds that made them. The house lets never go on full blast and the
blue and purple lights criss cross as the band plays and never let us get a clear view of what is happening on the
stage. Ian never loses his focus on the mic and its about some kind of
confrontation to some unseen enemy.
Echo and the Bunnymen usually give us nods to an earlier
history in rock music. They are well versed in all of its lore. So ripping
thru, “Take A Walk On The Wild Side” by Lou Reed and the Velvet Underground sort of comes naturally. Ian talks about the hustle and everyone in Detroit
knows what that means. Just about everyone who rubbed shoulders with the mere
mention of Detroit has some kind of hustle going down. So you can imagine how enthusiastic the
audience was once they heard this line.
The encores were amazing. The people could not get enough
and together we all stomped on the old wooden floor making a loud ruckuss until
the band returned. They came back on stage to do, “Ocean Rain” and the song couldn’t
have been more appropriate. Outside unknown to us at the time was a major flood
situation. Every major highway was shut down or flooded and cops were out
directing cars to detours. “Your port and my heavy storms… harbors the blackest
thoughts……” goes the song. This is a quiet moment and a reflective song about
what one can only guess was a turbulent relationship. There is a hint here too
about something victorious and maybe even walking away. I always thought the
end leaned towards personal reinvention.
The applause was loud and unanimous. Thunderous. People
screamed for the third encore but you know the rules. Usually when the music
comes in over the loud speakers and the house lights start to go on the show is
over. Now I loved this tour and I loved the closeness but I really hoped that
the show would have been a bit longer. Who knows if any of us will ever get
this close to the band again or how or where they will show up next? After all they are quite mysterious.
THE SET LIST
·
Meteorites
·
Rescue
·
Do It Clean
·
Never Stop
·
People Are Strange
·
Seven Seas
·
Bedbugs And Ballyhoo
·
Holy Moses
·
All My Colors (Zimbo)
·
Over The Wall
·
Constantinople
·
All The Jazz
·
Bring On The Dancing Horses
·
The Killing Moon
·
The Cutter
ENCORE
·
Nothing Lasts Forever / Walk On The Wild Side/
Don’t Let Me Down
In The Midnight Hour
·
Lips Like Sugar
ENCORE 2
·
Ocean Rain
Echo and the Bunnymen - Meteorites Album Review >>>>
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