A distinct change in mood anticipated tonight, following yesterday’s Summery powerpop sesh from Surfer Blood; tonight the return of Mercury Rev! Proof that nothing quite ages you like music, it’s now amazingly been 17 years since the classic “Deserter’s Songs” thrust this hitherto-experimental US alt-rock combo firmly into the limelight, its’ mix of delta blues, widescreen operatic soundscapes and bewildering and bewitching Americana earning them the epithet of “America’s Most Pioneering Band” from the NME (which actually counted for something at the time) and vocalist Jonathan Donahue the title of the Coolest Rockstar On The Planet from me (which still counts!). However their last album, 2008’s “Snowflake Midnight”, an unfortunate (and pretty much unlistenable) foray into electronica, saw them lose a lot of ground and goodwill, and retreat to their Catskill Mountain bolthole, never to be heard of again. Until,,,
News
of a new album in the offing – and thankfully, a return to a guitar
based sound! – saw me pouncing on one of the few tickets left for this
show, Beef grabbing one as well. Thus it was that us
two old musos headed down the M4 on a typically murky Autumn evening,
skipping through the chill and dank drizzle from Cabot car park to hit
this appropriately evocative former church hall venue about 8. Just in
time, unfortunately, for support Holly Macve,
who was sadly dreadful. A solo folksinger, her voice swooped and keened
like a Banshee wail, or worse, like Dolores Cranberry, and was frankly
painful to listen to at times, making her backwoods campfire folk set a
trial of endurance. I wasn’t the only one
holding this view, either, as the general background hubbub increased
considerably after about 10 minutes…
We
found a good viewing spot stage left near the front, with dry ice
swirling around twinkling onstage keyboard lights, and Gregorian
chanting intro music, segueing into washes of symphonic dreamscapes,
evocatively heralding the arrival of Mercury Rev at 9.05. An
unexpectedly powerful opener, newie “Are You Ready”, stridently
delivered the psychedelic rock and blue-eyed soul promised by the lyric,
and the Rev were already away, hitting the ground running
for one of those very special nights.
Mercury
Rev were utterly magnificent tonight. Another band (like Wolf Alice)
who “live” eschew a number of the nuances and textural sounds of their
recorded output, in favour of a bigger, bolder
and more powerful sound, the huge, sky-scrapingly anthemic nature of
their material really comes to the fore with these more compact,
streamlined renditions, the songs taking flight with pace, purpose and
often seething and bristling power. And Jonathan Donahue
was amazing; a riveting and flamboyant performer, fulsome of gesture
and expression, raffish hat and necktie adorning his black waistcoat and
shirtsleeves combo and making him the smartest hobo on the planet, a
beatific smile and wide eyes constantly gracing
his features. An eerie “The Funny Bird” was next up, all drama and
crashing drums, with the piano riff crawling around one’s spine like an
old Doors number, then oldie “Carwash Hair” opened like a plangent
twinkling thing of beauty, far removed from the discordant
and moody original, then rocked triumphantly to its’ conclusion,
Donahue conducting his band and drummer.
The
classics kept coming; “Endlessly” with its’ heavenly choirs and magical
flute embellishments, was given a lighter treatment in comparison to
other numbers on show, then “Frittering” was awesome;
widescreen, creepy, epic and cacophonous, possibly the best number on
show in the set (under some pretty fierce competition!). A lot of light
and shade on show as well, with newie “The Queen Of Swans” creeping in
delicately before a typical plangent and soaring
Rev hook, the lyric “sometimes years go by, it seems” entirely apposite
for tonight’s triumphant return. “Holes” was epic, shimmering and quite
beautiful, and set closer “Opus 40” again saw Donahue conducting his
band through a lengthy and mesmeric instrumental
jam and huge crescendo.
But
the highlight of the night was still waiting for us; after first
encore, the moody “Goddess On A Hiway”, an utterly stunning “The Dark Is
Rising” ended the performance perfectly, a stratospheric
and heavenly rendition, culminating in Donahue slowly raising his arms
for dramatic effect, as the band built to a thunderous crescendo behind
him. Quite, quite brilliant.
I
grabbed a set list, running into recent Bristol gig buddy Alfie down
the front in the process, then we hung around awhile to catch our
breath, our patience also being rewarded as guitarist Grasshopper
and bassist Anthony emerged for congratulations, signed lists and
(eventual) photos. I then interrupted Jonathan Donahue, packing up
onstage, for congrats and a hasty selfie, also telling him it was an
honour to witness tonight’s triumphant return to form
for Mercury Rev. Because, well, it was…!
Alfie,
Beef and I wandered back to Cabot reflecting on tonight’s performance,
then a swift drive home for midnight. Shattered the next day, but
totally worth it. Tonight, Mercury Rev totally resurrected
themselves, delivering one of the gigs of the year in the process.
Awesome stuff!
This gig gave me tinnitus! ðŸ˜
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