1,435 ECHO AND THE BUNNYMEN, Mutant Vinyl, Bristol Beacon, Friday 13th March 2026

 

Forty-four years, three months and nine days after my first time with my teenage “home team” (gig 2!), I’m still beholden to fabled Scouse post-punk pioneers Echo and the Bunnymen… These days, however, my faith and loyalty are usually shot through with a dose of realism, based on vocalist Ian McCulloch’s unpredictable nature and propensity for, erm, medicinal distractions... Simply put, we know that the Bunnymen themselves, powered by a solid young rhythmic base and overlaid by Mac’s long-time sidekick Will Sergeant’s virtuoso and intricate fretwork, will be ace…  but what about The Voice? What about Mac? Is this going to be another night of justice being done to their legendary sweeping canon of work, or a bit of a dogs’ (bunny’s?) breakfast? Fingers crossed for the former…

Logan joined me tonight; we actually had tix for their Feb 2022 gig across the road at the O2, but a trapped nerve for me on the morning of the gig precluded our attending. So we were owed this one, and set off in hope that the boys would live up to their billing tonight. Parked up about 10 minutes before doors and eventually joined the shortest of the 2 queues for the main auditorium, happily bagging a barrier spot house left. Yay! Chatted with a Welsh gent before support Mutant Vinyl took the state just before 8. Despite a promising name, they were oddly enough, a young 4-piece jazz band, with a sax lead instrument, and played a dull and head-scratchingly inappropriate blend of elevator muzak and 80’s jazz café fodder for yuppies to ignore whilst sipping their daiquiris. Their cover of Ray Stevens “Misty” was even worse then the original, and I amused myself by texting gig mate Jeremy, up in the balcony tonight, slagging them off! To be fair, they were clearly accomplished players (fretless bass player, f’rinstance) but this seemed quite the oddest choice for a support since Kay Hanley was supported in Boston that time )2001, gig 497) by a baton twirler! 

Chatted with Logan and fellow front rower, expat Glaswegian Sarah from Exeter, as the time ticked on past the scheduled 9 p.m. start. Typical Bunnymen! Eventually at 9.15 the choking dry ice kicked in, the lights smashed to black and the usual Gregorian chanting saw the Bunnymen take the stage, immediately kicking into a fulsome sounding “Going Up”, the psych-rock build ceding to Mac’s strident and commanding vocal. Oh yes, the voice… from the off it was cracked, a little gravelly, switching octaves with frequency and impunity, but actually in fine fettle and waaay better than 2024’s “Shiiine On” showing, last time out for me (gig 1,357). With Will his usual virtuoso self, already coaxing textural sounds and thrillingly jagged riffs from his guitar with authoritative ease, things seemed very promising… 

And happily, this was a promise kept tonight, as the Bunnymen were overall excellent, occasionally imperious and majestic, delivering likely one of the best sets I’ve seen from them in years. Despite an early aborted “All That Jazz” (Mac not, “getting into that – we’ll come back to it later…” – they didn’t), the subsequent breathless, crescendo-packed “Crocodiles” and particularly an early “Cutter”, with a thunderous middle 8 riff and outro, were more than adequate substitutes. “Over The Wall” was an astonishing mid-set highlight, the brooding, spine-tingling opening ceding to a dystopian freefall tumble; a ringing “Rescue” featured a lyric snippet from Bunny deep cut “Broke My Neck”; and the tribal drum-powered “Zimbo” and the stately, widescreen “Nothing Lasts Forever” were a delicious wallowing double. And throughout Mac was in good form; the voice sounding perfectly audible despite his propensity for off-mic work, occasionally mumbling incomprehensibly in his thick Scouse but not sounding too, erm, refreshed, and also attempting to coax singalongs from the frankly reluctant Bristol crowd.

 However, the “health reason” that had forced a postponement of the Manchester gig earlier in the week soon became apparent as a roadie brought a chair on for Mac, the singer announcing, “I hate to do this, but me back…”. Apparently (and ironically) a trapped nerve, but Mac tried to make light of it (“Gerry Byrne played the 1965 FC Cup final [for Liverpool] with a broken shoulder… I’ve [just] got a bad back”) and soldiered on, also occasionally passably impersonating the similarly seated comic Dave Allan with a slightly vaudevillian routine involving some offbeat stories involving Gerry Marsden and a dwarf with no legs (!) and a few snipes at The Beatles, observing “Ringo is an anagram of groin”! A majestic if understated “Killing Moon” happily brought us back from the ridiculous to the sublime, however, then a final “Lips Like Sugar”, featuring a vignette of Bowie’s “Sorrow” closed out a short but sweet set. About 1 ¼ hours… but honestly, this one was definitely a case of quality over quantity… 

The touching, plaintive “Ocean Rain” was the sole punctuation point on the performance, Mac, by now clearly struggling, being helped off by a roadie before the end of the song. I hung on afterwards, patience eventually netting me Will’s list, before a blast home and late kebab tea rounded off a splendid boys night out. Justice very much done tonight, despite Mac’s back issues. Thanks folks; faith and loyalty rewarded!