Concert Review: Mark Lanegan – The Academy, Dublin, August 25th 2010

Mark Lanegan has been spoiling his Irish fans, this was his second visit here in 4 months! I was sceptical about how different this show would be to the one in April, but I couldn’t let it pass without checking it out.

The gig was in the same venue as four months ago, but in the main area this time, which was just as well as the gig was jam packed. There were 2 support acts. The first was Jim McKee, a big haired northerner with a guitar and harmonica who was backed up by a girl playing an inaudible cello. He was somewhat unremarkable, not irritating, but not engaging. Ryan Sheridan followed, playing guitar with another guy playing a sort of ‘percussion’ box. There was great energy and enthusiasm on the stage, and the music wasn’t bad either, though he was let down by his ‘generic indie’ voice.

Anyway mainman Mark Lanegan came on stage soon after, with guitarist Dave Rosser, who replaced his acoustic guitar of 4 months ago with an electric. I’m not going to continue the hair motif, anyone else who was there can do that…

The early part of the set drew heavily on Field Songs, with I think 5 of the first 7 tracks coming from this album. Little Willie John was an early highlight, sung here in a lower, more understated style than the recorded version. As the gig went on it was hard not to fixate on Lanegan’s voice, sounding as powerful and as tuneful as ever, he really is in fine voice these days.

There were few major surprises, a Kinks cover sounded good but his own solo tracks really shone in this setting, especially One Hundred Days, a wonderful song, full of regret and a great big sad vocal.

They did quite a long encore, throwing in Screaming Trees tracks (Traveller, Shadow of the Season, Halo of Ashes) which left most of the audience bemused, and Queens of the Stone Age’s Hanging Tree, which got the best response of the night.

The faster tracks left part of me hankering for a heavier set up, drums, bass etc, though with just electric guitar Mark’s voice was given plenty of room to breathe. This was as good a Mark Lanegan gig as I’ve ever been to.

Concert Review: Mark Lanegan - Academy 2, Dublin, April 29th

Was lucky enough to get to see Mark Lanegan in the tiny environs of Academy 2 in Dublin. The venue is small and intimate, and the best thing about the venue is that the sound is excellent. Nevertheless I wasn't sure what to expect. Lanegan has no album to promote, so is this tour just a money-making exercise between recording commitments? The man clearly has no hobbies beyond music, as he appears to have been constantly recording or touring for the last 6 or 7 years!

The venue was full in anticipation of his first solo gig in Ireland for nearly 7 years. Support act Joe Echo was pleasant enough, a Northern Irish balladeer, with some good tunes and a cheery demeanour, though his voice is pretty average.

So on to the main act. Lanegan shuffled onto the stage, walking through the crowds with guitarist Dave Rosser in tow. He played a fair selection from most of his solo albums, while also touching on his collaborations with Soulsavers and Queens of the Stone Age, and also reached back to his Screaming Trees days.

The crowd was mostly pretty respectful, barring a few people chattering at the back. Lanegan himself was in pretty good voice for the most part, at least in his most comfortable range, though he struggled a little with the higher notes. He was his usual gruff self, with little between song banter, just allowing the songs themselves to do the talking.

Some of the songs were transformed in this format, in particular Little Willie John which mutated from bellowing blues on Bubblegum to a kind of muted glory here. It worked really well. Other highlights included obscure B-side Mirrored and Message to Mine. As for his Screaming Trees stuff, Where the Twain Shall Meet struggled a little with the acoustic setting but Traveller got a great reaction.

The funny thing with Lanegan which sets him apart from most artists who've been around as long as he has is that for most artists, the crowd are baying for old favourites. Not so for Mark Lanegan. If anything, the newer Field Songs / Bubblegum material got the best reaction, while older songs such as River Rise and Wild Flowers were received with polite indifference.

Just a word on Dave Rosser, he provided slightly strange sounding backing vocals to some of the tracks but was pretty much overshadowed by Lanegan, whose ability to reconnect with his older material showed a degree of vulnerability not seen since his late 90s days. A minor gripe was no new material, but he breathed new life into some of his back catalogue here, showcasing raw emotion in the likes of One Way Street and Resurrection Song.