Expectation can be the cruellest of mistresses. Hold the wrong ones, and it can spoil a night with the potential to be the greatest of you life. Hold the right ones, and an average night can become one over which you romantically reminisce for the rest of your existence.As hard as I may have wished, I probably wasn’t going to slip through a rift in the space-time continuum and pop out the other side in the Royal Albert hall armed with a ticket to 1985’s Wake concert. Would I emerge at the Royal Albert as a 1 year old? Would I be able to observe, but unable to interact with the environment? Would people flee in horror at the sight of my futuristic Peugeot 306? What would happen if I did something in the past to disrupt the development of my later life?! With such ideas thoroughly banished from my mind, and all metaphysical time paradoxes aside, I went to this gig with the following expectations. Never have I seen the sisters before. As each year passes, my chances diminish proportionally. With Von E around fifty, and a career in the armed forces in my sights for next January, the time to strike was now.
With tickets booked, the car was readied for a trek up the M1 to the birthplace of the Sisters, Leeds. I always knew that Leeds was in the north. But as we passed places which I thought were really really northern, it soon became apparent that what I though was the north, was in fact the (southern) midlands. Three hours later, we arrived in Leeds with a new appreciation of the UK’s geography. After finding the venue and collecting tickets it seemed a good idea to relax in the pub next door. After all, it’s hardly going to be busy save for a few hardcore fans, is it?
A wise man once told me that assumption was the root of all blunder. Turns out he was right. The venue was rammed, with bodies packed to the gunwales. All of whom seemed to be very tall. Despite the rather poor viewing location, the sound on offer was undeniably crisp and clean, with Dr. Avalanche featuring prominently in the mix. This was much to the chagrin of many in the audience, but the relentless thump of synthetic drums sat well with the lineage of electronic influences which have been variously explored in other posts on DMM.
The live sound was only really let down by the sub-audible vocals of Von E. While he is know for mumblings which can strain the listener’s ear at the best of times, on this night it verged on the ridiculous; you just couldn't hear a word at all. Lucky for me I already knew the words. Undeniably though, he does carry an impressive stage presence, prowling the stage, disappearing an reappearing from the murky swirls of smoke. Set wise, the music nicely spanned the sisters catalogue, featuring highlight from all the albums plus a selection of new music, yet to be released (if at all). The quality of performance varied wildly though. Some sounded poor - Alice felt weak and fatigued, while This Corrosion sounded amateur and unfinished. Others sounded as fresh as a spring morning - Dominion feeling like a pristine classic car, while The Giving Ground sounded simply epic. On balance? Despite, the long trip, feeling very vertically challenged, and the lackadaisical vocals, this was a really really awesome night. Am I simply trying to rationalise an average to poor gig via a rational cost benefit analysis? I don’t know, possibly. But the expectations did, in no way, outweigh the pay off. As such, this will be a gig to remember for some time to come.
The Sisters of Mercy @ O2 Academy, Leeds
[08-09-2009]
Tune of the Night: The Giving Ground / Dominion
Ticket Price: £21 adv. +fees
Souvenir T-Shirt rating: £16
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