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Mark Lanegan Band (USA)

11/30/2003
Botanique, Brussels (BE)

Support Act: Enemy

Line-up: Mark Lanegan – vocals; Troy Van Leeuwen – guitar, backing vocals; Eddie Nappi – bass; Brett Netson – guitar, backing vocals; Aldo Struyf – synths; Norman Block – drums

Set List (nearly complete, though the order’s probably not correct – apart from the encores): Borracho / Message to Mine / One Way Street / Don’t Forget Me / No Easy Action / Miracle / Creeping Coastline of Lights / Death Don’t Have No Mercy / Skeletal History / On Jesus Program / Hospital Roll Call / I’ll Take Care of You / Methamphetamine Blues // 1st encore: Mockingbirds / River Rise / Clear Spot // 2nd encore: Kimiko’s Dream House / Pill Hill Serenade

Lanegan’s tenure with the Queens of the Stone Age-circus obviously didn’t do him any harm: at the end of 2001 he played at the tiny, but cosy AB Club, whereas this time around he performed in a venue about twice as big. The new album, Bubblegum, will be out early 2004, but there already were a teaser EP (Here Comes That Weird Chill – Methamphetamine Blues, Extras & Oddities) and a few spotlight-stealing performances on Songs for the Deaf to attract a new audience. While the latest release seems to suggest a more experimental approach, more atonal/dissonant, diverse and harder-rocking than on previous albums, it became clear very soon that people like Lanegan don’t switch styles that easily, despite some surprising touches. After support act Enemy finished their ultra-short set (five songs?) of muscular power trio-rock, the tension kept rising until the Mark Lanegan Band (yes, not just “Mark Lanegan & some friends” or anything like that) entered the purple-lit stage and kicked things off with the grainy desert rock of “Borracho” that promised we weren’t just gonna get some quiet folksy night. Lanegan’s voice sounded extremely powerful, while the guitar-tandem of Troy Van Leeuwen (A Perfect Circle, Queens of the Stone Age) and Brett Netson (Built to Spill, etc) seemed a perfect choice. Backed by an impressive band (with Millionaire-member Aldo Struyf – a Belgian! – on synths), Lanegan explored the sun-soaked territory somewhere in between Neil Young’s monolithic rock, the creepy Death Valley D.T.’s of Thin White Rope and the immediately recognisable QOTSA-family sound.

The next songs, however, ensured we’d get some sonic variety as well, as the recent “Message to Mine” harkens back to the anthemic Screaming Trees of “All I Know,” while “One Way Street,” the magnificent opening song of Field Songs was treated in a gentler, soulful fashion. Throughout the gig, the emphasis would primarily remain on the last two albums, basically collections of gloomy late night-affairs. “Creeping Coastline of Lights,” “Don’t Forget Me” and “I’ll Take Care of You” were respectfully treated, while “On Jesus’ Program” was rendered with a straightforward mastodon rhythm, while Lanegan delivered an astonishing performance. Even though the quieter songs might appeal to those looking for a dose of Tindersticks-moodiness, the band sometimes shifted to a higher gear: the no nonsense-version of “No Easy Action” was already impressive, but a few surprises came in the guise of a few new songs: “Methamphetamine Blues” closed the set on a high note, with a droning take on QOTSA’s bulldozer-rock, but a new slab called “Skeletal History” even added another extra dimension to it. Dark, unsettling, starting off with a disjointed rhythm and a feverish atmosphere, but soon settling for this huge groove, it’s a showcase for Lanegan’s sung/spoken vocals and sinister lyrics and a song that ran the chills up and down my spine. Threatening psycho-blues at its best.

Mr. Gravel Voice was in a good mood throughout the entire concert (proof: he repeatedly mumbled a tombstone-styled “thanks a lot”), so it was a sure thing there’d be an encore, and indeed, Van Leeuwen and Lanegan returned with a bare-boned acoustic take on “Mockingbirds” from the man’s 1990 debut album. It was followed by “River Rise” during which they were joined again by the rest of the band, and a surprising cover version of Beefheart’s “Clear Spot,” one that actually sounded even more convincing than on the latest EP. More straightforward than the original by Beefheart, it nonetheless was a disjointed highlight of the show. Not settling for a small triumph, there came another encore with two gentler tracks from Field Songs: “Pill Hill Serenade” and “Kimiko’s Dream House,” after which Lanegan paid his dues to his spiritual brother, the late Jeffrey Lee Pierce (who gave him the song and told him top “finish the words”). While Lanegan has always been involved in bands that boasted excellent musicians, he’s often considered “the singer of…,” but in the meantime he’s already created a striking body of work that suggests it might be as timeless as the man’s recurring themes, and with a voice like that - one that can switch from a awaken-the-dead-growl to a deep, soulful whisper - Lanegan’s future as a unique musician is guaranteed. Keep ‘em coming.

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Mark Lanegan Band (USA)

10/26/2004
AB Brussels

Sideways in Automatic

Set list: Sideways in Reverse / When Your Number Isn't Up / Hit the City / Wedding Dress / One Way Street / No Easy Action / Miracle / Message to Mine / Like Little Willie John / Come to Me / Low / Resurrection Song / On Jesus' Program / Driving Death Valley Blues / I'll Take Care of You / Skeletal History / Methamphetamine Blues // Sleep with Me / Pendulum / Fix

What are the options when one of rock's most amazing vocalists hits your city for the third time in as many years? Indeed, you go and that's it. Actually, "Lanegan and Brussels" is becoming a pretty interesting story. In December of 2001, he delivered an explosive, memorable set in front of 250 people, last year in November in front of about 600 (my estimation) and according to a Flemish newspaper, this recent show was attended by no less than 1800 people. Lanegan never reached an audience like that before, but if this is the result of being a member of musical soap opera The Queens of the Stone Age, then I'm not complaining. Of course, it's also because Lanegan's latest album, Bubblegum, got as much press coverage as the four previous albums combined. Of all his albums, it's also the most rooted in rock. Whereas previous albums had their darker, dissonant parts, they were basically contemplative albums, occasions for Lanegan to spew out his alcohol & tobacco-drenched ghost stories of faith, betrayal, love and despair. With a fresh album under his belt and a whole lotta touring experience behind him, I'd expected Lanegan and band to be a well-oiled, organic rock machine, but unfortunately I was wrong. The gig I saw would've been trampled by the triumphant passages of last year and 2001. It started with the sound. The band kicked the proceedings off with "Sideways in Reverse," the last album's most conventional rock song, but whereas you expected the soft guitar to gradually become louder, they stayed like they were and when Lanegan started singing - BOOM! - the whole venue was covered in his excruciatingly loud, half-mumbled vocals. The sound never got acceptable after that (what a fucking shame for a venue with a reputation like this): Lanegan's vocals were waaaaaaay upfront and while his voice sounded pretty okay to me, it was very annoying. Even if his backing band were playing the show of their lives, we wouldn't have known it, as the sound of the guitars lacked both the finesse and the force wherever it was needed, while each solo was a shrill attack on the ears. Lanegan and band played about as many songs as they did the previous time, but whereas last year's show felt like a real concert, with a build-up, moments of gentle introspection and exalted voodoo-blues, this was just a series of songs, most of them played in the same tempo and with the same almost disinterested carelessness. That works great if you're trying to pack a punch with a succession of rough energy blasts, but it certainly doesn't when an alternation of both spheres is - exactly because if this undifferentiated approach - turned into a near-monotonous mess. It's completely understandable that the focus was mainly on the last (two) album(s), but I still felt a bit disappointed about the lack of earlier songs, which perhaps would've given the gig the sonic diversity it sorely lacked. After the opener, the band tackled the first three songs off of Bubblegum and was met with exalted reactions that are usually reserved for bands from another league… Which goes to show you can't trust the audience. Or… me. But, it was only a few songs into the set that also the people I was with started looking at me, raising their eyebrows and nodding their heads in confusion. "No Easy Action" wasn't even half the blast it should've been and Lanegan's almost deafening vocals almost ruined "Miracle." Halfway the set, the sound and performance did get a bit more interesting, as "Like Little Willie John" actually benefited from the sound. The singer, who stood in almost complete darkness for 70 minutes, also managed to keep a fairly muscular "Resurrection Song" interesting, but a hesitant enthusiasm was alternated with disappointment because of the tough and overly harsh romp through "On Jesus' Program" (admittedly propelled by excellent vocals). The band ended the set with two of Lanegan's darkest, dissonant songs, "Skeletal History" and "Methamphetamine Blues," the first one being a disjointed slice of blues from hell or some other perverted location, the second one a simple stomper that's intensely impenetrable and creepy. Even though there were almost no breaks between the songs, no connecting with the audience (except for a few mumbled thank yous) and the show completely lacked the intriguing atmosphere of the previous small-scale shows, the audience nearly freaked out when "Blues" reached its end. An encore followed ("Sleep with Me," "Pendulum" from Whiskey for the Holy Ghost and a ridiculously extended version of "Fix"), but by that time, I was already thinking about my schedule for the next day. It's not that the show was a total mess or that Lanegan screwed it up, but it definitely sounded as if they couldn't wait to go elsewhere, pretending to give a newly-found audience exactly what they wanted. Disappointing.

Read album reviews of similar or related artists: Mark Lanegan - Queens of the Stone Age

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