The Sisters of Mercy - Sept 23
I was couple of years too young to pick up on the first iteration of The Sisters of Mercy, but by the time ‘This Corrosion’ came out in September 1987, this 16 year old was ready to fully embrace the world of Andrew Eldritch. Picking up the 12” version with that classic alluring shot of Eldritch and Patricia Morrison against a blood red sky, I was enthralled by the over the top production, pounding bass line, the 40 piece choir and deep growling vocals. Discovering the back catalogue, especially the early singles such as ‘Alice’ and ‘Temple of Love’ became a large part of my formative late teenage years.
Thirty-six years later and I’m at the Roundhouse, one of my favourite London venues, to see the latest version of the band. It’s been six years since I last saw the band and the lineup has changed again with Andrew Eldritch now supported by Ben Christo and Dylan Smith on guitars, and of course Doktor Avalanche producing the beats. With a setlist comprising a lot of new unrecorded material, would tonight satisfy the teenager in me who treasured those records all those years ago.
Support for this tour comes from The VirginMarys, currently a two piece who are close to celebrating their 15th anniversary and are seasoned veterans on the live circuit. I’ve seen them numerous times since supporting New Model Army way back in 2010 and have always been impressed by their take on classic rock. Starting with ‘The Meds’, the duo launch into an energetic set. Drummer Danny is a whirl of bouncing limbs as he moves around his drum kit as if it was alight. Ally’s passioned vocals retain their northern grit throughout the set and seem to be winning over the crowd.
The VirginMarys - Sept 23
New songs such as ‘You’re a Killer’ and ‘Devil Keeps Coming’ are nicely sequenced between old favourites such as ‘Just a Ride’ and ‘Into Dust’. Finishing the 45 minute set with my long time personal favourite, ‘Bang Bang Bang’ the band sign off a successful opening night of the tour.
The lights go down and the familiar tones of Doktor Avalanche mark the entrance of the Sisters to the stage. Bar for a few fixed spot lights, the camouflage decorated stage is generally shrouded in darkness and it remains so for a significant part of the set.
Opening song ‘Don’t Drive on Ice’ has all the usual Sisters’ trademarks with chugging guitars, piano motifs and pounding basslines. Ben is front of stage flicking his hair back as he relishes being in the only real spotlight on the stage. However, something is off – Andrew’s vocals are so low in the mix, it’s hard to know if he is actually singing at times, with Ben’s vocals apparently more audible.
The Sisters of Mercy - Sept 23
The distinctive opening to ‘Ribbons’ fairs a little better helped by the familiarity of the song. On stage, something is amiss as Dylan gesticulates to the sound engineer that he can’t hear anything on stage. ‘I Will Call You’ is mildly engaging but
the first highlight comes in the form of ‘Alice’ where the audience fill in for the vocal issues.
‘But Genevieve’ sounds like the missing link between the first two albums with its swirling guitars and a new addition to list of names that goth kittens can be officially called. ‘First and Last and Always’ has the crowd dancing like it’s 1985 again and is much welcomed, as is the powerhouse of ‘Dominion/Mother Russia’. ‘Summer’ has been in the Sisters’ repertoire for a number of years and fits in with the band’s rockier aspirations. The pace slows for the melancholic ‘Marian’ and is the last visit to the band debut album.
The introduction to ‘More’ has the crowd cheering, even more so as for the first time tonight, Andrew’s vocals are clearly audible. It makes a big difference and the epic song is a set highlight. Throughout the set Ben prowls the stage finding any opportunity to solo in front of the crowd none so more in the cunningly tilted instrumental, ‘Instrumental 86’. To the right, Dylan is still having problems with his onstage sound frequently raising his arms in exasperation.
A pulsating medley of ‘Doctor Jeep/ Detonation Boulevard’ is prefaced by a rare part of audience interaction from Andrew. ‘Eyes of Caligula’ is followed by the similarly paced ‘I Was Wrong’. ‘Crash and Burn’ returns to the chugging guitars of nineties Sisters and starkly contrasts with the slow build up and acoustic guitar of ‘Here’. Another highlight comes in the form of the thumping ‘Vision Thing’ with its memorable line of ‘another motherfucker in a motorcade’. A couple more newer songs ‘On the Beach’ and ‘When I’m On Fire’ bring the set to a slightly subdued end.
The Sisters of Mercy - Sept 23
Given the sound problems on stage, it wasn’t clear if the band would return for an encore. However, after we see Ben stride across the stage and the familiar intro to ‘Lucretia My Reflection’ has the massed gothic crowd dancing. The crowd are enjoying it but Dylan has had enough standing on the stage arms aloft clearing having no luck with his guitar. The song ends and he is seen storming off stage and out of the exit.
Even without their second guitarist, the band play on with the biggest two songs of their lengthy career, ‘Temple of Love’ and ‘This Corrosion’. Despite the loss of a guitar the band persevere and pull it off as the remaining band (including Ravey Davey who has been operating Doktor Avalanche all night) thank the crowd with Andrew staying long after.
This was a strong set and the unreleased songs are sounding good – that long awaited fourth album is highly desirable. However, the band were let down by sound issues which dampened the whole feel of the set. Otherwise, this could have been one of the best gigs I’ve been too which is a shame as I’m yet to see the Sisters reach the heights my teenage self-elevated the band to.
The Sisters of Mercy - Sept 23
