Echo & The Bunnymen and Erica Nockalls
Not as legendary as the reputation suggests and McCulloch thinks but far from bad. Erica Nockalls was superb, however.
The curse of going to see someone with high expectation based on reputation rather than personal experience strikes at the UEA tonight. ECHO & THE BUNNYMEN are a band I have been aware of for years, of course. I know a lot of their songs and I know how good they are supposed to be but I don’t own any of their albums nor have I seen them. And, to be honest, they are just a little bit of a letdown.
The playing is great. Will Sergeant and Pete Reilly are more than decent guitarists. Simon Finley (drums) and Stephen Brennan (bass) are a cracking rhythm section. Mike Smith’s keys add some tasty touches. There’s no questioning the quality of (most of) the songs. The lighting is moody and atmospheric and almost perfectly suited to the songs. So why am I not enjoying it more? Well, at the risk of being pilloried by the Bunnymen ultras, Ian McCulloch’s voice just isn’t as strong tonight as it is on record. There seems to be a bit of a disconnect between the band and (most of) the audience, a fifteen minute interval after 30 minutes derails proceedings, and some of the songs seem to be, well, slower and less intense than I expected. For all that, Bring On The Dancing Horses, Seven Seas and Killing Moon all spark mass singalongs and are stone cold classics.
Look, this was far from bad, it was just not the truly legendary performance from a great band that I was expecting.
On the other hand, the opening set from Wonder Stuff member and Proclaimer’s live violinist ERICA NOCKALLS was something very special indeed. Backed up by Jean-Charles Versari on guitar/vocals and a percussion-heavy backing track, Nockalls’ lead vocals are a revelation and the violin playing is - unsurprising given the conservatoire training - sublime. The set is dark and industrial but with a pop heart, kinda like Taylor Swift fronting First & Last & Always era Sisters of Mercy and remixed by Einstürzende Neubauten. Versari’s guitar is very much in the post-punk/goth style. Some of the vocal interchanges bring to mind the duets of Lee Hazlewood/Nancy Sinatra or Isobel Campbell/Mark Lanegan and there’s also a touch of Fever Ray’s debut album to the sound. Here's hoping Erica and Jean-Charles make it back to Norwich soon.
So, the Bunnymen didn’t quite hit the mark but Erica Nockalls most definitely did.
