THE MISSION & SALVATION
Less than perfect sound but a glorious celebration of 36 years of The Mission.
GOTHS OF THE WORLD UNITE! For tonight, we celebrate 36 years (on and off) of The Mission.
First up, we have SALVATION. Along with the likes of the The March Violets, Salvation were part of the early goth scene centred on Leeds that followed quickly in the footsteps of The Sisters of Mercy. Their sound is more positive-punk/post-punk/art-pop than I was expecting. Tonight, they are a four piece of vox, twin guitars and keyboards. Daniel Mass is in fine voice, the playing is tight and the songs are decent, if nothing truly special. This is good - if retro - fun that even triggers a few outbreaks of old-school chicken dancing. Closer Kids In America goes down a treat but it is perhaps not as good as the original by Lawnmower Deth. (Those that know, know....)
The last time I saw THE MISSION at this very venue, the sound was bad. Tonight’s sound wasn’t much better - I’ve never known a situation where moving a couple of metres changes the sound from ok to booming, bassy mush before - but, having first seen them in 1987 (when dinosaurs rules the earth) and caught them numerous times since, this was one of the best Mission sets I have seen for a long time.
The audience are up for it. From opener Beyond the Pale, there is a forest of arms and mass singalongs. Wayne Hussey is in fine voice. Stage left, guitarist Simon Hinkler is clearly enjoying himself as he riffs and solos with abandon. Despite the sound issues, Craig Adams still has the finest bass sound this side of Lemmy. New drummer Alex Baum has just the right mix of technique and hard-hitting for this kind of music.
With eleven studio LPs to choose from - albeit that Hussey has been the only permanent fixture - picking a set list that includes everyone’s faves is nigh impossible. The band have to mix it up to keep things fresh, after all! and this is a good mix from the early days through to most recent LP Another Fall From Grace. So, much as I could bemoan the absence of Serpent’s Kiss, Shades of Green or America the likes of And The Dance Goes On, Swoon and Severina more than make up for it.
A storming Evangeline quotes ABBA’s Gimme! Gimme! Gimme... to put any po-faced goth rock clicheses to bed. And, let’s be honest, whilst the band seem to be comfortable these days with being associated with the goth movement, they never liked the term and there is far more to them than that anyway. The twelve song main set finishes with absolutely rollicking takes on Wasteland and Deliverance.
Despite printed requests from band and venue that no one stand on anyone’s shoulders, there is one brave soul that does this. Getting a shout out by name from Hussey suggests that the band aren’t as behind this as is suggested but it is dealt with well by security, no one gets thrown out and I guess everyone is happy.
Encore, of course there is an encore. Personal faves Raising Cain and Garden of Delight are followed by relative newie Swan Song before the band leave the stage. Despite knowing that there should be another encore and that is is likely to include stone cold classics The Crystal Ocean and Tower of Strength, I take my leave. I’m hot, sweaty, overdressed and still, if I’m absolutely honest, getting over a bout of Covid last month but I am also happy. This may not have been The Mission at the absolute height of their powers but very few things can reach those heights and it was still rather wonderful to see one of my all time favourite bands deliver a performance this strong.
