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...and other great misheard lyrics.
I can't remember when I first became aware of the Sisters of Mercy - probably about 1987, when I nicked a compilation tape (remember those?) which had a copy of 'Walk Away' on it off my brother. I can vaguely remember someone pasting up a strip from 2000ad with Andrew Eldritch and Patricia Morrison in it on the VIth form common room wall, and I vaguely remember my brother's then wench ripping the piss out of me for trying to do my hair like Andrew (not easy when you're a blond 16 year old, and it doesn't work so don't try it).
I wasn't huguely interested in them, though, until Temple of Love '92 came out, which I reckon I can positively identify as being the top of the slippery slope into goffdom. It didn't last, though. I'm not built for angst and the only reason I wear black is so the stains don't show.
This is, of course, preamble to the fact that I went to see the Sisters of Mercy (or rather Andrew & pals, as nothing resembling the Sisters exists any more) play the London Astoria last night.
And my verdict? Far too much dry ice and the sound system sucked.
To be fair to Andrew, the sound system sucking wasn't his fault. He was plainly hacked off about it and was obviously having an ongoing argument (complete with naughty hand gestures) with the sound man about it. To be unfair to him, he's a professional and when you're playing to a paying audience it's your job to get these things right so the audience don't start leaving halfway through, which some of them did. It also helps to get backing singers who aren't as flat as a pancake when they sing, too.
He's updated the arrangement for a lot of his classics so they don't sound at all dated (even though the latest edition of Temple of Love isn't that good), but the dry ice and standing stock still stage show needs work - what he needs is to hire Till Lindermann to do his show (and maybe Richard Kruspe and Paul Landers playing guitar) and then all would be well. Or alternatively patch things up with Patricia Morrison because many of his songs need some goffburd wailing along to them and now that Ofra Haza is dead altering the arrangements so the wailing is done on guitar just doesn't cut it.
Overall? it was interesting to see a figure from my childhood (even though he's shaved his head and now looks uncannily like Kevin Bacon in Hollow Man), but it wasn't a great concert. The stage show was rubbish, the sound mixing was awful, and, whilst his live material was great, the presentation was showing it's age. When your audience starts leaving before you play your big hit as the encore, then you're plainly doing something wrong.
I can't remember when I first became aware of the Sisters of Mercy - probably about 1987, when I nicked a compilation tape (remember those?) which had a copy of 'Walk Away' on it off my brother. I can vaguely remember someone pasting up a strip from 2000ad with Andrew Eldritch and Patricia Morrison in it on the VIth form common room wall, and I vaguely remember my brother's then wench ripping the piss out of me for trying to do my hair like Andrew (not easy when you're a blond 16 year old, and it doesn't work so don't try it).
I wasn't huguely interested in them, though, until Temple of Love '92 came out, which I reckon I can positively identify as being the top of the slippery slope into goffdom. It didn't last, though. I'm not built for angst and the only reason I wear black is so the stains don't show.
This is, of course, preamble to the fact that I went to see the Sisters of Mercy (or rather Andrew & pals, as nothing resembling the Sisters exists any more) play the London Astoria last night.
And my verdict? Far too much dry ice and the sound system sucked.
To be fair to Andrew, the sound system sucking wasn't his fault. He was plainly hacked off about it and was obviously having an ongoing argument (complete with naughty hand gestures) with the sound man about it. To be unfair to him, he's a professional and when you're playing to a paying audience it's your job to get these things right so the audience don't start leaving halfway through, which some of them did. It also helps to get backing singers who aren't as flat as a pancake when they sing, too.
He's updated the arrangement for a lot of his classics so they don't sound at all dated (even though the latest edition of Temple of Love isn't that good), but the dry ice and standing stock still stage show needs work - what he needs is to hire Till Lindermann to do his show (and maybe Richard Kruspe and Paul Landers playing guitar) and then all would be well. Or alternatively patch things up with Patricia Morrison because many of his songs need some goffburd wailing along to them and now that Ofra Haza is dead altering the arrangements so the wailing is done on guitar just doesn't cut it.
Overall? it was interesting to see a figure from my childhood (even though he's shaved his head and now looks uncannily like Kevin Bacon in Hollow Man), but it wasn't a great concert. The stage show was rubbish, the sound mixing was awful, and, whilst his live material was great, the presentation was showing it's age. When your audience starts leaving before you play your big hit as the encore, then you're plainly doing something wrong.
