t's 20 years since Echo and the Bunnymen were last in the country, and while the line up may have changed, the quality of musicianship still remains the same... mainly due to the music and lyrics of Will Sergeant and Ian McCulloch.
If you ever wanted a lesson on how to work a crowd using very little effort then you should go see the Bunnymen, and pay particular attention to McCulloch, the influential lead singer.
Striding on stage decked out in a black leather jacket, black shades, hair teased into what almost looked like horns at the side when silhouetted, he finished the look off with the cigarette clamped between his index and middle finger. And there one would remain for most of the night.
Gripping the microphone with both hands, McCulloch took this crowd, (made up of mainly thirty-something year old scousers), on a journey through history of one of the most influential British bands of the 80’s.
All the old favourites...The Cutter, Over the Wall, Seaven Seas, Bring on the Dancing Horses, and my personal favourite The Killing Moon. From the new album we heard SuperMellow Man and King of Kings.
An attempt at moshing did occur during ‘Rescue’ but soon stopped as the 30 somethings soon realised that they were to old and far to sensible for that sort of thing. Besides they were all too engrossed in McCulloch.
This man is the coolest of all frontmen. One can see where the likes of Liam Gallagher, and Ian Brown, tried to get their attitude, and stage presense from. But unlike the former of the two, this front man does’nt have to square up to the crowd to get their attention.
I, like everyone else could not take my eyes of him. He sang every song with passion and meaning, backed by long time companion Will Sergeant on lead guitar. A special mention to the rest of the band too, who are indeed worthy of praise for their work on the night.
We also had a short rendition of Roadhouse Blues and You’ll Never Walk Alone. How the 30 somethings loved that one!
While his singing voice was flawless, his deep Scouse accent was totally incoherent at times. Ironically the only time I could understand a word he spoke was when he replied to someone in the crowd 'I did’nt understand a word you just said mate!'
Funny you should say that Ian.
By the end of the night the Bunnymen had the audience eating out of the palm of their hands. Everyone of them wishing like me that the night would not end, but alas….
I am by no means a big EATB fan, but I am now hooked. During a recent interview McCulloch was asked what he remembered most about the last time he was in Australia. 'Everywhere you looked, everything you touched had a fly on it ' was the answer. But after 20 years there are still no flies on this band.
Michael Sommers - redbackrock.com
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