Review: Mark Lanegan at O2 Academy

Life throws unexpected treats at us all at random: sometimes it’s a forgotten tenner in a shirt pocket, sometimes it’s waking up and thinking “Oh bugger, got to go to work”, then realising it’s the weekend; and then there’s the fine, fine pleasure of a support band that turns out to be a unadulterated delight.

Such was the case with Sean and Zander – Sean Wheeler vox (Throw Rag) and multi-instrumentalist Zander Schloss (Circle Jerks, the Weirdos, Joe Strummer). Their set was a delight to witness; originals all bar one tune, and very well received: no wonder given the engaging banter and delightful harmonies on display. In fact Sean managed to get a mass crowd sing-along during the final number that would have done a headline act proud.

Their music is best described as Americana, but with an emphasis more on spirituals and what a beard stroking Mojo aficionado might term Old-Time Musical tropes. Of more interest was the fact that Schloss chose to play the majority of the set on a bouzouki, which he managed to make sound like it originated in Appalachia rather than Greece. Seriously, check these guys out and buy some stuff so you too can sing along when they (hopefully) come back to town.

For someone who claims that he was such a “shitty drummer” that he was forced to take over as singer in his own band, Mark Lanegan has ended up some 30 years later with a formidable reputation as a singer and the discography to prove it. Since the demise of Screaming Trees he’s collaborated with Gregg Dulli, Isobel Campbell and Queens of the Stone Age, as well as releasing nine solo records. He is currently touring his latest platter Phantom Radio under the guise of the Mark Lanegan Band, and played a spell binding 90 minute set at the Academy to a virtually full house.

Opening with half a dozen songs accompanied by just a guitar it was clear that this was almost an anti-rock show. Six red and six purple lights illuminated the stage when he walked on, and the same lights were there at the end neither having rotated in a dramatic rock n roll fashion nor been replaced by any other combo. There was very little banter, but so what? It was about the music.

The band itself  was really on form, crunching out the riffs on the heavy tunes and applying more delicate stylings to the more introspective numbers. Jeff Fielder on lead guitar shone – oddly enough some of his treatments resulting in a sound that shouldn’t work but did in that he sounded like Keith Levene fronting Crazy Horse.

Lanegan himself was in fine voice – occupying the area between Tom Waits & Leonard Cohen – and possibly enjoyed himself, his inter song chat restricted to an introduction to the band members and several mumbled “thank yous”, but again so what? The music didn’t need or warrant Diamond Dave banter or Boss style raconteuring, it spoke for itself. Fielder was left to make the final pronouncements after a well-earned three song encore stating that the show was “the coolest show of the tour so far” to unanimous agreement from the crowd.