Concert Review: Sisters Of Mercy
Concert
Andrew Eldritch has a magnificent gothic stage presence—a modern day aristocrat, a count … perhaps Dracula. In a white shirt, black slacks, dark glasses and an immaculate haircut, he commanded respect and held the attention of the audience at Kingsbury Hall. He didn’t have to work too hard though, seeing as how they had all come to worship him in the first place. His resonant voice rang true, rising and falling with perfect control as he manipulated the crowd.
With his new band of “Sisters,” Eldritch has picked up the pace, hardened the edges and turned on the rock n’ roll. Andreas Bruhn and Tim Bricheno, a founding member of All About Eve, added all the guitar flourishes and rock antics—jumping in the air and frantically squeezing out licks. Tony James, formerly of Generation X and Sigue Sigue Sputnik (didn’t recognize him without that hair, eh?) steadily pumped out bass lines while the drum machine kept the music in check. Rounding out the band was a new female keyboardist/vocalist. While not as strong a presence as Patricia Morrison, the new “sister” held her own.
The show wasn’t a disappointment to long time fans. The Sisters played such early favorites as “First, Last and Always,” “Temple of Love” and “This Corrosion” as well as the newer, harder “Ribbons” and “Vision Thing.”
All in all a merciless show by the Sisters of Mercy.
For more from the SLUG Archives:
Fugazi: The Second Coming