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A few posts back, I mentioned how I’d never been let down at any Lloyd Cole gig. But for nearly quarter-of-an-hour last night, that threatened to change.
Lloyd took to the stage, acknowledged the crowd and then turned side-on to fiddle about with a computer on stage. Some weird noises came out – a bit like a very poor Brian Eno or Kraftwerk gig. The first bit of noise faded. Silence. No applause. No crowd reaction at all. Not a word from Lloyd. He hit another button and fiddled with some other controls. A few minutes later that noise faded out and maybe five people in the audience applauded. The rest, including myself, were bemused. Were we in for a night of stuff from ‘Plastic Wood’, Lloyd’s instrumental ambient electronica album that nobody bought – and if they did, haven’t played since the first listening?
Lloyd playfully wiped away non-existent beads of sweat from his brow. And produced a third set of noise. This was no longer amusing. At the end of that piece, he exchanged his first meaningful words with the audience – ‘You can see the guitars, you know this isn’t going to go on all night,’ But for how long. The answer was, not very. The fourth bit of noise was the last. Lloyd removed his jacket and rolled up his sleeves and went to work. As he did, he was joined on stage by a Commotion – the immensely talented Neil Clark.
The next hour and a quarter flew in. I don’t think I’ve ever been at such contrasting gigs back to back as that of the Barfly the other night and the Queen’s Hall last night. One was hot, sticky and full of adrenalin. The other was quiet, atmospheric and very therapeutic after a nightmare drive through pouring rain to get there (thanks Rachel – my very own ‘Goddess on A Hiway’). And each was memorable.
Drawing mostly on his solo career – which amounts to somewhere in the region of ten albums compared to his three with the Commotions – this was a set of somewhere around 20-25 songs – I didn’t take notes and there was no set-list at the end to try and blag – and each song was as good as the last.
It was however, a different gig altogether than those of the last 5 years or so. On his own with only a guitar and microphone, Lloyd has been like a mini-version of Billy Bragg – songs interspersed with humorous asides or tales of how the songs themselves evolved. Last night, it was strictly business with very little said. Until later on the gig when he was visibly more relaxed – then he had a dig at Heart of Midlothian FC and later on commented on the boots on a woman who was nipping out for a comfort break between songs.
I reckon it was partly to do with some of the songs relying on the computer for the accompaniment – Lloyd was fidgeting about with buttons and dials and looking nervously at the machine and screen. He did say at one point that the technology had previously let him down on a number of occasions during the tour. I also reckon, and much more importantly, he didn’t want to hog the limelight. The gig was billed as a Lloyd Cole solo concert – it would have been just as fair to have billed it as ‘Lloyd Cole & Neil Clark.’ And it wouldn’t have stopped anyone who was there from going along.
Neil’s guitar playing was incredible. It’s often forgotten just how much he contributed to the sounds of the Commotions, and it’s hardly surprising that now he’s working with Lloyd again that the latter has released his most critically-acclaimed record in years.
Neil’s presence on stage meant some of the songs changed beyond recognition – ‘Past Imperfect’, from the ‘Negatives album was slowed down and turned into a very moody, almost twisted, but still brilliant song. But at other times, his playing was as note- perfect as it was on record – even those from more than two decades ago. ‘2CV’ from the Rattlesnakes LP brought the house down.
There were just about enough Commotions songs – five in total (‘Heartbroken’ ‘2CV, ‘Country Music’, ‘Cut Me Down’ and ‘Jennifer’ ) – to keep those fans lost to the solo stuff happy throughout the night. Strangely, there were only four songs played from his very fine new release ‘Antidepressant’, while every other LP from the back catalogue had anything between one and four songs lifted from them.
It was a near perfect mix of songs covering what has been a fantastic 22-year career. Yes, there were a couple that I wish had been played – ‘Undressed’ and ‘Forest Fire’ (the former cos it makes me smile while nailing the myth that Lloyd is po-faced, and latter for Neil’s guitar licks), but I ain’t grumbling.
One final point – Lloyd still looks slim and fit and young and every inch a star; Neil still looks slim and fit but more like the sort of bloke who comes round to paint your ceiling…..
Hurry back Mr Cole. Bring a friend if you want, or come alone. Either way, I’ll be there.
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