If the multiple notices of “sold out” plastered across every poster for Echo & The Bunnymen’s current Songs To Learn & Sing Tour are any good evidence there’s a hungry crowd out there for Echo, especially when they know pretty much what’s going to be played. To be sure, the idea of a “greatest hits” tour in the United States, where the highest charting single the band ever had came after its 1980s heyday and didn’t even feature singer Ian McCulloch, is most accurately described as a “best of” tour. The current lineup of the group features its strongest foundations of guitarist Will Sergeant and charismatic front man McCulloch. As far as the other personnel, I’m pretty sure it was Simon Finley (drums), Mike Smith (keyboards) and Stephan Brannan (bass), but I’m not totally sold on the accuracy of my research and, besides, I don’t know what any of those guys look like.
In any case, while they’ve never been hugely theatrical in their presentation, this tour in particular followed the tight economy of all their tours for the past several years. The lighting was mostly very dim and not very dynamic with few specific exceptions, but the stage smoke was plentiful and constant. The set list, which has been largely identical from night to night on this tour, was like a tightly balled fist waiting to be thrown directly at a crowd waiting to be punched. And it did not disappoint at all. Plumbing the depths of the band’s earliest albums—much like the tour’s namesake 1985 compilation album— they included “Lips Like Sugar,” which was expected, and “Bedbugs And Ballyhoo,” which was a very nice surprise—both from 1987—as well as 1997’s “Nothing Lasts Forever.”
McCulloch’s brooding presence occupied center stage with Sergeant holding down stage right. The show started with a fantastic one-two of “Going Up” and, my personal favorite Bunnymen song, “All That Jazz” before plowing into “Flowers” and “Rescue,” another favorite. They started to play the relatively new song “Brussels Is Haunted,” but abandoned it very quickly. Which was totally fine because right behind it was a killer version of “Villiers Terrace,” into which they threw a slice of “Roadhouse Blues” by the only undeniable influence Echo has ever totally copped to, The Doors. The first set, which lasted maybe 45 minutes, ended with a muted version of “Bring On The Dancing Horses” which should have been a high point but wound up just being a stopping point.
Now, I have no idea what’s going on with a rock and roll band that needs a 20 minute break after less than an hour, but whatever it is it sent the band back out with a much more muscular presence. After slicing through “Over The Wall” came a gorgeous take on an already nice tune, “Seven Seas,” followed by the whimsical “Nothing Lasts Forever” mixed in with Lou Reed’s “Walk On The Wild Side.”
The rest of the show, including two one-song encores, was a really perfect set of Echo tunes that sewed it all up nicely. In order, they were “Heads Will Roll,” “Bedbugs and Ballyhoo,” “The Killing Moon,” “The Cutter,” “Lips Like Sugar” and an absolutely great closer, “Ocean Rain.” And they were all fine with a few (bedbugs, heads and ocean) that were wonderful. The thing about the other two, though, is each has these incredible, soaring, triumphant end melodies that just lift the whole songs into other places. This night The Bunnymen avoided the heavy lifting with these. McCulloch has never been truly the toughest kid on the block, but he still always seemed like the kind of guy who kept a knife in his back pocket, or folded inside his diary, and that’s what he’d pull if backed into a corner. But the only corners this night were self-created and, when encountered, met with a shrug. The whole night seemed to run in smoothly but only really had strength in spurts with the rest merely very well played as opposed to stunning. But, if I’m truly being honest and setting all my personal preferences aside, by any reasonable measure this show was killer exhibition with a very thoughtful setlist and a tight, well-rehearsed band. The weight of my own expectations is, on the other hand, probably unreasonable by most measures. Good show, lads.
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