The Wily Filipino

Echo & The Bunnymen, San Francisco, 12/5/05.

The latest Echo and The Bunnymen album, Siberia, is probably just what you'd expect from a couple of middle-aged, mellow friends who'd gone through hard times and weathered them all; it's almost satisfied, contented music, with little trace of their old tortured poetry, albeit with a current of nervous energy. (Lan said that they probably take yoga lessons together now.)

Live, however, the songs are a totally different matter; Will Sergeant's guitar still snarls to great effect, and Ian McCulloch's voice has turned into an expressive, somewhat cigarette-damaged instrument. But it wasn't exactly the new stuff I was waiting for. Back in Los Banos in the '80s, I wore out my cassette tape of Songs to Learn and Sing (I wasn't cool enough to own their music earlier); it was those culled tracks I wanted to hear.

I think, in any case, that I have great luck when watching concerts with Lan and Juan, because the requests in our heads almost always get played, even if they don't show up regularly on their setlists. (Lan wanted to hear "Over the Wall;" I wanted to hear "Viliers Terrace," and I couldn't believe they actually played it.)

Here's the set from last night (because I'm totally obsessive, I sat down and listened to the Instant Live CD and figured it out):

Going Up
Show of Strength
Stormy Weather
Bring On The Dancing Horses
Scissors in the Sand
All that Jazz
The Back of Love
The Killing Moon
In the Margins
Never Stop
Viliers Terrace
[T. Rex / David Bowie / etc. medley]
Of a Life
Rescue
The Cutter
Nothing Lasts Forever
Lips Like Sugar
Over the Wall
[Unknown Title]
Ocean Rain

You can't go wrong, I think, by ending your concert with "Ocean Rain," surely one of the most gorgeous songs from the New Wave era.

Posted by the wily filipino at December 6, 2005 12:15 AM