ECHO AND THE BUNNYMEN | LIVE REVIEW
St David’s Hall, Cardiff, Mon 15 Oct
A lot of expectations are placed on 80s bands who tour today. Do the songs still hold up? Will people care that they’re still kicking around? Do they still have ‘it’?
Regarding Echo And The Bunnymen, the answers are yes, yes, and no. The band – now a duo with touring members – recently revamped their greatest hits on new album The Stars, The Oceans & The Moon. And the fans still give a shit, as evidenced by the packed-out St David’s Hall. But anyone expecting a revolution in their presentation is going to be disappointed. This tour is as throwback as it gets.
A candelabra hangs from the rigging, reminding us of the band’s pseudo-goth roots. Frontman Ian McCulloch wears his sunglasses indoors for the whole set, a fad that stopped earning the wearer cool points in the early 90s. And the songs – well, they sound the same as they have for the last 30 years.
It’s not bad – musicians of this calibre rarely are – but it’s a bit of a drag. With closed eyes, classics like opener Going Up and Over The Wall sound like post-punk belters, but open them up and the band look bored. Their lethargy is exacerbated by security herding those who want to stand up back to their seats. Between songs McCulloch rambles in an incomprehensible Liverpudlian accent. The audience claps and nods politely. A Tommy Wiseau lookalike in a galaxy print suit moans, “I feel like I’m in a nursing home waiting to die.”
That’s not to say people aren’t enjoying themselves. Many are, but these are songs you already have to know and love dearly in order to appreciate live. In fact, it’s the diehard fans who save the day. At McCulloch’s request security backs off and people dance in the aisles, providing the much-needed visual stimulation the band failed to bring to the table.
The encore rolls around and The Killing Moon predictably blows everyone away, but it’s too little too late. Empty seats are dotted around the hall – vacated by those who went to get drinks and didn’t bother coming back. A bit of an overreaction maybe, because Echo And The Bunnymen were a damp squib, not a disaster. They won’t draw any new fans with this performance, but at least the old ones will be mildly satisfied.
words BETTI HUNTER
