Live: A Commotional Night

I saw Lloyd Cole live for the seventh time this century last Friday, on his home ground at the Buxton Opera House. This involved driving past the same Glossop hillside I'd broken down on one week earlier.

It was a great gig. Lloyd was in fine voice - we remarked how, unlike many of his contemporaries, Lloyd still sings in the same register as he did in the 80s, with crystal clear diction so you can hear every word. That's important, give how literate and detailed his lyrics are.

This tour felt different to the other times I've seen him. Usually it's just Lloyd and a guitar, whereas here he was joined by two of the original Commotions, Blair Cowan and Neil Clark, plus new drummer Signy Jakobsdottir. Surprisingly then, the set list was also heavy on newer material. Not necessarily a bad thing as Lloyd's always kept the standard high, but I missed some of the favourites of previous tours, particularly Like Lovers Do. I'm never truly satisfied unless I've seen Lloyd eating out of tuna cans. On the other hand, it was great to hear Mr. Malcontent.

The TT jury's still out on his most recent album, On Pain. It's a little too electronic for me (that's his current passion), though I'm guessing that's why it scored so highly with Khayem. Interestingly, after playing the title track with full band, Lloyd back-announced it by saying, "it doesn't sound anything like that on the record". I preferred the live version. Still, I do love the second single ("my current flop"), The Idiot. Although the soundman could have turned up Signy's mic, since she was given the job of singing the "Stop being drug addicts" line, which is what makes the song for me, and it was all but lost on the night.

We’ll move to Berlin

(Stop being drug addicts)

We’ll cycle and swim

(Stop being drug addicts)

We’ll enter society

You’ll take the serious guise

I was supposed to see Half Man Half Biscuit live this Friday - two gigs within the space of a week? Like the old days! Unfortunately, it's been postponed till next summer after bassist Neil Crossley fractured his wrist. I wish him a speedy recovery.