28 October 2022 – Fortitude Music Hall – words by Joe Harbour – pictures by Bec Harbour
Upon arrival to the Fortitude Music Hall I was greeted with what appeared to be an early arrival of trick or treaters out with their parents awaiting to get a bunch of musical candy for the night… because if someone said release the bats they did, because it was on for young and old!
So to provide some background on The Sisters of Mercy, they have been around for 40 odd years. They helped pave the genre dark rock/wave/goth et al with other bands like Bauhaus, The Cure, Alien Sex Fiend and The Mission UK and Fields of the Nephilim to name a few, except they lean a bit more towards heavy riffs and solid tempo drum machine beats all the while hitting notes and tones that add depth and feel to the rather bleak moody vibe they’re conveying. And like some of the afore mentioned bands they don’t want to be lumped in to that genre…oh well.
Anyway after inspecting the merch and deciding I liked my Sisters of Mercy shirt that I was wearing more, I went to take my spot inside to watch the show.
Up first was local act, Elko Fields. I have to admit I wasn’t familiar with them but after seeing them play I have to say they’re really good and a great fit for tonights support. Coming across as a mix of bluesy come dark rock mixed with some Danzig or simply something they have come up with themselves, they rocked out and got their respect from the crowd! We dig you Elko Fields, keep doing what you’re doing!
To check out more from Elko Fields you can go here.
So, there was a break in between bands and people topped up drinks and made their way into the main area afterward and were greeted by some smoke/dry ice and a darker setting. The Sisters entered with a new track ‘Don’t Drive on Ice’ which I liked honestly, in fact all the songs they played that are not officially recorded are really good in my opinion. Songs like ‘But Genevieve’, ‘There’s a Door’ and ‘When I’m on Fire’ all stood out. In addition they played some classics from their catalogue like ‘Marian’, ‘Ribbons’, ‘First and Last and Always’, ‘Doctor Jeep’ and ‘Detonation Boulevard’ and my cats favourite song ‘More’. I did notice a couple tracks omitted from the night like ‘Dominion’ and ‘Vision Thing’ but overall we got some good tunes.
After all was said and done (nothing was said at all to the crowd really) they disappeared off stage and left us in the dark. The crowd grew noisey and the screams and whistles got louder until finally they re-emerged to play an encore of classic tunes in the shape of ‘Lucretia My Reflection’, ‘Temple of Love’ and ‘This Corrosion’.
After 20 something tracks, I have to say I was pretty happy to finally catch them live. I had waited a few years as it just never could come together for me when they would tour here. But I do have a couple things to say about how they sounded times as the mix sounded off and the vocals would get lost in the noise. I don’t know if that was just where I was standing or I’m just old and losing my hearing but some songs could’ve sounded better!
Overall a great night I’d go see them again.
