{"id":1931,"date":"2017-01-14T23:57:40","date_gmt":"2017-01-14T12:57:40","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/greatgigs.com.au\/?p=1931"},"modified":"2024-05-30T21:00:03","modified_gmt":"2024-05-30T11:00:03","slug":"lloyd-cole-at-hamer-hall","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/greatgigs.com.au\/index.php\/2017\/01\/14\/lloyd-cole-at-hamer-hall\/","title":{"rendered":"Lloyd Cole at Hamer Hall"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

SATURDAY, 14 JANUARY 2017 | BY HARRY<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\nhttps:\/\/www.facebook.com\/Lloyd.Cole.1961\/posts\/10154001093582531\n<\/div><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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Photo credit: Carbie Warbie<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

At the ripe young age of fifty five, Lloyd Cole<\/strong> is the epitome of the modern day travelling balladeer. He\u2019s certainly no stranger to our shores \u2013 choosing to visit Australia every couple of years \u2013 attracted as much by our beguiling golf courses, as the opportunity to perform for an ever appreciative audience.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

With the exception of a tour to Australia very early on with his 80’s band The Commotions, every successive Lloyd Cole tour has been in support of his solo offerings. A creature of habit, he\u2019ll normally choose to seek out his audience, playing multiple shows in outlying areas and these are wonderfully sparse, stripped back intimate affairs \u2013 offering golden opportunities for fans to connect after the show for a convivial chat.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Tonight he\u2019s asking something a little different from his fans. His Facebook page this week read, \u201cLast time I was in Melbourne, I came and played your suburb, this time I\u2019m asking you to come into the CBD\u201d<\/em>…which of course we are all very happy to do. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Tonight the Young Idealists* have been summoned to the much larger Hamer Hall \u2013 for a fully retrospective flick through his 1983 \u2013 1996 songbook. I\u2019m really pleased when I learn he\u2019s decided to extend the invitation to his son, who is also along for the ride. Will Cole<\/strong> is a former member of Brooklyn power pop trio, EZTV<\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

* The \u2018Young Idealists\u2019 are Lloyd’s loyal fan base, who have collectives set up in each major touring destination around the world. When a tour is announced they swing into action, and help publicise his shows through social media, organising possible venues, posting gig flyers, and selling merchandise (in exchange for the opportunity to dine out and spend time with Lloyd when he visits).<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Photo credit: Carbie Warbie<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

As we take our seats in a dimly lit Hamer Hall, Will is already on stage making all the last minute checks for his dad. Four beautiful acoustics line the stage in tuned readiness. Having been preoccupied with UK, Europe and the Americas of late, it\u2019s now been quite a few years since Lloyd\u2019s last visit and the promise of a couple of hours in the presence of such a great storyteller has me wondering what he might choose to start with.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

He takes the stage alone to fervent applause and stands at the microphone, looking towards the heavens, strumming softly to himself as he clears his mind for the set ahead.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cEarly in the morning, just by the break of day\u2026 that\u2019s when my patience went away.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

It\u2019s “Patience” from the 1983 debut Rattlesnakes<\/em> \u2013 a perfect choice to kick off proceedings. As he strums the unmistakable intro to the similarly themed \u201cPerfect Blue\u201d and the warm melancholy begins to rush over me, I realise that a lot of thought has been given to tonights setlist \u2013 with songs bracketed by theme, seems we are in for a special show indeed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cShould you awake dear from your beauty sleep
To find your room swimming in blue and green…\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

It\u2019s almost like being at communion. The crowd tonight is respectfully silent between songs and at applause\u2019s end not a single word is uttered. Lloyd hesitates momentarily at the lack of interaction, looks out into the crowd and with his trademark steely gaze utters, \u201cYou\u2019re not getting any younger either\u2026\u201d It\u2019s a great icebreaker and at once the audience is his.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Photo credit: Carbie Warbie<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Lloyd then takes the opportunity to trot out a sparse two minute rendition of his classic “Rattlesnakes\u201d. It is lovely, but for some of us, its short duration is far from what such a timeless song deserves. I reason it\u2019s either a decision taken because he\u2019s dead sick of playing it every night or perhaps because he has such a bevy of songs to get through in such a confined space of time?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

What follows next is the first of tonight\u2019s homages – this time it\u2019s to Prince<\/strong> \u2013 with a cover of The Purple One\u2019s “Sometimes It Snows In April”.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

As the song closes, Lloyd spots a couple of latecomers trying to find their seats in the darkness and playfully chides them: \u201cGood evening\u2026 you\u2019ve only missed \u2018Rattlesnakes\u2019.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWelcome to our little Retrospective evening\u2026 tonight we have only songs from 1983 to 1996\u2026 For the last couple of years I\u2019ve spent a great deal of time and energy looking backwards \u2013 like we said we would never do\u2026 so if I was ever going to be an \u2018Oldies\u2019 singer\u2019 then tonight\u2019s the night!… this one\u2019s from 1984\u2026 plus 10\u201d.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

From 1995’s Love Story<\/em> it\u2019s a beautifully sumptuous rendition of “I Didn\u2019t Know That You Cared”. The warmth of the acoustic is revelatory and for a moment every reason that I have adored this man and his muse comes flooding back.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Maturity has blessed Cole with a self deprecatory wit\u2026
\u201cThank you\u2026remember those photographs of me in the 80\u2019s and 90\u2019s? I was trying to look \u2018neutral\u2019… I was trying to look neither happy nor sad\u2026 and by the time I realised that when I tried to look \u2018neutral\u2019 I actually looked quite angry \u2013 it was too late.\u2019 (Laughs)<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Photo credit: Carbie Warbie<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

The topical “Love Ruins Everything” is next up.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cHey, hey, hey
Look at me now
I`m unrecognizable
My trademark frown has grown
Into the strangest easy smile\u201d.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cSo by now you’ll have gathered that I am your opening act tonight… and after a little while there will be an intermission and I will return with a special guest. By the end of the evening, hopefully we will have covered most of the ground that you would have hoped we would have covered\u2026 from 1983 to 1996. If you\u2019re getting a little impatient, remember that the hits \u2013 there\u2019s only about five of them \u2013 so maybe every now and again we could delve a little deeper and see if we can find something interesting. This is from the last recording session we did as the Commotions. We were a four piece for about a month.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Lloyd then launches into cracker of a song with an urgent strum called “Lonely Mile”.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI\u2019m standing at the crossroads
I\u2019m waiting for a sign
Anyway the wind blows
Yes sir, I\u2019ll take as mine\u201d.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Lloyd then rips through a melancholy “Pay For It” before threading it with another similarly themed tune, “Pretty Gone”. It\u2019s outro segues into a few bars of the fab four\u2019s “Norwegian Wood” signalling clearly to the audience that Lloyd\u2019s influences are still worn openly on his melancholy sleeves.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A superbly muscular rendition of 1987\u2019s “My Bag” from the last Commotions album in 1987 is next up and straight away the mood of the place lifts. How good it is to hear Lloyd revisiting these fantastic songs!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cSo anyway… I stopped wearing contact lenses\u2026 and every now and again I\u2019m going to need to tune the guitar \u2013 possibly a little awkward, but it does add what we refer to in show business as the \u2019creation of tension\u2019\u2026 and here\u2019s the thing: put the glasses on, tune, take the glasses off, sometimes I get these \u2018wings\u2019 and you can see that my hair is all I have left \u2013 it\u2019s not the same colour, but it\u2019s all there, it\u2019s still relatively healthy\u2026 so I don\u2019t really want the wings\u2026 it makes me look like Michael Heseltine\u2026 and so if you see the \u2018wings\u2019 just give me a wave or shout \u2018wings\u2019 and I\u2019ll do this (strokes hair behind his ears) and we\u2019ll be fine\u2026 (laughs).<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

‘Butterfly’ is next which segues effortlessly into a couplet or two of Leonard Cohen<\/strong>\u2019s ‘Famous Blue Raincoat’. \u201dThanks for the songs Mr Cohen\u201d, Lloyd quips.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cSo You\u2019d Like to Save the World\u201d and a gleeful singalong to \u201cJennifer She Said\u201d round out the first set. After our best vocal effort, Lloyd graces us with some feedback: \u201cWell, clearly you\u2019re not Welsh, but that\u2019s alright!\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Photo credit: Carbie Warbie<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

For the second set, Will appears with his dad and as soon as I recognise the opening chords of 1990\u2019s “Don\u2019t Look Back” I can tell it\u2019s going to be a much fuller sound from here on in. With Will filling in all the lead nuances, suddenly Lloyds compositions have moved from artistic pastiches to the fully formed masterpieces we have come to know and love. Its lyrics are very telling, especially with his young son standing loyally at his side:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI used to wake up early
I used to try to believe
But life seems never ending
When you\u2019re young\u201d.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

At the songs end Lloyd takes a moment to reflect on the situation. \u201dYou can imagine how long it took me to find a young man who looks just like I do… just like I would’ve looked if I\u2019d been in \u2018Echo & the Bunnymen\u2019”.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

“Mr Malcontent” with it\u2019s two part interplay is beauty personified and this continues as the duo launch into “Like Lovers Do”. Will, like probably every other young guy his age, is extremely self aware and spends the majority of his time staring at the ceiling or stage left, only glancing at Lloyd occasionally for cues. He certainly has the chops on the acoustic and his solo on this track is outstanding. It must be extremely gratifying and possibly a bit scary to have your son want to follow in your footsteps. Lloyd must be very proud.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

As Will rolls out the delicate finger picked intro to “Are You Ready To Be Heartbroken” his playing elicits plenty of whoos and applause \u2013 and fair enough too. In previous tours even Lloyd himself has struggled with its intricacies. A few game audience members jump up and start dancing at the foot of the stage.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

“Cut Me Down” is equally sublime too. Probably one of my personal favourites and the two cruise through it effortlessly. I\u2019m so pleased I got to see this performance.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

From here on in, it\u2019s Rattlesnakes<\/em> heaven\u2026just classic after classic.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

“Perfect Skin” is bookended with “Charlotte Street” and the plaintive “2cv”. The tunes rattle along happily until Will kicks them up another level altogether with a bevy of beautifully realised finger-picked solos. It’s been a masterstroke to include him on this tour and bodes well for further father and son sonic explorations.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Photo credit: Carbie Warbie<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Someone yells out for “Forest Fire”\u2026
\u201cPatience\u201d<\/em>, Lloyd placates.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cSo, did you know that the Queen likes a bit of George Formby\u2026? This is really true\u2026 they did this Desert Island Discs BBC thing recently and although she didn\u2019t actually appear on the show, a confidante brought out a list of the things she likes\u2026 and she said she especially likes that most George Formby songs seem to be about his cock… (hysterical laughter) so I have a song of mine now from 1990 which I\u2019d like to do George Formby style\u2026\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThe coolest thing I ever saw
You were sitting there smoking my cigarettes
You were naked on the bare stone floor
You looked at me to say don\u2019t guess
I was only watching, yes I love you more undressed\u201d.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Lloyd and Will spend a few moments tuning up before continuing and true to form, just as Lloyd goes to put his glasses away, some wisecrack from the audience hollers \u201c\u2026WINGS\u2026\u201d to his amusement.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The pigeon pair of “No Blue Skies” and “No More Love Songs” are up next with Lloyd playing the baseline and Will fluttering over the top with a sensitive lead.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Lloyd takes a moment to reflect on some past history.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u2018So I made an album that was going to come out in 1996\/97 and delivered it and was happy with it and the publisher was happy with it and then the A&R man got fired and the person who took over wasn\u2019t so happy with it….and it never came out. The songs on the record ended up on a few different records called The Negatives or Etc but the actual album never came out. This box set coming out in March has finally got this album as I wanted it to be. I know I was thinking of calling it The Middle Ages because obviously 35 years old was really old or I was maybe going to call it Smile If You Want To which I think is possibly a better title. So this is tonight\u2019s youngest song. This is only 20 years old!\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

As Lloyd introduces the next song, which transpires to be ‘Hey Rusty’ he ponders the change in outlook brought on by maturity:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWhen I was 26 years old, I think I wrote my first song about approaching middle age\u2026 because obviously at 26 I knew absolutely everything there<\/em> was to be known… anyway, here I am singing these songs now at 55 and, more often than not, I find myself sympathising more with the characters in the songs than the know-it-all 26 year old\u2026\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Taken from the album Mainstream<\/em> the song has always been a personal favourite and reminds me of a typical Springsteen epic with its lyrics of ‘Remember…
it’s like yesterday, stealing cigarettes, and laughing as they chased us down the boulevards’. Sure enough, almost as if he read my thoughts, Lloyd segues the end of the song into a little hummed Bruce Springsteen<\/strong>‘s “Born To Run”. Another nod to a musical hero.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Last song of the second set now and it\u2019s a classic\u2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWalking in the pouring rain<\/em>
Walking with Jesus and Jane
Jane was in her turtleneck
I was much happier then\u201d.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

“Brand New Friend” trundles along, all fat baseline with Will\u2019s soft flourishes and counterpoint screaming string slides. Just magic. As the tune reaches it\u2019s conclusion, Lloyd changes one note in the chugging melody and suddenly he\u2019s paying homage to David Bowie<\/strong>, with a heartfelt version of “Heroes<\/em>\u201d
The crowd reacts with more hollers\u2026 then just as we think he\u2019s about to finish up he adds one more deft brushstroke with a tribute to The Go-Betweens<\/strong> “Rock and Roll Friend”: \u201cDo something about me, do something about me, do something about me \u2013 and do it soon my friend\u201d.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

After the smallest of breaks the duo return for one final salvo.
“Lost Weekend” is greeted warmly and then with only one song to go, it\u2019s the one everyone has been shouting for. The plaintive intro to “Forest Fire” rings out through Hamer Hall and it\u2019s blissful. Will cleverly introduces a Spanish counterpoint to the refrain and it just floats along. The crowd finally step up and sing \u201cIf we get caught in this wind\u201d and Lloyd smiles in recognition.”Thank you all… get home safe… Goodnight!” All too soon the magic is over and the boys leave us to reflect on what has been an amazing night.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Once again Lloyd has unequivocally proved what a great storyteller he was between 1983-1996 and why he continues to be so adored and respected by his fan base and peers. It is obvious his songbook from this era includes an embarrassment of riches \u2013 all powerful observations on the human condition. Tonight\u2019s material worked just as successfully as stripped back sketches of melody or as fully embellished father and son duets. A truly unmissable show. Come back soon guys!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Photo credit: Harry Williams<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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