So for my first review on the re-started blog, I'll be reviewing a show that I went to that is also available online. Well sort of. I saw both Mekons shows. The first was at The Bell House, was "acoustic" (more about that later) and not recorded. For that one I have pictures. The show at The Mercury is available here at NYC Taper. No pictures though. I'm sure you can find some if you look around. But what more could you want if you can get the entire show on MP3 or FLAC?
So first, a discussion about the first show. I was hoping that it was a mistake when The Bell House had the set listed as acoustic. I had good reason to hope since they seemed to be using the promo material from their 2007 tour. Unfortunately, this not a mistake. The band played seated and "acoustic" like they had in 2007. Why do I keep putting acoustic in quotes do you ask? Well that's because everyone except for the drummer played the exact same instruments both nights. The real difference was that the band played seated and the drummer played a hand drum set the first night. Other than that, there was nothing more acoustic about one night versus the other.
One thing that could have made the first show more acoustic than the second one would have been Tom Greenlaugh. Unfortunately, he was not with The Mekons either night. Jon explained that he had some family business he had to deal with. Whatever that means. So yeah. That was the big disappointment for both nights. However, Susie Honeyman was with them the first night, and I don't think I've ever seen her play with them live. So that was nice.
Anyway, I still haven't said anything actually reviewing the first set. Honestly, I think they might have been better off without Tom. That last time (Fall 2007) he seemed out of it, and I think he was forgetting words to songs. This time they also played a good mix of songs from different albums. I think only maybe 2 or 3 albums weren't touched at all between the two shows. It wasn't a tight set by any means, but in a spacious venue like The Bell House, this is hardly a problem. If my memory serves me correctly, they came back for two encores. I didn't like the friend they had sing "Heaven and Back." The guy couldn't even remember the words.
But really, I had few complaints. I could come up with 10 songs I love that they didn't play, but I also heard them play 10 others that I love just as well. With a band that's been around as long as The Mekons, you can't expect to hear more than half of your favorites.
So my last disappointment about The Mekons shows was that the 2nd night, they played a nearly identical set. There were probably no more than 5 songs that were played one night and not the other. This was really disappointing when they played the quieter material from Natural the second night. I don't dislike any of those songs, but they were played pretty heavily the last time I saw them, and I definitely could have used more full on rock songs. That being said, both sets were fantastic, and "Memphis Egypt" and "Where Were You" were enough to complete my night on Saturday.
And what about the recording of that second show? It's pretty good. Clear sound. NYC Taper does great work. You can hear the audience cheer in the middle of "Cockermouth" when Jon ripped his shirt open. On some of the quieter songs, you can hear people talking, but that's going to be the case with any non-soundboard recording in a bar. Mostly, you just hear The Mekons in all of their glory. I wish the guitars had been louder, but that's probably because of the absence of Tom. I highly recommend it.
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