Echo and The Bunnymen – She Wants Revenge – at Nokia Theater – Los Angeles, CA

On any given night in Los Angeles you can usually find epic shows going on and then there are those shows that come along a few times during the year that are a big deal –This was one of those shows.

The show would take place within the LA Live compound at The Nokia Theater. An hour before the show was to start a mob of people were already all over the entrance area to get in for this long awaited Echo and The Bunnymen show. Tonight’s show with 80’s post-Punk fave would be very unique because there would be an orchestra backing them up as they recreate the sound of the entire iconic album release from 1984, Ocean Rain. This alone had Los Angeles’ buzzing ever since the show was announced at the start of summer. This would be the band’s 30th anniversary, with a trilogy of records released in that period, yet their forth album would be considered by fans far and wide as the album that defined the band.

Opening up the show at 8pm sharp was the most perfect opener, She Wants Revenge from the San Fernando Valley part of Los Angeles. People were still piling into the vast theater as they began playing. The set was disappointingly short, maybe 10 songs total with a most of the songs from their debut album. The sound was all that a fan of SWR would expect in a live show, which was album quality. They ended with the song that put the band on the map, “Tear You Apart”. Apologies from the band came for the short set that they said was out of their control (since it would take a while for the stage to get properly for the Bunnyman). The half hour set blew by way too fast for the audience’s liking.  www.myspace.com/shewantsrevenge

Now that there was an intermission people were milling about the lobby, standing in long beer lines or gawking at the tour merch for sale. More and more people were still showing up and the theater would soon be packed out. The crowd was a mix of the 80’s old guard to a whole new set of young Indie fans that came to experience a truly epic band. A point to keep in mind is that a band the caliber of Echo and The Bunnyman is the epitome of what is known as Indie Rock today, yet back when they started, that designation was far from being figured out.

At 9:40pm the show’s main event started. The orchestra commenced as the graphic of the album Ocean Rain came up on the 2 large screens that were situated on both sides of the stage. The entire theater came to their feet and cheered as the opening track from the Ocean Rain album, “Silver” began. With the two remaining original members, Ian McCullough on vocals and guitarist Will Sergeant and a very solid 10 plus person orchestra providing the backbone to the performance. No less than 10 seconds into the show as the first lyrics of “Silver” were expelled from Ian’s lips, the crowd’s cheering and clapping continued as and act of sincere approval. The vocal inflection and cadence was right on the money. "Silver" was truly replicated from the band’s signature album and really set the stage for the show that was to unfold. During the show the 2 large screens displayed a montage of vintage photos of the band. The photos were a nice compliment to the show and then at times became a distraction because the photos were just so excellent to see.

By the time they played “Crystal Days” it was really sinking in that this capacity crowd was being treated to something very special. The strings of the live orchestra adding the perfect replication to the music which just carried you away. The orchestra’s full weight was felt with the stretched out plucking of the strings during “The Killing Moon”, the entire audience was singing along to this dark hypnotic favorite.

All the songs were played in the sequence as they were on the album, Silver, Nocturnal Me, Crystal Days, The Yo Yo Man, Thorn Of Crowns, The Killing Moon, Seven Seas, My Kingdom, Ocean Rain. Tonight’s performance of this acclaimed album contained all the quality’s devotees of this recording would appreciate and demand.

After a 15 minute intermission the 2nd part of the performance started with “Rescue” from their 1980 debut, Crocodiles. The rest of the show consisted of their timeless classics with some songs from their new album, The Fountain. Song highlights in the second half included, Rescue, Show of Strength, their own version of "Roadhouse Blues, Bring On The Dancing Horses and The Cutter.

The encore started with: Nothing Lasts Forever, going to Echo’s own version of Lou Reed’s “Take A Walk On The Wild Side” and ending the night out with, Lips Like Sugar from their self-titled 1987 album. The nearly 2 hour performance was now over and the atmosphere in the theater was one of euphoria. In the words of one fan that danced and grooved all throughout the show said, “If I never go to another show again in my life, that’s ok, I just saw the best show EVER!” If you were there, you probably were thinking the exact same thing.  www.myspace.com/thebunnymen

 

Big Wheel Online Magazine
 

More photos of the show can be seen HERE

 
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