I have been meaning to go and see Lloyd Cole for some time, ever since the 1980s when he was with the Commotions and had hits such as “Perfect Skin”, which I quite liked at the time. For some reason I had never got round to doing so. Time to put that right. So carer Jan and I went along to the lovely Tyne Theatre to see Lloyd, a new batch of songs, and his band.
The press release for the new tour announced: “Lloyd Cole will release a new album, ‘On Pain’, on 23rd June ’23 on the earMUSIC label. ‘On Pain’ is Lloyd’s twelfth album as a solo artist and features eight new Lloyd Cole songs, four of which are co-written by Commotions founding members Blair Cowan and Neil Clark, who also perform on the record. The album is produced by Chris Merrick Hughes and was recorded in Lloyd’s attic studio The Establishment.” Lloyd is now based in the USA and this tour is to promote the new album.
Our friendly taxidriver took us right to the door, which was handy as it was pouring down with rain. We took our seats close to the front with a great view, just in time for the show to begin.
The concert was in two parts. The first was a quieter, more acoustic version of Lloyd and his band. After a short interval the second half was a full electric set. The show started at 8 PM prompt as advertised.
Set 1. Lloyd took to the stage, dressed very smart, entirely in white, alone with his acoustic guitar. His songs spanned his career, from his days with the Commotions, through to his latest album. This guy has a massive back catalogue and also a massive fan base. The theatre was almost full. Gradually, band members joined him, including a guitarist, keyboard player and a drummer. The keyboard player, Blair Cowan and guitarist Neil Clark have been with Lloyd since the early Commotions days.
By the end of this set, the full band was on stage and the performance had morphed from acoustic to electric. The songs were unfamiliar to me, but very pleasant. I was trying, in my mind, to categorise his music but found it difficult to do so: melodic, pleasant, perhaps with a smattering of country? Whatever, I enjoyed listening to these songs for the first time. At the end of the set, I was greeted by two former colleagues and we had a good chat about rock music and concerts attended. I also met a new fellow concert goer and her husband. I passed them my card which has the address of this blog. I do hope you have found my blog and can read this. Hello! (I love to find new subscribers). Time for a double Jack Daniels and ginger. Very appropriate and lovely.
I perused the merchandise stand but there were no T-shirts to buy. There was a tempting lyric sheet which the guy on the stand promised that Lloyd would be signing after the show. I held off buying one, and decided to wait and see when the concert ended and if there was still time to purchase one then.
Set 2. The second set was longer in duration and included the full four piece band throughout. Again, the songs were largely unfamiliar to me although I did recognise “Perfect Skin” and a couple of others. Lloyd closed the performance around 10:30 PM, and then returned for an encore of two songs. By the time he had finished it was 10:45 PM and my taxi was awaiting me in the pouring rain. Sadly I did not have time to purchase and get signed a lyric sheet as I needed to leave and get into the taxi. Thanks to Jan for taking the photos; she was disappointed that he did not play “Lost Weekend”. So was I, come to think of it.
Set list (something like this): Undressed; Mr. Malcontent; My Other Life; No Blue Skies; Night Sweats; Minor Character; Violins; Blue Like Mars; Mister Wrong; Pay for It; Perfect Skin; Wolves; Perfect Blue; The Flipside; Myrtle and Rose; Like Lovers Do; The Idiot; Brand New Friend; Forest Fire; The Young Idealists; Mainstream
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