Geoff and I drove up to Oakland last nigt for the first of two Dead Can Dance concerts at the Paramount
As someone who attended two of the European concerts earlier this year, I have to say that Dead Can Dance were in superlative form last night. The band seemed tighter and more polished than they had back in April; not that there was anything wrong with their performances back then, of course.
I spoke to Niall after the show and told him my thoughts, wondering if the show I had just witnessed had seemed better merely because I was still in the moment of it all, whereas the shows from back in April had sunken somewhat into my memory.
Interestingly, he agreed. He said that the band was much tighter now than in Europe and that Brendan had spent a lot of money on improving the sound of the band on stage. Clearly, the European dates had acted as great preparation for the North American dates and the current line-up of the band is rapidly distilling into its most sublime form.
The new songs had evolved in small but significant ways since the European concerts. There were subtle variations, some cymbal where there had previously been none, and the arrangement of How Fortunate The Man With None had been changed slightly at the point where Lisa sings along. Lance now joined in, too, which I don’t think was the case earlier.
A new song was played last night that wasn’t played on the European leg of the tour, but I didn’t get a set list, so I don’t know its name. I’m not sure which song had been dropped from the set in favour of this one, either.
Lisa was her usual serene self, but Brendan was conspicuous by his sense of humour and generally jovial demeanour. He seemed to be enjoying himself more than I’ve ever seen him in the past.
The only new merchandise on sale was a grey version of the hooded sweater. The prices of the various items seem to be much cheaper than in Europe.
The version of the programme on sale was the same as in Europe, i.e. with many of the North American dates appearing incorrectly. I had wondered if they would reprint it.
In just a few more hours, we’ll make the drive up to Oakland again for the second night’s concert. Needless to say, I can’t wait.
It now looks as if we won’t leave for the drive down to L.A. until Saturday. The concert isn’t until Sunday, anyway.