Mark Lanegan, October 4 at the Troubadour

I wasn't planning to go to the Mark Lanegan show but Cidney bailed so Carla so had the extra ticket and I took it up. I have no problem seeing Mark Lanegan, whether solo or with his band or with another group or when he shows up to a Greg Dulli show because he was hanging around anyway. Lanegan's voice might do something to the nether regions of ladies but I can only wish to appreciate it in the same way, so for me, a male rock n' roll fan, it goes through my ears, not my panties. This night it was just Lanegan and an electric guitarist and that was it and that was enough. It was putting the voice right front and center. Lanegan might not like being in the spotlight but maybe he doesn't have a problem putting his voice out there. Maybe this was a show as a supplement to a full tour and he was just staying out on the road, which is what he does anyway. It's a shame Lanegan can't make enough of a living to not have to be such a road dog but maybe for this show he at least didn't have to divide up the revenue with a band or big road crew and could just ride along and do a minimal show. And it still worked, but that isn't hard when his voice is the star of the show. Of course the place was packed and hot and sweaty but on a Friday night so that was fine. He was touring for a covers album, Imitations, which blended in so well that it was hard to tell that he had a chunk of songs that weren't his own in there. But he's got a quite a catalog of material from dark places to pull from so we can go both metaphorically and figuratively. I wasn't familiar with everything but hearing that voice growling whatever he too or came up with was fine enough for any performance. 


Mark Lanegan's set-list:
"When Your Number Isn't Up"
"The Cherry Tree Carol" (traditional)
"One Way Street"
"Don't Forget Me"
"Where the Twain Shall Meet" (Screaming Trees)
"The Gravedigger's Song"
"Phantasmagoria Blues"
"Can't Catch the Train" (Soulsavers)
"Mack the Knife" (Kurt Weill cover) (first performance ever)
"You Only Live Twice" (Nancy Sinatra cover) (first performance ever)
"Autumn Leaves" (Yves Montand cover) (first performance ever)
"Resurrection Song"
"One Hundred Days"
"Mirrored"
"On Jesus' Program" (O.V. Wright cover)

"Bombed"
"Wild Flowers"
"Halo of Ashes" (Screaming Trees)