The Sisters of Mercy / Rock City / Nottingham
Artist: The Sisters of Mercy
Venue: Rock City, Nottingham
Date: 11 March 2020
Last night The Sisters of Mercy (TSOM) returned to Rock City in Nottingham to delight a full house. This is far from your average show. TSOM are an enigma, but a gloriously magnificent enigma live with their beautifully minimalist dark aura (both visual and tone) and pounding drums/basslines mixed with that glorious vocal tone. Different as well in that there is no drummer on stage (using drum machines controlled by Doktor Avalanche) which is also something not often seen in post-punk / rock music, but works so well for TSOM.
The marriage between synth tech and guitars is something the Sisters deliver brilliantly, and what makes them such a unique experience live. When linked so effectively to the shows lightning, which moved from dark, red light songs, to blinding white spots so efficiently, it creates an atmosphere and image that suits the music so so well, and it sucks the crowd right in to the whole show experience. There are a few sing-along choruses here, but the crowd were rocking and waving their arms in the air from the start. There are certainly very few bands in rock music who command such levels of intense devotion and indeed such intense debate amongst their fans.
The band belted out all their best tracks with ‘Lucretia’, ‘Dominion’, ‘Flood 2’ and ‘First and Last and Always’ the highlights of the show for me.
There was also a number of new songs, such as ‘Instrumental’, which is unsurprisingly an instrumental. Then we had ‘Black Sail’ which was sensational and very cinematic, as Andrew Eldritch’s vocals delivered something quite spectacular. We were also treated to the new track ‘But Genevieve’ which had some brilliantly rich and nuanced vocals, TSOM at their very best.
Finally we had a three track encore, finishing with my personal favourite track, and the classic anthemic ‘This Corrosion.’ One of the most iconic musical intros of all time, it’s first notes welcomes by enthusiastic shouts from the crowd… It’s loud, pounding lines… bold, brilliant and menancing - a fitting finale to a fantastic night which had everyone on their feet, belting out the words, arms in the air……. Simply a masterpiece.
Everyone went home excited and entertained. There is something magnetic about TSOM, something draws you in and engages you. A brilliant night. “Bold & Brilliant” that just about sums up the Sisters of Mercy perfectly. You walked away from the show tonight feeling like you’d been part of something special.
Set list: Lucretia, I Will Call You, Ribbons, No Time to Cry, Dr Jeep, But Genevieve, Alive, Dominion, Show me, Marian, First and Last and Always , Instrumental, Black Sail, I was Wrong, Flood 2, More (Encore), Temple (Encore) & This Corrosion (Encore)
Support was provided by the brilliant ‘dark-folk’ AA Williams. A beautify, almost unearthly vocal style which rises over the beautifully crafted and delicate chords and drums. It really helped to set the atmosphere for the main set and took the audiences breathe away with its intricate and subtle structures. It felt intimate, you felt drawn in to the music, close and part of something different. AA Williams is an act I’ll keep an eye on and I look forward to seeing them again sometime soon.
