Ahhh, the good old days. The golden era of alternative music, when alternative kids wore lots of black and
some makeup and had big floppy hair and listened to bands like The Smiths and Echo and the
Bunnymen. These halcyon days returned as Ian McCulloch and the rest of his Bunnymen hit
the stage at the Fillmore in San Francisco last night. The band were in excellent form, chain smoking and
playing their instruments from behind a thick bank of machine-produced fog.
Many favorites were aired out, including “Lips Like Sugar,” “The Killing Moon,” “The Cutter,” “Ocean
Rain,” “Seven Seas,” and “Bring On The Dancing Horses,” as well as a later era hits such as “Rust.” The
band also did a sprawling rendition of “Do It Clean,” adding a montage in the middle that included bits of
James Brown’s “Sex Machine” and “Roadhouse Blues ” by the Doors, before kicking back into
“Do It Clean.” However, it’s quite evident why bands like Echo don’t get any radio play currently. This
crowd was frightening. It’s been a long time since I felt young at a show, but it happened last night. Also,
there must have been some memo distributed to crowd members, that I didn’t get, that stated that there
would be auditions for Breakfast Club 2001 after the show, and all should dress as such. Jesus
hell. There were tons of jean jackets in evidence, but I’m not talking the dark denim hipster variety. This
would be more like the ratty, stonewashed, probably-had-it-since-1985 variety. The average age seemed to
be 38, which isn’t necessarily a bad thing, but not exactly the target demo for today’s alternative radio
programmers. The show proved that while Echo and the Bunnymen can still bring the goods live, maybe
they should bring their own crowd as well.
Source: Jeremy P. Goldstein
