2005/08/06 TILBURG - Reviews/Pictures/Setlist are here
2005/08/08 LOKEREN - Review/Setlist are here
Send reviews and/or pictures to tours@xxx.lt.
News
New song
last update: 2005/08/09
The surprise song was premierred in Lokeren and
was identified by Paul and Donan as cover of
reagae song "Uptown Top Ranking", writtten and performed by Althea Forrest and Donna Reid
in 1978.
Slept (new song from 2003) has also returned starting with Lokeren.
Media files
last update: 2005/08/09
Everybody and their uncle has phones with digital cameras/sound recorders
these days, so pictures and sound recordings are in abundance (too bad they're mostly crappy).
Here's a list of what we feature:
Leeds - pictures, links to pictures, link to short RealPlayer video clips, link to (crappy) recording of full gig
Tilburg - links to pictures
Lokeren - nothing yet.
Wien venue changed
last update: 2005/08/04
(updated - tickets are not on internet sale anymore)
Sharp-eyed Johan Aman reports that Sisters venue in Wien has been changed from
Arena Wien's Open Air hall to Arena Wien's Große Halle, as can be seen here
(at the very bottom).
Also, tickets are not on internet sale anymore. It's not clear whether it means
a sold-out show or that the time for internet sales has finished.
Open Air venue holds 3000 viewers, while Große Halle - just 490 (as seen
here).
Shame, really. They are as good as they were 10 years ago, but much less punters care about it.
This probably means that:
(a) cancellation is a remote possiblity - they could have already done this, instead of rescheduling the mayhem to more easily fillable hall
(b) Sisters will probably won't play to Austria in nearest future (possibly never ever), as no Austrian organizer will want to lose money on them
(c) it might be speculated that by showing that the band can only draw several hundred people in some places,
this might jeopardize business Sisters operations, similarly to how lukewarm success of To the Planet Edge tour in US
and Smoke and Mirrors tour in UK more or less closed the doors for further Sisters tours in these countries
For those 490 people it will probably be interesting to see Sisters play in tiny venue.
On the other hand, the band usually benefits a lot from a large, go-for-it crowd
in front of them - so added intimacy might be for worse than for the better.
(note that some people seem to contest this, with fair argument that there were
precedents of strang smallish gigs such as this year's concert in Leeds).
(thanks to "the-happening")
Personnel changes
last update: 2005/08/04
This update on the
official website finally gave information for who's who in the band. By
the looks of it, The Sisters of Mercy is now exclusively Andrew Eldritch's
domain - the second band member in order of significance is the drum machine.
According to Andrew Eldritch, The Sisters of Mercy are:
Andrew Eldritch vocals
Doktor Avalanche drums etc
Nurse (Simon Denbigh) nurse to the Doktor (drum machine operator)
Chris May guitars, vocals
Adam Pearson guitars, vocals
The biggest news are that yes, the rumours were true - guitarist Adam Pearson decided
to call it quits after more than 10 years of being Andrew's main sidekick (he still agreed to go through motions in this tour).
Adam's only recorded contribution to Sisters was guitar on Under the Gun, the last single of the band. Later he also authored
music to several songs which the band plays live (Summer, Romeo Down, Will I Dream,
Top Nite
Out, and possibly more), but these are unlikely to be relased.
In 1998 Adam personally blocked plans to issue
an independent Sisters single and thus try to restart their career, and he
forbid to put any of his songs for free download.
And these were quite unproductive 10 years -
although to be
fair to Adam, this could not have been foreseen when he joined in 1993.
For more on Chris May, the the new guitarist for this year click here for more
information about him.
Songs
last update: 2005/08/03
The only gig so far Leeds gig didn't have any surpise songs.
The songs were mostly the same as in previous tours, and all the new and
resurrected songs of the Smoke and Mirrors
tour (2003) were out. This regression might or might not be reversed in upcoming gigs.
Some songs were played differenty this time around: Giving Ground and
Ribbons (and possibly some other songs) feature new guitar riffs, probably due
to the new guitarist; First and Last and Always are played with old, pre-1996
guitar riff. Lucretia seems to have exchanged the bass line for synth, and sounds
fresh and raw.
On the other hand, most other songs such as Top Nite Out, is just the same as it was before.
|

Andrew Eldritch vocals
|

Chris May guitar, backing vocals
|

Adam Pearson guitar, backing vocals
|
pictures © Nigel Kurt
|