For a guy who hates the literal spotlight on a stage, lead singer and songwriter contributor to Echo & The Bunnymen Ian McCulloch made sure all eyes were on his dark dramatics during the band’s performance at the Warfield in San Francisco on June 6th.
Things started all well and good during the opening number, “Going Up.” The power the band brought to the live performance dwarfed the studio version of their 1980 album Crocodiles. The audience, most of whom were of the gray-haired variety, were clearly feeling the vibes. Heads were nodding, people were singing along, and it felt like this was going to be a fine performance from a band whose current tour is called “Songs to Learn & Sing 2024” – an obvious nod to the band’s 1985 release that that was a kind of greatest hits package with a new song (“Bring on the Dancing Horses”). However, if one thought the band was going to run through the 11 songs on Songs to Learn & Sing (which, let’s face it, would have been banger after banger), they were disabused of that notion from the moment the band took the stage. That’s not to say they didn’t play any of the singles from their early period (they did), but the setlist that included deep cuts, a few covers, and some well-known songs performed throughout two sets seemed a bit plodding at times.
As it was, Set One was the best, with deeper cuts being featured right out of the gate (“Going Up,” “All That Jazz” and “Flowers”). A good warm up and a treat for longtime fans, but what got the audience going was the opening riff on “Rescue.” However, that was a bit of a head-fake, because things got a bit trippy with “All My Colors,” followed by a medley consisting of “Villiers Terrace,” “Roadhouse Blues” by The Doors, and “The Jean Genie” by David Bowie. After that trip into a rather psychedelic vibe, the band brought out heavy hitters “Never Stop ” and “Bring on the Dancing Horses” to close out the first set. It’s the latter song where the wheels were starting to come off the train – which, up to that point, was running smoothly. McCullloch’s voice was starting to show the strain of trying to sing in a key that he was able to sing 39 years ago.
Set Two was marked by sound issues with a bank of amps behind Will Sergeant – Echo & The Bunnymen’s lead guitarist and only other original member of the band. Throughout a couple of songs, McCulloch kept signaling to the band’s roadie to move the amps back – which didn’t seem to his satisfaction. In between verses, McCulloch would turn and call out to his roadie to move the equipment back. Finally, it seemed the low-end feedback was fixed and that earned the roadie a fist bump from McCulloch. I understand no one wants feedback, but his antics felt very micromanage-y. As the second set kind of plodded along, McCulloch became more incomprehensible in this between song stage patter. He would mumble something, often ending with an incoherent question. There’s no proof that he was drunk, but it sure felt like the ramblings of a drunk man or a guy who liked to mess with his paying audience. About the only thing that I could make out was when McCulloch was introducing “Seven Seas,” he said something like “This one is dead simple. Dead simple.” Simple or no, the audience had to save him again by singing the chorus. More micromanaging came to the fore when he made the band restart “The Killing Moon” after a verse. “The Cutter” and “Lips Like Sugar” were executed well by the band, but McCulloch continued to struggle. By the time the show closer, “Ocean Rain” started, McCulloch said something like “Fucking twat” and walked off the stage, leaving the audience stunned while the band started putting their instruments away and walking off the stage. They eventually returned and finished the song, but it felt really uncomfortable watching McCulloch have a prima donna moment. McCulloch pulled something similar in North Carolina after audience members were talking during “Ocean Rain,” so maybe it’s a case of bad manners he can’t take. Whatever the reason, it felt like his tantrum came out of nowhere. However, one thing’s for sure, it was a memorable moment in an otherwise ho-hum second set. I don’t blame the band for what transpired or the lackluster vocal performance. That’s squarely on McCulloch. However, the touring musicians, Peter Riley (rhythm guitar), Mike Smith (Keyboards), Simon Finley (drums), and Stephen Brannan (bass) all comported themselves with professionalism and displayed a very accomplished level of playing. McCulloch and Sergeant are lucky to have these guys playing with power and precision. Alas, when the singer starts losing his voice, all the accomplished playing in the world can’t save a sputtering boat from drifting off course and into rough waters.
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