The Lemonheads, Manchester Ritz, October 7th 2015 (LIVE REVIEW)
Audiences for TheLemonheads are always are strange combination; serious looking men in
their forties with stone faces, predatory women not yet over their
teenage Dando lust, and beered up blokes bouncing along nostalgically
to the hits. Something felt different this time though; a slightly
younger demographic, less intense faces; maybe this 90s revival means
being a Lemonheads fan is suddenly a little less unfashionable.
Not that Evan Dando has
ever given the impression of caring about such things, and as he
ambles on stage with this the latest incarnation of the band he
formed almost 30 years ago, he looks happier, healthier and more
relaxed than in a long time. Opening with the beautifully plodding
Hospital, it's immediately apparent that the years have done
nothing to dampen his effortlessly honeyed tones. To mention his
previous issues with drug use seems too easy to the point of cliché,
but it deserves mention that, except for, you know, that one time in
1993, he seems to have kept his voice. Three songs in and Smudge
cover Tenderfoot ignites the midweek crowd; sounding more like
a band than the Evan Dando show than they have in a long time. Jen
Turner (formerly of Here We Go Magic) on bass is infinitely
watchable, her playful enthusiasm and ease with her instrument
infectious. It's such an unexpected turn of events to see a group of
people having such a good time playing together that it's almost
slightly disappointing when they leave Evan to entertain the masses
with a few solo numbers. Almost.
Ode to insecure love
Being Around more than satisfies the audience, followed by a
delicately delivered Willy Mason cover that again drives home the
strength of his vocals and versatility on the guitar. Frank Mills,
the Hair track from It's A Shame About Ray, is
delivered as a singalong, with Evan stepping back from the mic to let
the crowd take over and have a wallow in their collective past. And
it was lovely, in its own way, but you get the impression that he's
doing it because he knows his audience, not because he derives much
enjoyment from it.
Rejoined by the band,
the rest of the set is taken mainly from the three most successful
Lemonheads albums, peppered with the a few solo numbers. Why Do
You Do This To Yourself is particularly startling with the
clarity of sober hindsight, and Evan seems more present than in a
long time. Predictably, songs from ...Ray get the best
reception, with smiling faces and word perfect lyrics all round.
Which is wherein lies the rub. The community feeling of standing in a
darkened room singing to your favourite bands with hundreds of
likeminded strangers you're suddenly connected to is life affirming,
and surely the reason, apart from seeing your heroes, that we do it.
It's heartwarming to see Evan treating the better known chapters of
his back catalogue with the reverence it deserves rather than the by
numbers performances of the recent past. The flipside is the
frustration when songs as beautiful as Frying Pan, in a
performance that equalled if not bettered the perfect fragility of
the Brattle Theatre version, or the exquisite Stove are used
as an opportunity to get another pint, by the same folk getting giddy
to Rudderless or painting their Juliana Hatfield fantasies on
to Ms Turner during My Drug Buddy. It would be wonderful if
those facilitating The Lemonheads impressive longevity would join him
in appreciating the full breadth and depth of his discography, and
not just the hits that remind them of their first blasts of youth.
Listening to The
Lemonheads has been putting a smile on my face for over twenty years,
and I won't deny I grinned like a fool for most of the show. The gig
was bursting with joy, both in the crowd, and up on stage. But more
than anything, this performance bodes well for next year's Sandwich
Police shows, his new band with Willy Mason and Marciana Jones.
There's something in Evan Dando's poetic depictions of the
intricacies of everyday life that tugs at the heart strings; his way
with a melody; the subtle Americana, that has an enduring appeal.
Released from the shackles of his history, it'll be interesting to
see where this road winds up.
Words -Angi Strafford
Lemonheads official
