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Finally, something not-boring to post about! Went to see Dead Can Dance on Sunday night at the Buell Theater in Denver with the kidunit and a friend. We got great seats, six rows back on the right side of the theater. We had a fantastic view and the acoustics were great. The concert was absolutely amazing. A percussionist named David Kuckhermann opened for them (he's actually part of DCD's backup band), playing an intriguing new instrument called a 'hang' which was apparently invented only about 12 years ago. It looks a lot like a flying saucer and sounds a bit like a cross between a steel drum and a gamelan. Actually he played three of them, each tuned differently, and also proceeded to do absolutely astonishing things with a tambourine. It was a great set and the audience was quiet and respectful during each piece and enthusiastic afterward, which you rarely see during an opening act.
Once he was finished there was a bit of a delay while all the people out getting drinks at the bar were herded into the theater and then the lights went down and DCD came out. I was slightly amused by the fact that the women - Lisa Gerrard and the female keyboardist/backup singer - were both wearing formal black velvet dresses, Lisa with a golden satin stole/cape over hers. All the men were in careless casual - tees, untucked button-downs, cargo pants- it looked kind of like they were from two completely different bands. ;D But once the concert started we forgot about everything but the sound.
Brendan Parry's voice has really matured, and his range in startling. At one point when Lisa was singing I thought the other woman was doing a descant in a high alto range, then I realized to my shock that it was Brendan! He has a sort of warm, lazy, sliding quality to his singing that draws you in. Lisa Gerrard has one of the most powerful voices I have ever heard. I think she could use her voice as a weapon if she needed to! It just soars, but not in a floaty, delicate way - more like a bird of prey. They performed a very well balanced mix of older works and songs from their new album, Anastasis (which they are offering streaming for free in full at http://deadcandance.com/ along with a free download of one of the songs) and came back for THREE encores! They played for a solid two hours, with no formal intermission. I did see Brendan sipping from a thermal mug regularly, and Lisa slipped offstage a few times, probably for something throat-soothing. Our altitude and dry climate are very hard on the vocal cords.
The variety in the audience was interesting: everything from leftover new-agers like myself, aging hippies, some Goths, a few folks who looked like they walked off the Leave it to Beaver set, hipster-looking 30-somethings, and a decent scattering of younger enthusiasts many of whom, I suspect, came to DCD through their parents like my kidunit. Like the band, there were folks in semi-formal wear and others in tees and Birkenstocks. For the most part the audience was great, apart from one drunk girl who kept yelling unintelligible things and "We love you" and a drunk guy who kept screaming that everyone should get up and dance - unfortunately the Buell's not a really danceable venue. Oh, and there seemed to be a bull moose somewhere in the audience- at least that's what he sounded like. Fortunately they mostly restricted their inappropriate noises to the pauses between songs. The band took it all with good humor.
It was an amazing night, and if they're coming to a venue in your town on their current world tour and you like their nearly-indescribable (ambient/gothic/world/folk/tribal/celtic/gregorian/middle-eastern/african?) music I highly recommend you see them!
Once he was finished there was a bit of a delay while all the people out getting drinks at the bar were herded into the theater and then the lights went down and DCD came out. I was slightly amused by the fact that the women - Lisa Gerrard and the female keyboardist/backup singer - were both wearing formal black velvet dresses, Lisa with a golden satin stole/cape over hers. All the men were in careless casual - tees, untucked button-downs, cargo pants- it looked kind of like they were from two completely different bands. ;D But once the concert started we forgot about everything but the sound.
Brendan Parry's voice has really matured, and his range in startling. At one point when Lisa was singing I thought the other woman was doing a descant in a high alto range, then I realized to my shock that it was Brendan! He has a sort of warm, lazy, sliding quality to his singing that draws you in. Lisa Gerrard has one of the most powerful voices I have ever heard. I think she could use her voice as a weapon if she needed to! It just soars, but not in a floaty, delicate way - more like a bird of prey. They performed a very well balanced mix of older works and songs from their new album, Anastasis (which they are offering streaming for free in full at http://deadcandance.com/ along with a free download of one of the songs) and came back for THREE encores! They played for a solid two hours, with no formal intermission. I did see Brendan sipping from a thermal mug regularly, and Lisa slipped offstage a few times, probably for something throat-soothing. Our altitude and dry climate are very hard on the vocal cords.
The variety in the audience was interesting: everything from leftover new-agers like myself, aging hippies, some Goths, a few folks who looked like they walked off the Leave it to Beaver set, hipster-looking 30-somethings, and a decent scattering of younger enthusiasts many of whom, I suspect, came to DCD through their parents like my kidunit. Like the band, there were folks in semi-formal wear and others in tees and Birkenstocks. For the most part the audience was great, apart from one drunk girl who kept yelling unintelligible things and "We love you" and a drunk guy who kept screaming that everyone should get up and dance - unfortunately the Buell's not a really danceable venue. Oh, and there seemed to be a bull moose somewhere in the audience- at least that's what he sounded like. Fortunately they mostly restricted their inappropriate noises to the pauses between songs. The band took it all with good humor.
It was an amazing night, and if they're coming to a venue in your town on their current world tour and you like their nearly-indescribable (ambient/gothic/world/folk/tribal/celtic/gregorian/middle-eastern/african?) music I highly recommend you see them!
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