Wednesday, 30 July 2008
What a night! The most unusual gig I've ever been to, of any kind of music by any artist. Why? How often does a "paying gig" feel as pure and simple as a night with your mates, all packed into someone's living room (or, in this case, sauna) having a great party?! But if strangers are simply friends you haven't met yet, then that's exactly what Wednesday night in Malone's was: a night with 100 friends, brought together by a love for the songs, singing together, laughing together, drinking together and, yes, sweating together! It takes a very special artist to make (or let) that kind of evening happen -- and that artist is Luka Bloom.
The venue was, how shall I put it... chairs for 60 people but about 100 tickets sold. 'Small' doesn't quite convey how truly close together we were... or how in-Luka's-face we were... or he in ours! 'Intimate' implies quietness... we were anything but that! 'Friendly' better pulls the concepts of 'small' and 'intimate' together but sounds far too tame... The bottom line? The room was a mosh pit. Without the dancing.
I was in the front row, centre, my feet ON the stage. If I straightened a leg, my foot was on the base of the mic stand. When Luka stepped to his left to listen to the audience, the guitar swung round at face level. Meself and the guy to my right kept ducking.
The toilets were behind the stage. To get to them, you had to cross the stage. In front of Luka. Some did it while he was singing. He didn't bat an eyelid. If someone approached just as he was ready to start the next song, he'd step back, wave them through, THEN start. He dubbed the stage 'Grand Central Station'.
And of course we had all the usual banter, but this night it wasn't Luka doing all the talking. Good-natured heckling flew to and from both sides of that small stage. Our chief spokeswoman was Angela from Belfast, up front and two chairs to my left. When Luka gave his usual intro to Lorelei "...lots of songs have been written about that rock -- this one's the best of them", she retorted "We'll be the judge of that!" It was exquisitely sung -- a stand out that night -- and at the end she said "Okay, Luka, yours is the best" and he saluted her. Fair play.
Likewise his intro to Miracle Cure: "Forgiveness can be the hardest thing... especially when you know you're right!" We hooted with laughter but he insisted "It's true! You know it's true!"
And Luka's astonishment to find, when recounting the first time he sang Eastbound Train, that we had a couple amongst us who were there, yes, in Heiligenhaus that night, part of that now legendary audience who sang along the first time they heard it.
It was just so bloody HOT... About half way through, Luka said he was reminded of a gig he did in New Orleans, opening for The Pogues in about 1988. The night was heavy with heat and humidity. He sat resting, sweating, after his own set, when, just as The Pogues took the stage, the storm broke, with the first crash of thunder chiming with the first clash of guitar. Said he hadn't thought of that night for 20 years. Until tonight.
He does like it hot though and no doubt would have happily played straight through the set without a break, but he could see we were suffering so at the point when he changed guitars, he suggested a short time-out and just sat down on stage while people headed for the bar. But once he'd stopped moving, he must have felt chilled in his soaked-through shirt, because he then decided a proper 10-minute interval was a great idea -- and went off to put a dry shirt on.
SET LIST
Thank You For Bringing Me Here
There Is A Time
Tribe
Eastbound Train
Innocence
Miracle Cure
Blackwater Side
Lorelei
Make You Feel My Love
City Of Chicago
No Matter Where You Go, There You Are
Peace On Earth
Water Ballerina
- interval -
Exploring The Blue / Te Adoro
Monsoon
Every Man
When Your Love Comes
I'm On Your Side
Sunny Sailor Boy
Ciara
Fertile Rock
Acoustic Motorbike
Islands In The Stream
You Couldn't Have Come At A Better Time
As it was, he came on stage at 9:15, played til 11:45. Whew!
I said to him afterwards 'I don't know how you do this'.
He said 'Neither do I!'
The next day he was heard to describe the night as hilarious -- and he wasn't being sarcastic. Many singers would have felt distracted, annoyed and/or insulted -- by the heat, the closeness, the heckling, the to-and-froing across the stage, the complete anarchy. But I think Luka was laughing inside, all night! Because the whole scene was absolutely mad -- a truly unforgettable, special, once in a lifetime kind of night.
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