Echo and the Bunnymen
Flowers
On Sale Now
For $11.98

Washington, DC:

It could have been the mid-Eighties on the 9:30 Club stage. If you were tall enough to see over the heads of the thick Friday night crowd (many dressed in black, natch), you still would have only been able to make out the silhouettes of Echo and the Bunnymen through the heavy fake fog and dark lighting. But while it may not have been possible to discern if singer Ian McCulloch or guitarist Will Sergeant have aged over the years, the music sounded as vital as ever.

McCulloch and Sergeant are the last original members of the Liverpool band that worked their Doors and Television fixations into hits during the Eighties. These days the band also includes bassist Alex Germains (original bassist Les Pattinson left the band in 1998), drummer Vincent Jamieson (original drummer Pete DeFreitas died in a 1989 motorcycle crash), keyboard player Ceri James and a touring second guitarist.

Although he was nearly invisible at the back of the stage, James helped the band to recreate the string section on songs like "The Killing Moon" and the electro-pop sounds and harp of "Bring On the Dancing Horses." The second guitarist freed up McCulloch (who plays guitar on the records) to intensely hug the microphone while chain smoking and generally looking cool in his leather bomber jacket and shades. McCulloch’s between song banter mostly consisted of the word "k’you" which I believe is Liverpudlian for "thank you." But Sergeant’s guitar was the primary musical focus particularly on songs from the band’s latest album, Flowers.

The band opened with two blasts from the past, the insistent "Rescue" and "Villiers Terrace," both from their 1980 debut Crocodiles. A couple of other stretches of familiar crowd favorites were the highlights of the show. The first included the catchy "Seven Seas" from arguably the band’s finest hour, 1984’s Ocean Rain, along with a sweeping version of the aforementioned "Dancing Horses." Later the band strung together "Back of Love" and "The Cutter" from the edgy Porcupine album with two from Ocean Rain, the still majestic "Killing Moon" and the pretty "Silver."

Occasionally the newer songs from Flowers threatened to slow the band’s momentum but mostly the Bunnymen kept the hits coming throughout their hour and forty-five minute set. Concluding their initial set with their biggest American hit, the vacuous and, er, sugary "Lips Like Sugar" from 1987’s self-titled release, the Bunnymen returned for three encores. The first was highlighted by a stellar version of "Over the Wall" from 1981’s Heaven Up Here. The second included the band’s traditional medley during the driving "Do It Clean" which this time incorporated part of the Doors’ "Roadhouse Blues." For the third encore, the band pulled out the moody title track from Ocean Rain.

The 9:30 Club crowd was also treated to terrific sets from two openers. The New York-based Rosenbergs provided perhaps the most up to date sounds of the evening, combining the best of power pop’s melodic kick with modern rock’s edge. Singer David Fagin has made a name for himself with his protests against artist-unfriendly practices in the music industry and he used a couple of opportunities during the band’s set to testify about his level of discontent with the current state of the industry. But mostly the band served up the rock on fabulous tunes from their album Mission: You like "Soaked in Polyester" and the set-closing "In Pursuit" which featured a Who-like ending and a few well-timed jumps from the band members. These guys have the songwriting talent and the performance skills to go far.

Before the Bunnymen took the stage, the Eighties flashback began with a set by Tom Tom Club featuring former Talking Heads Tina Weymouth and Chris Frantz. The band performed tracks from their latest release The Good, The Bad and The Funky as well as old favorites from their 1981 self-titled debut. Although there wasn’t much room to dance, a few folks were seen trying to shake their thangs to the Club’s funky, polyrhythmic sound, which was at times augmented by as many as five people playing some form of percussion, including drummer Frantz.

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