Mercury Rev @ Southampton Guildhall 13/03/05

Any review of a gig at Southampton Guildhall (aka The Bucket) must acknowledge the venue's appalling acoustics; the ceiling is too high and the room is too long, giving a strange echoey effect to the sound. Some bands can just about cope with this, relying on either a decent sound engineer or a packed venue to change the sound for the better. Unfortunately for Mercury Rev, the venue was less than half full and the jury was still out on the sound engineer.

When I arrived the support act, The Duke Spirit, were gamely trying to enthuse the crowd. They had some success but, despite being less than 20' away from me, it sounded as though they were playing at the far end of a long tunnel. This didn't fill me with confidence for the main event so I strolled into the deserted bar for a cold Grolsch.

Mercury Rev's entrance to the stage was heralded by someone playing around with the dimmer switch, the lights above dying then flickering back into life almost in time with the engineer's warm-up tape. Finally the lights went out properly and the band strolled onstage, Jonathan emerging last from the wings, looking other-worldly and receiving more applause than the rest of the band put together.

One polite greeting later, delivered in a voice not quite as squeaky as that of his singing, and the band kicked off the proceedings. First up was the new single, Secret For A Song, which is also the first track on the new album, The Secret Migration.

A few bars in and it was clear that Mercury Rev were playing at the far end of the same tunnel as The Duke Spirit had just occupied (maybe the engineer was rewinding his tape, or he was getting spanked for playing with the light switch). This was a real shame, and perhaps next time they tour a smaller, more intimate venue for their fare can be found. Even the Mayflower would be better than The Bucket.

I'd read a review prior to this gig that the set on the current tour is made up mostly of new material. I was slightly perturbed by this as I didn't have the new CD but I needn't have worried. The new stuff holds up well to the classics and, perhaps because I wasn't as familiar with the material, I found myself being drawn in to their psychedelic world (OK, and the Grolsch was helping).

For a large venue it had all the makings of an intimate gig; in an ideal world someone would have been selling velvet cushions for us to lounge upon as we soaked up the strangeness. Instead I had to rely on a wall to lean on, handy for the bar (only one of which was open, and half of that was closed down midway through the set due to lack of business).

A problem some bands have with larger venues is the size of the stage: it's big, wide across and high (The Bucket is a prime example of this). Some bands use strobes to expand their presence, others invest in pyrotechnics. Mercury Rev, not exactly the most animated of bands (the lights on Grasshopper's keyboard moved more than he did) splurged on films to accompany their tunes. This worked well, up to a point.

The movies fitted the music, the occasional promo video was even re-used, with shots of CGI cell structures and the countryside slotting in well. The only problem I had was the quotes sprinkled liberally throughout. These jolted me out of my listening experience, appearing to be at odds with the songs and, in all honesty, making them try to look far too clever for their trousers. Still, tucked away at the back of my brain somewhere are some ancient sanskrit thoughts which may one day come in handy (though I doubt it).

You may at this point be thinking that I didn't like the gig. You'd be wrong. Mercury Rev were awesome (though that doesn't make for a gripping review, unless you're a gnarly dude). The old material (and one track was VERY old indeed) fitted in well with the new, showing that whilst the band has matured they've not deviated too far from their wistful and psychedelic path.

All in all a fine evening, though I just wish they'd have played somewhere slightly smaller (and closer, so I wouldn't have had to leave right at the end and miss the second encore). Anyway, for an alternate take on the gig, here's what the Daily Echo had to say:

ANYONE not familiar with atmospheric art-rockers Mercury Rev may have doubts over live performances of music best suited to soundtracks. But those fears immediately disappeared against a backdrop of huge video projections and a dazzling light show. The result was a night of powerful tracks played against a montage of images ranging from the surreal to the sublime.

The band, originally formed in the late 1980s, took the audience on a journey through sunsets and stars as they played tracks from their new album The Secret Migration. Despite the often cliched use of dolphins and spacedust on screen, the atmosphere never lulled as they wisely picked up the pace two-thirds of the way through with new song In The Wilderness.

Thanking their audience for coming out on a Sunday, and giving a superb second encore with a repeat, light-enhanced performance of The Dark Is Rising, Mercury Rev are probably best seen on the day of rest, and will no doubt be welcomed back to the Guildhall with open arms.

Well, they would say that, wouldn't they?