In Pieces, Set One

Last Tuesday (10th), I dashed from work across three counties to see Lloyd Cole perform in Bath. Another musical hero from my misspent youth that I was seeing live in concert for the first time.

It's the second time this year that I've been to a gig at Komedia, after Ladyhawke in February. 

It's a lovely venue: a former theatre, repurposed as a cinema, then restored as a live venue, retaining some of the trappings of it's storied past, not least the lovely ceiling.

This couldn't have been a more different set up for a music event. Whereas Ladyhawke was designed for people to rock, with rows of synths, drums and mikes on stage, by contrast this was a fully seated show, with just two acoustic guitars, microphone, music stand and table.

Despite the image suggested by my hastily grabbed photo fronting this post, Lloyd didn't descend, dressed in white and aglow like some form of divine coming. Much more modest, he walked onto stage, deposited a bottle on the table, strapped on a guitar and played.

Starting off with Don't Look Back from 1990's debut solo album, Lloyd then made the first of several dives into The Commotions' back catalogue with Mr Malcontent. Beautiful playing, and a voice that seems richer with the passing of time, inevitably lived in but all the better for it. 

 

After playing Trigger Happy (from 1995), Lloyd shared, 

"That was my new prog folk version of that song, 

where I’m shifting from waltz to 4/4 

and I’m old and I don’t give a damn"

 

Yep, the between song anecdotes were every bit as entertaining as the music itself. Following with the title track of last year's On Pain, Lloyd introduced it as, 

"a recent song with almost exactly the same chords, 

which means exactly the same shapes, 

which means exactly the same pain"

 

Lloyd held up his left hand, as the audience's laughter faltered somewhat. I'd been unaware at first of the literal meaning in his current album title, that Lloyd experiences such pain in his fingers that getting through a gig is an excruciating experience and reaching the end is touch and go. 

As he played each song beautifully, there was a strange mixture of joy at what I was hearing and immense guilt that it seemed to be coming at such great cost to Lloyd. I'll come back to that.

I've been a fairweather friend to Lloyd, to be honest. I was obsessed with the first two Lloyd Cole & The Commotions albums, but didn't stick around for their swansong or the subsequent solo ventures, although I would pick up a single if I saw it in the bargain bins (an all-too frequent occurrence, sadly).

In 2003, a friend bought me Music In A Foreign Language as a birthday gift, the first time I'd heard new music from Lloyd Cole in years. I loved it, though I've still only managed the sporadic dip into his catalogue since, having a similar positive reaction to those few and far between purchases.

So, this 13-track set was an ideal primer, each one covering a different album and period of Lloyd's life. 

"In the mid 1980s, we were on TOTP a few times and…it was fantastic. 

It was the most exciting thing that had ever happened to me, 

and…then we weren’t on. 

We went into the studio in 1987 because we were on tour and 

we weren’t around to film live, 

so we pre-recorded Jennifer She Said 

because it was going to enter the charts at a very high number. 

And it didn’t. 

It entered at a kind of medium high number, 

which was not enough and they didn’t show it.  

And that was the end of that period 

and I thought, well, it was lovely while it lasted. 

And any musician or any band who ever has any kind of success is incredibly lucky. 

And I thought, well, that was that part of my life. 

And then, a kind of annoying DJ started playing this song in the morning in 1995

and I was on again."

 

And we're treated to a lovely version of surprise hit, Like Lovers Do. 

"I had a bad hair year" Lloyd continues. 

"But I had the same haircut my whole life 

and I wanted to see what it would look like if it was different. 

And for a little while it was exciting because it was different. 

Unfortunately I got married with that haircut. 

I looked very stupid. 

My wife looks fantastic. 

Ten years or so later, I wrote this song."

 

And Lloyd leans into Tried To Rock, from his 2000 album with The Negatives.

 

Only one song is a cover, but what a pick: a lovely version of Can You Hear Me from David Bowie's Young Americans album. In an all-acoustic set, and despite Lloyd's self-deprecating comments that there is a lot of repetition due to the finite number of chords in the universe, each song has a nuance and a life of it's own, that transcends the studio versions. 

Another great example of this is Rattlesnakes, shorn of it's strings and uptempo rhythm section, it remains a stunningly brilliant song. Even more stunning that this was written when Lloyd was barely in his twenties. 

After the next song, Pay For It, Lloyd notes a change in the audience.

"Two down…

I think if you were my nemesis, 

a great strategy would be to buy seats in the front row 

and then walk out after Rattlesnakes. 

[cue audience laughter] 

That’s pretty good, pretty well played…

if that was the plan, that was well played. 

If, on the other hand, 

it’s because the bar is still open...

[Lloyd tilts head from side to side]

…I’m less impressed."

After about 45 minutes of playing, Lloyd wryly comments,

 

"You will have gathered by now that I am tonight’s opening act. 

I’ll play a few more songs 

and then I’ll retreat, 

and I’ll return 

and I will headline."

In fact, we get two more songs: My Other Life, from the aforementioned Music In A Foreign Language; finally, an achingly wonderful version of 2cv.

 

And then Lloyd takes off his guitar, places it carefully on the stage and exits the stage.

 

If the night had ended there and then, I would have felt that I had a wonderful night. But, there was another set to come. Could it possibly match this?

 

If I get my act together, you may well have the answer to this question tomorrow. 

 

If not, then Friday! 

 

1) Don't Look Back (Album Version) (1990)

2) Mr Malcontent (1987)

3) Trigger Happy (Album Version) (1995) 

4) On Pain (2023)

5) Why In The World? (2010)

6) Can You Hear Me (Live @ Bremen Teater, Copenhagen) (Cover of David Bowie) (2024)

7) Rattlesnakes (Album Version) (1984)

8) Pay For It (Album Version) (1991)

9) The Afterlife (2019)

10) Like Lovers Do (Stephen Street Mix) (1996)

11) Tried To Rock (2000)

12) My Other Life (Album Version) (2003)

13) 2cv (Live @ KEXP, Seattle) (2015)

 

1984: Rattlesnakes: 7

1987: Mainstream: 2

1990: Lloyd Cole: 1 

1991: Don't Get Weird On Me, Babe: 8

1995: Love Story: 3

1996: Baby EP: 10 

2000: The Negatives: 11

2003: Music In A Foreign Language: 12

2010: Broken Record: 5 

2015: Live @ KEXP, Seattle, 3rd February 2015  (bootleg): 13

2019: Guesswork: 9

2023: On Pain: 4

2024: Live @ Bremen Teater, Copenhagen, Denmark, 22nd January 2024 (bootleg): 6

In Pieces (Set 1) (49:12) (KF) (Mega)

Note: I've recreated Lloyd's opening set mostly from album versions, one single remix and a lovely version of 2cv from a KEXP he did nearly a decade ago. To the best of my knowledge, Lloyd has never recorded his David Bowie cover version in a studio so I've grabbed a good quality bootleg recording of a live performance in Denmark earlier this year.