Cocteau Twins - Glasgow Barrowlands, 25/10/90

[Rick Innis <rick@cstr.edinburgh.ac.uk>]

In article <rcbaem.656419710@rw9.urc.tue.nl> rcbaem@rw9.urc.tue.nl (pooh
'Ernst' Mulder) writes

	[A nice review of the Cocteau Twins last Tuesday in Utrecht]

I`ll just follow this up by describing the show last night at Barrowlands
Ballroom, in Glasgow. (Probably the best live venue in the universe.)

The support band were okay; a bit samey and the lead singer was a bit full of
himself. I wasn't sad to see them go, anyway.

As for the main event, well....there is a Glaswegian idiom for this sort of
thing....they were just PURE DEAD BRILLIANT!!!
The stage, as pooh described it, was very sparse, just four amplifier stacks
for the guitarists, no risers or anything; Liz at front and centre, and two
guitarists each side of her. The playing was spot on; it's the first time
I've heard electric guitar used to good effect as an ensemble intrument. They
made heavy use of backing sequences for synthy bits and percussion, and the
musician's timing was perfect. The set mostly consisted of "Heaven or Las
Vegas" which I hadn't heard before. (The only Cocteau's albums I'm familiar
with are "Treasure" and "Victorialand".) Only a few tracks from anything
previous; one from "Victorialand", one from "Treasure", and a couple others I
couldn't place.

As to the light show....well, I'll try to describe it: There was a white
sheet across the back of the stage, with a plastic sheet a few feet in front
of it. They used this to back-project all sorts of lighting effects,
including washes of colour a la the "Heaven or Las Vegas" album cover. It
complemented the music perfectly. They also used a fair number of very
sophisticated spotlights on the musicians and the screen. (The kind that
split into multiple beams, change filters with amazing speed, etc.)

My only caveat would be that Liz's lack of stage experience showed; she
seemed uncertain about what to do with herself when she wasn't singing, but
relaxed more as the night went on. Communication with the audience was
limited to a wee 'thank you' at the end of each song, until the encores
(that's what we call 'em, pooh!); unfortunately the audiences appreciation
was so loud (and Liz's voice so soft) that I couldn't actually hear what she
said! Actually I think it might be no exaggeration to say the applause they
got when they came back on was the loudest I've ever heard at Barrowlands -
which is saying something, since a Glasgow audience is one of the world's
more appreciative ones.

Summary - if you get the chance to see 'em, don't miss it. It's the only time
you'll hear the voice of an angel in concert.

	--Rick.