Beyond excellent recording. Huge Thanks to ianmacd for sharing this one on DIME, and for the meticulous account of his journey and concert.
TAPER NOTES:
The background to my attendance of this gig is an odd one, to be sure.
When the gig was originally announced, I looked up the venue out of curiosity and immediately fell in love with the picturesque setting. Which fan would not melt at the idea of seeing Dead Can Dance perform outdoors under a starlit sky, in an ancient Roman amphitheatre overlooking the Mediterranean Sea?
'Lucky bastards, the people who get to go to that', I thought to myself for a moment, before ushering in the much more empowering thought, 'But there's nothing stopping me from being one of them, either!'
And so, before the inevitable inertia set in, I purchased a ticket for the gig (two actually, since the rather devious allocation system would consistently seat me towards the back of the amphitheatre unless I indicated that I wished to purchase at least two tickets for the event) and planned a weekend for myself in Beirut after the summer.
What a tantalising and exciting prospect: to witness the first gig of the band's 2012 world tour outside North America, and to do so in the Middle East, in a country that has never played host to the band before. This was something a little bit more exciting than a day-trip to Brussels to catch the band, if you know what I mean.
Then came the summer, which turned into a summer of discontent on Brendan Perry's Web-based discussion forum. The hitherto friendly and generous Brendan inexplicably and without warning morphed overnight into an ogre, turning on a number of his (longstanding) fans, myself included, hurling insults and
summarily issuing forum bans.
Whilst no reason was ever given for the bans, my own offences were presumably my final postings before being kicked off, one in which I said that one track on the new album sounded "a bit cheesy" and another in which I defended the right of other fans to state their opinion that the postage costs for the limited editions of the new album seemed awfully expensive.
The threads that led to the bans have since been written out of history.
I had planned to attend seven Dead Can Dance gigs this autumn, but the events of the summer had put something of a dampener on my enthusiasm. I found myself feeling disheartened at the thought of all that travel and expense. 26 years of following the man's career, buying the records and travelling to the gigs,
had ultimately amounted to this. What a pisser.
I decided that I would still attend the six European gigs, but cancel my trip to Beirut, as that was supposed to be something quite magical, something uniquely good, and it now seemed that the occasion could no longer live up to my original expectations.
A relaxing holiday with my family in the remote islands of Shetland proved to be just what the doctor ordered. I returned home feeling much more aloof from recent events and was able to make a clear distinction between the artist and his music. I did not need to like or be liked by the artist in order to
continue to enjoy the music.
I resolved to attend the gig in Beirut after all. I felt excited again at the prospect. I love to travel, and the idea of a weekend spent looking around Beirut made my heart beat just as fast as the prospect of the gig itself.
And so I flew to Beirut last Friday, joined at the last minute by Jirka, a fellow fan from Brendan's forum, who obtained a passport just one day before the gig and flew over from Prague to share the experience with me.
Cut to Sunday evening...
The journey from central Beirut to the coastal town of Zouk Mikael, just 17km north-east of Beirut, was an adventure in its own right.
The Pope had been in the Lebanese capital this weekend and, unbeknownst to me, was due to leave for Beirut's Rafic Hariri airport, in the south of the city,at 17:30. That was the exact same time I had picked to head by taxi to Zouk Mikael. Consequently, the highway was closed and military personnel were swarming everywhere. It was traffic chaos, but I had had the foresight to plan enough time to cover almost any eventuality.
The 17km journey up the coast to Zouk Mikael took us 75 minutes to complete, as our taxi driver was forced to detour through the narrow, congested streets of each consecutive neighbourhood en route. This circuitous path, which probably doubled the distance we had to travel, was nevertheless actually a
blessing in disguise, providing us with glimpses into urban life in the suburbs of the nation's capital where one would otherwise not set foot as a tourist. It was fascinating and part of me really wanted to just keep on
driving.
En route, the radio station that the taxi driver was listening to played an English-language advert for the gig we were on our way to see. "Rock band" Dead Can Dance, fronted by "lead singer" Lisa Gerrard, would be playing tonight and tickets were still available. It was a long segment, with excerpts from two songs, one each from Brendan and Lisa, and a DJ whose exaggerated delivery was more suited to advertising Lady Gaga: "Tonight, at Zouk Mikael, Dead Cahn Dahhhnce..."
We still managed to arrive at the venue half an hour ahead of the doors opening, having left an almost absurd amount of time to get there and imagining that we would watch the sun set whilst enjoying some drinks before the show. Instead, we arrived under cover of darkness, took a few photos and milled around by the venue.
The first port of call once inside was the merchandise stand, but none of the T-shirts were available in size XXL yet. The XLs proved to be rather small (translation: I proved to be rather large), so I left with only a CD by David Kuckhermann and will have to wait until a later date on the tour to purchase T-shirts that I don't have to squeeze myself into.
The aforementioned David Kuckhermann plays on one of the tracks on 'Anastasis', the first Dead Can Dance album for 16 years. He is also one of the band's musicians on this tour, as well as their support act.
David performs an intriguing and beguiling set, almost exclusively played on the hang, with one number performed on the riqq, the Lebanese tambourine. His set, which began at 20:30, was unfortunately marred by the continuing influx of people into the amphitheatre, very few concert-goers having taken their seats or even arrived on site by the time David took to the stage. Possibly, a lot of people had been caught out by the Pope.
Kuckhermann's set was followed by a gap of thirty minutes, after which the lights went down once again. The moment had finally arrived.The scene was not quite as I'd pictured it. There were few stars visible
overhead and I couldn't see the Mediterranean, but the light breeze that I'd imagined might waft through the amphitheatre at this time of the evening was, I'm happy to say, in attendance and pleasantly refreshing.
Brief glimpses of Lisa and the occasional limb of other band members could be caught through the gaps between the illuminated, flowing white drapes that form the backdrop of the stage, as they undulated atmospherically, dancing on the breeze of the warm Lebanese evening.
The stage was perfectly lit, the audience primed, and it was hard to imagine a more perfect setting for a concert by Dead Can Dance.
As the band sauntered down onto the stage, Lisa's arrival gave me a jolt and I found myself staring to ascertain that it really was her. She has obviously undergone extensive cosmetic surgery since I last saw her perform live and looked to me -- how can I put it? -- not quite right (see: http://www.beirutnightlife.com/wp-content/gallery/dead-can-dance-dinner-at-buddha-bar-2012/dead-can-dance-dinner-beirut44.jpg).
It's HER face, though, and none of my business what she does with it. It was just very surprising and the changes much more striking than in the band's recent PR photos.
The band opened the gig as they do the new album with 'Children Of The Sun'.
"We are the children of the sun; there's room for everyone", croons Brendan; almost everyone, anyway.
'Anabasis' is next, for me the weakest song on the new album.
The first song not drawn from 'Anastasis' is 'Rakim', guaranteed to please any crowd with its wonderful vocal interplay between Brendan and Lisa. It is followed by 'Kiko', again from 'Anastasis', and then 'Lamma Bada', an old Andalusian song from the Moorish era.
'Lamma Bada' starts with Brendan's guitar out-of-tune, no doubt due to changes in the temperature since the band performed their soundcheck. He smiles, however, and tunes the instrument without halting the song.
'Agape' and 'Amnesia', both from 'Anastasis', are played next. It's good to hear the new songs live, but the set is laden with them and this is naturally at the expense of much of the back catalogue. Few fans' ideal set will ever be the one played on the night, however, so I have no complaint with the chosen repertoire.
'Sanvean' is next and I am struck, not for the first time this evening, by how different Lebanese performance etiquette is from what I am used to. Those in need of a toilet break or a drink simply get up and go for one, mid-song if needs be. No-one seems bothered by this and, with the behaviour so frequent that it is the norm, rather than the exception, one quickly adjusts to the local custom.
'Opium', perhaps the best track on the new album, follows 'Nierika' from 1996's 'Spiritchaser', and then it's a rare delve into the band's eighties catalogue for 'The Host Of Seraphim', a track not performed live since 1987.
It's a welcome return to one of the band's most emotive songs of all time, but I note that Lisa sings it lower now, possibly no longer able to reach so far into the mezzo-soprano range. That's no criticism, however, and the song sounds fantastic, Brendan's harmonies blending perfectly with Lisa's sublime voice.
'Ime Prezakias' is next, an old Greek folk song or rembetiko. Like 'Lamma Bada', this is an unreleased piece, being performed for the first time on this tour. I couldn't tell you how good Brendan's pronunciation of the Greek is, but the song sounded good to me. Ignorance is bliss.
Someone calls out for 'Now We Are Free' and, although it's actually a piece from Lisa's solo catalogue, the fan in question is in luck. This, the widely recognised theme from the film 'Gladiator', is very well received in the fortuitously appropriate setting of a Roman amphitheatre.
In much the same way that 'Children Of The Sun' opened both the new album and this evening's performance, so the last song of the main set tonight is the album's closing piece, 'All In Good Time'. I find it to be a much more engaging song live than on the album, its opulent swaths of synthesised strings washing over the audience as Brendan's voice soars above. It's possibly his finest vocal performance of the evening.
At the end of the song, Brendan informs us that "[we've] been fantastic" and wishes us "goodnight". The pre-encore cliché is unfortunately interpreted literally here, however, and a steady stream of people begin filing out of the amphitheatre.
The flow is stemmed within a couple of minutes, before it can swell to exodus proportions, by the return of the band for their first encore. When they exit the stage again after 'The Ubiquitous Mr. Lovegrove' and the even more ubiquitous 'Dreams Made Flesh', the audience assume that this really must be the end, and now they leave in droves.
This apparent lack of interest in a second encore ensures that one does not materialise, never mind a third, and so we go without 'Song To The Siren', 'Return Of The She-King' and 'Rising Of The Moon' tonight.
It's a real shame, but if you believe that an audience should work for its encores, then we're lucky to have had one at all this evening. That's not a criticism of the local audience, however; it's just a cultural difference, I think.
Another way to look at it is that everyone was happy with what they were given and did not feel the need to demand more. Thinking about it that way, it would be hard to disagree. More is always good and one can never have too much, but my experience could scarcely have been improved upon.
To my mind, the gig passed in the twinkling of an eye. Its 96 minutes felt more like 60 to me, but the time was always going to fly. And so my first Dead Can Dance gig in seven years drew to a close. A taxi took
us back to central Beirut, this time traversing the distance in just a few minutes. I got out near my hotel and said farewell to Jirka, who sped on to the airport to catch his flight home, which was due to leave in just a little more than an hour.
What a fantastic experience. I am so glad that I ended up going ahead with the trip. The entire experience, from my arrival Friday night to my sleepless departure at 04:00 Monday morning, was one long thrill, a sweet indulgence of the five senses, and I was sorry to be leaving Beirut behind.
My seat, in the centre of the second row, afforded me a sublime view of the performance. It also ensured that I was well placed to capture the gig in stereo, something that is normally not the case, as I would normally choose a recording location closer to the PA on one side.
The sound of the show is excellent, a little more spacious than you may be used to from me, an inveterate stack-humper and indoor taper. This time, I was further back, centred and recording outdoors. All of these elements influence the recording, but I am sure you will be happy with what you hear.
RECORDING:
Type: Audience master, recorded from seat in dead centre of second row,
approximately 15 metres back from suspended PA.
Source: Factory-matched pair of Schoeps CCM 41V microphones (DINa mounted) ->
Marantz PMD661 recorder with Oade Concert Mod
(-18 dB gain/44.1 kHz/24 bit WAV)
Lineage: Audacity 2.0.0
* applied selective minor amplification for consistency
* attenuated sections of loud applause
* added fades
* split tracks
* converted to 16 bit
-> FLAC (compression level 8) [libFLAC 1.2.1 20070917]
Taper: ianmacd
SET LIST:
01. [07:40] Children Of The Sun
02. [06:51] Anabasis
03. [06:17] Rakim
04. [08:26] Kiko
05. [04:33] Lamma Bada
06. [06:01] Agape
07. [06:12] Amnesia
08. [05:11] Sanvean
09. [04:40] Nierika
10. [05:38] Opium
11. [05:58] The Host Of Seraphim
12. [04:52] Ime Prezakias
13. [04:57] Now We Are Free
14. [06:47] All In Good Time
15. [02:22] [encore break]
16. [05:40] The Ubiquitous Mr. Lovegrove
17. [04:30] Dreams Made Flesh
Total running time: 96:34
Jirka, thanks for joining me on this adventure. It was good to share it with
someone.
REVIEWS:
http://www.nowlebanon.com/NewsArticleDetails.aspx?ID=437372
http://www.beirutnightlife.com/events/dead-dance-epic-concert-event-lebanon/
http://www.beirutnightlife.com/events/dinner-dead-dance-buddha-bar-beirut/
