After the tour is before the tour. That seems to be the motto of THE SISTERS OF MERCY these days. Or to use a phrase from the band’s web page: “Stop us before we kill again!” The unstoppable machine has visited Australia and New Zealand by the end of 2022 and is planning to do more gigs this year. Recently, they tour Europe and Germany of course… What happened during several gigs of the German tour, you will read in our following tour book.
1st stage: Jovel Music Hall, Münster, Germany - 29th September 2023
A band that is around for more than 40 years and that has not released any physical music for 30 years selling out venues months before the show? Yes, we are talking about THE SISTERS OF MERCY. Under the full moon, a crowd clad in black gathered in front of Münster’s legendary Jovel Music Hall to attend the show of the band. There had been rumours on the web, there had been videos on YouTube, indicating that the band had changed their line-up, but we came to see it with our own eyes, fearing the worst, hoping for the best.
The VirginMarys
British Rock band THE VIRGINMARYS joined THE SISTERS OF MERCY on tour this time. The name somehow rang a bell, but it took halfway through the show, to realize that this band had supported QUEENS OF THE STONE AGE somewhere back in time. What shall I say, the crowd greeted the band with “Northern Coolness”. The power duo played a great set. Some Rock prone, some with really cool Punk elements and over all very energetic songs. You would have expected the crowd to start moving and rocking out. But “cool” Münster was waiting for THE SISTERS OF MERCY and people mainly kept holding onto their beers and securing good spots for the headliner. Looking at the lines at the merch after the show, I can say that people must have enjoyed their performance, for many bought the bands records and shirts. https://de-de.facebook.com/TheVirginmarys/
Setlist
01. The Meds
02. Into Dust
03. NYC
04. Lies, Lies, Lies
05. Running For My Life
06. Killer
07. Where Are You Now?
08. Devils Keep Coming
09. Just a Ride
10. Look Out For My Brother
11. Bang Bang Bang
Rating
Music: 8
Performance: 9
Light: 7
Sound: 9
Total: 8.3 / 10
The Sisters of Mercy
16 August 1993 - THE SISTERS OF MERCY release their new single ‘Under the Gun’. The band consists only of Andrew Eldritch (vocals) and Adam Pearson (guitars) and the loyal drum computer Dr. Avalanche at that time. And then - nothing. In 1996 the band hires another guitarist and goes on tour again. New songs give reason to hope for a new record. However, the band will never produce an album again. One should expect that never releasing anything should be the end a band’s career. Not so for THE SISTERS OF MERCY. More than 30 (thirty!) years later, with a new line-up on guitars, they still sell out concert venues. Andrew’s voice has become weaker over the years, no doubt. Parts of the lyrics are now sung by his teammates. Fans are still happy though that Andrew, who was born in 1959, has not retired, yet. Things do not look like he’s about to. https://www.the-sisters-of-mercy.com/
Music & Performance
It’s always difficult to write a review if things turn out to be a lot different from what you have expected. There were the great shows in Munich and at M’era Luna Festival 2022 on my mind when I got ready for this year’s gigs. Then rumours started making rounds on the web. Media covering the UK gigs seemed to more or less leave out what happened, so you had to put together the puzzle yourself. Only one thing was obvious: in London, Dylan had left the stage during the first of two concerts and did not return on the second night. He also did not play the gigs in Amsterdam and Utrecht.
Back to Münster: After TVM left the stage, a rather strange soundscape came from Jovel’s speakers that was new and unpleasant, to be honest. When the stage was ready for THE SISTERS OF MERCY, you could see three micro-stands. Would Dylan be back on guitar duties tonight? When the intro ceased, it became clear, that this was not the case. Tonight Ben Christo and the Doktor whose nurse turned out to be Chris Catalyst would provide the music, while Andre Eldritch was on vocal duties. The stage decoration got an update, mirrors vanished and were replaced by elements looking like camouflage nets and new light elements. It seems that Doktor Avalanche was extended by two more Apple notebooks, and it seems that he provides more than bass, drums and synths nowadays.
Since there has been no official statements from the band about the line-up changes, we will drop the topic at this point. Let’s see what is going to happen during the current run, that lasts until Nov. 12th. The audience’s reaction to the changed line-up was mixed, so was the atmosphere throughout the show. “Nordic Coolness” might be one thing but it took time until the encore that the crowd warmed and the front rows started rocking and a mini-pit became visible. To be honest, the sound was not good. There were plenty of incidents with feed-back in amplifiers, the Doktor’s beats where muddy and lacked intensity, bass was missing through whole songs and it seemed that Andrew was behind with the vocals more than once. “A total disaster?” you might think. Not at all!
Ben Christo outdid himself. Over the years, he took over more and more vocal duties, moving away from adding just backing vocals and taking over more and more parts of the lead ones. So while roaming the stage from left to right and back, playing killer guitar solos and interacting with the crowd, he carried the whole weight of the show on his shoulders. Tonight’s set consisted of 20 songs and this one did not only put all the vocals into his memory, but all the riffs into his muscles. Chapeau! We left the show with mixed feelings, curious what is going to happen next.
Setlist
01. I Will Call You
02. Ribbons
03. Don’t Drive On Ice
04. Alice
05. But Genevieve
06. Dominion
07. Summer
08. Marian
09. More
10. Giving Ground
11. Doctor Jeep / Detonation Boulevard
12. Eyes Of Caligula
13. Something Fast
14. Crash And Burn
15. Vision Thing
16. On The Beach
17. When I’m on Fire
---
18. Lucretia My Reflection
19. Temple Of Love
20. This Corrosion
Rating
Music: 7
Performance: 8
Light: 8
Sound: 5
Total: 7 / 10
2nd stage: Capitol, Hanover, Germany - 2nd October 2023
A few days later, it was time for your next show. This time, we headed to Hanover and were curious what to expect from the night after a mixed show in Münster.
The VirginMarys
The band was greeted by a cheerful audience and Hanover seemed to be more rocking out with the support than the Münster crowd. The band did an amazing job warming up the crowd and left under a big applause. Later that night we noticed the band at the merch, signing items, talking to the fans and taking pictures with them and it seemed, that lines came never to an end.
The Sisters of Mercy
The last time THE SISTERS OF MERCY played a gig in Hanover was in December 1993 (“Overbombing Tour” together with the RAMONES). It was about time for a return! The gig had been sold-out for weeks and several people stood in front of the Capitol asking for spare tickets. The strange soundscape between the bands’ gigs was audible again so it might be the new standard. When we entered the venue, heat and stale air greeted us and long lines at the bars indicated that the locals knew they had to fuel up on drinks to survive this heat. Unfortunately, some of the bars seemed to be understaffed and I marvelled at the staff’s patience with the customers who were obviously annoyed about waiting quite long to get their drinks and the refunds for the empty cups.
Around 21:10 the intro became louder and THE SISTERS OF MERCY came on stage. This time the band started the set with the new song ‘Don’t Drive On Ice’, changing places with ‘I Will Call You’ that opened the show in Münster. Apart from this minor change, the setlist remained the same. There were familiar faces from the gig in Münster in the crowd who seemed to be enthusiastic to see the band again. Meanwhile the rest of the crowd remained reserved, tough some songs were greeted more cheerfully than in Münster. The sound was a lot better than in Münster but still far from perfect. Same applied to Andrew’s voice which was louder and clearer compared to the gig in Münster’s Jovel. Again, there was significantly more fog on stage than in the years before and compared with the new lightshow, it was hard to see what happened on Doktor Avalanche’s tower, Chris Catalyst was hardly visible during several songs.
The new songs, which have never been released physically, were received jubilantly by many people in the crowd. A phenomenon that shows how important YouTube is for bands these days - although it’s the company from San Bruno / California generating cash and not the artists. However, it was obvious that many people came to hear classics like ‘This Corrosion’ and ‘Temple of Love’. Judging from the average age of the audience many of them danced to these singles in clubs in the years they were released. Back in the days when there were plenty of clubs and record stores. While other bands rest on their laurels from the past the SISTERS have refreshed many of their old songs and have written brilliant new ones. A lot of this work must be credited to guitarist Ben Christo, who had to rock significant parts the show on his own - without a second guitarist and without a human bass player, doing backing vocals in addition.
When it was time for the encore, Hanover finally got moving and it seemed Andrew Eldritch had spared some vocal and energy for this. To make it short: Ben Christo delivered a perfect show proving what a great guitarist and highly professional artist he is, while taking over more and more vocal duties from Andrew Eldritch. In addition to our review, we’d like to thank the security in the pit, who made sure the ladies stayed safe, when somebody forgot his manners.
Setlist
01. Don’t Drive On Ice
02. Ribbons
03. I Will Call You
04. Alice
05. But Genevieve
06. Dominion
07. Summer
08. Marian
09. More
10. Giving Ground
11. Doctor Jeep / Detonation Boulevard
12. Eyes of Caligula
13. Something Fast
14. Crash and Burn
15. Vision Thing
16. On the Beach
17. When I’m on Fire
---
18. Lucretia My Reflection
19. Temple Of Love
20. This Corrosion
Rating
Music: 8
Performance: 9
Light: 8
Sound: 7
Total: 8 / 10
3rd stage: Docks, Hamburg, Germany - 3rd October 2023
Our team was one man down for the third night due to illness and when I arrived in Hamburg a bunch of fans already had set up camp in front of legendary Docks on the Reeperbahn. The weather was a bad mix of rain and kind of warm humid air and several wind gush, not the best weather to wait several hours for doors.
The VirginMarys
We had been talking and estimating which crowd would rock out seriously with the support and Hamburg was on our list. It seemed the band has dedicated fans in this city and won over many dedicated SISTERS fans during the last nights. The band’s show improved night by night and tonight they really delivered a killer set. Unfortunately, there are no pictures from the photo pit tonight. A cardboard sign at the merch indicated that the band would be at the merch after the show and when THE SISTERS OF MERCY were about ready for the encore, the two musicians made their way through the crowd and after their merch stand was occupied by fans and the security literally had to kick people out. This band won over hundreds of fans and will keep doing so during this tour, for sure. In our books, The VirginMarys are the best support band during a SISTERS tour for years.
The Sisters of Mercy
The venue’s layout is a tricky one, if you don’t arrive hours before the show. While you wait for a drink about 20 minutes, the crowd starts pushing to the infield while you stand in line. The bar seemed to be understaffed and the barkeepers had only one cashier for several spots, the warm coke didn’t improve my mood, either. The air was even warmer and staler than in Hanover and this led to at least one guy fainting. The security reacted immediately and I observed him joining g the show later one. Gaian, the show had been sold out for weeks and I was surprised to hear that many in the crowd were first-timers. THE SISTERS OF MERCY and Hamburg are linked for decades. Andrew Eldritch lived here for a while and THE SISTERS OF MERCY were sponsoring the legendary FC St. Pauli. Inspiration for FLOODLAND was found in Hamburg and later through the show Andrew mentioned Hamburg as the place “Wo ich zuhause bin!” (Where I am home!)
While the crowd was waiting for the SISTERS, there was a vibe of cheerful anticipation and the audience cheered a lot louder than in the previous venues when the band came on stage. The setlist remained the same as in Hanover, but the lack of air-condition led up to being Chris Catalyst being hardly visible and lights for photography turned out to be pretty challenging. Hamburg delivered what I had been waiting for two shows now. A rocking crowd. We had crowd surfers, a small pit and people dancing and singing along from the bottom of their hearts. It obviously pleased the guys on stage and compared to the gig in Münster, Andrew appeared in the front of the stage very often and stood next to Ben a lot more than during the previous shows. His vocals were not as good as those in Hanover and sometimes it was really hard to stand his announcements to the crowd, but coming to the level of interaction of band and crowd, it was the best show so far.
When Ben attempted to stir the crowd, people had their hands in the air for ‘Lucretia my Reflection’ and people in the pit jumped around, when the immense tension that was created by the guitar hooks was released. Eldritch was obviously stoked to see people rocking out so heavily coming front for almost the whole song, which is rare. Tonight’s sound was far from good and it seemed the Doktor had a problem during the show for Chris suddenly crouched on the stage towards one of the light elements, gesturing to Andrew. The break before the encore took really long, too. Usually Andrew addresses the crowd before ‘This Corrosion’ tonight, but the Doktor started the intro and one could see Andrew gesturing to Chris to stop him. The crowd stated “Hamburg!” and Andrew added galanty “Wo ich zuhause bin.”
He crossed the stage and added “Jetzt verlasse ich mich auf Euch (now I rely on you)!” The Doktor once more gave us the intro and Andrew conducted the crowd until Ben did a ferocious jump and gave us insane guitar riffing. When the band left after the encore, Hamburg demanded THE SISTERS OF MERCY back on stage, but unfortunately there was no second encore and security started to clear the pit. So far, Hamburg was the best gig on this tour and the one, that felt like having attended a Rock show after leaving the venue. Of course, there were many who complained about a missing guitar player and a pretty passive nurse to the Doktor. In defence we have to add that the only constant member is Andrew Eldritch and maybe the Doktor, though he saw several incarnations. Line-ups changed frequently over the decades and Ben Christo on guitar is a member for 17 years and the longest serving member on the everchanging roster of guitar players in this band.
If you look at other bands who became bigsters during the time THE SISTSERS OF MERCY became famous you might have noticed that live vocals do not sound like back in time or on the records. With the SISTERS it might be more obvious that the lead vocals changed a lot. If you expect the live gigs to sound like the records, stay away and keep rocking at home or in a club. If you want to see a great guitar performance and the band members in person and let The Doktor giving you the beat you are longing for, get a ticket.
Setlist
01. Don’t Drive On Ice
02. Ribbons
03. I Will Call You
04. Alice
05. But Genevieve
06. Dominion
07. Summer
08. Marian
09. More
10. Giving Ground
11. Doctor Jeep / Detonation Boulevard
12. Eyes of Caligula
13. Something Fast
14. Crash and Burn
15. Vision Thing
16. On the Beach
17. When I’m on Fire
---
18. Lucretia My Reflection
19. Temple Of Love
20. This Corrosion
Rating
Music: 8
Performance: 9
Light: 8
Sound: 7
Total: 8 / 10
4th stage: Columbiahalle, Berlin, Germany - 5th October 2023
After a solid gig in Hamburg hopes were high for a good show in Berlin. We won’t participate in any speculation regarding the band and its singer so let’s stick to the facts. After 40 minutes, during ‘More’, singer Andrew Eldritch left the stage. Guitarist Ben Christo finished the song on his own and left as well. After some time, somebody from the management entered the stage telling the befuddled audience Andrew had medical issues and could not finish the gig. Whether the money for the tickets will be returned or the gig will be repeated should be decided later.
5th stage: Haus Auensee, Leipzig, Germany - 6th October 2023
One day later in Leipzig’s beautiful location Haus Auensee, close to the lake with the same name. It was a great relief to see the band back on stage doing their thing. In the end a gig without highs or lows.
Setlist
01. Don’t Drive on Ice
02. Ribbons
03. I Will Call you
04. Alice
05. But Genevieve
06. Dominion / Mother Russia
07. Summer
08. Marian
09. More
10. Giving Ground
11. Doctor Jeep / Detonation Boulevard
12. Eyes of Caligula
13. Something fast
14. Crash & Burn
15. Vision thing
16. On The Beach
17. When I’m on Fire
---
18. Lucretia My Reflection
19. Temple of Love
20. This Corrosion
6th stage: E-Werk, Cologne, Germany - 8th October 2023
A new day, a new city. After the gig in Leipzig took place, it looked like the tour would continue. However, obviously Andrew’s health conditions got worse. After THE VIRGINMARYS had finished their again powerful set, someone from the management again entered the stage and told that the SISTERS would not be able to play. Great disappointment.
7th stage: Schlachthof, Wiesbaden, Germany - 9th October 2023
One day later in Wiesbaden: the local promoter announced that the gig would not take place because of Andrew’s bad health. Fair enough. Band and promoter are looking for new dates. Tickets remain valid. For details see: https://www.fkpscorpio.com/de/bands-archiv/the-sisters-of-mercy/
Last but not least: the good news is: the tour continued in Budapest on October 11th and during the gig in Würzburg on Oct 14th, THE SISTERS presented a hired gun. ESPRIT D’AIR’s Kai will take over guitar duties until the end of the tour. The authors are determined to attend the band’s final gig of the European leg of this tour in Münster on 12th November to witness a new chapter of the story. We’d like to thank Asja, Lara and Ingo for their support, without you guys this diary would have been impossible.
Pictures from Münster and Hanover by Christian W.
Pictures from Hamburg by Munich Vampire
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