Neuwe Nor, Heerlen, The Netherlands23rd October 2014
Wayne Hussey
The concert of WAYNE HUSSEY at the Neuwe Nor was sold out within no time. The seated concert was limited to 100 visitors. It was decided to do another concert which took place the day before. Although WAYNE HUSSEY and his band THE MISSION are not on the front row of the music scene anymore, especially in the Netherlands, there is still a group of people that have enough interest not only to hear his music but to see WAYNE HUSSEY perform live.
It is strange at first to realize this is the front man of one of the iconic gothic band THE MISSION from the eighties and nineties. Back then the band was literally covered in smoke and darkness on more ways than one. THE MISSION was formed when HUSSEY left THE SISTERS OF MERCY and slowly took another turn that brought a completely different sound and feel. But THE MISSION always had an atmosphere that felt a bit mysterious. Now, more than twenty years later HUSSEY is much older – of course – but also he left that bit of mysterious behind. You can almost say he is just a guy, a musician that left the smoke and darkness from the past behind. https://www.facebook.com/themissionuk
Music & Performance
For those who had the idea this concert is an acoustic performance, it is not. HUSSEY has brought a bunch of guitars both acoustic and electric ones, a piano and some electronics to add a complete band or orchestra if necessary. His repertoire is read from an IPad. At first it is a pity the concert performance isn’t a real acoustic set but when the evening progresses I realize it give HUSSEY the opportunity to give the concert the variety it needs. Sitting on his chair he takes it easy and interacts a lot with the audience. He asks which songs they want to hear but doesn’t play everything they want. When someone cries for the song ‘Wake’ he refuses to play it because it is too depressing. HUSSEY listens to the requests but only plays what he wants. Even when the audience is sceptic when he introduces the cover song ‘Careless Whisper’ he just plays it. HUSSEYS voice is okay. It has the roughness we know but it is not hoarse nor does he sounds if he lost it typical sound. Even his cold doesn’t really effect it, although he spend a couple of hours at the local hospital early in the morning. He jokes about it, telling about the message the doctor gave him to drink and smoke less. He tells all this with a bottle of wine in his hands.
The audience is sitting quiet, listening, laughing and applauding during the more than two hour performance of HUSSEY. Too bad there are also a couple of visitors from Germany who think they have to speak in a loud voice, disturbing the listening experience by times. HUSSEY plays ‘The Swan Song’ as the encore with the sound of his complete band from recording. It ends an intimate evening with the artist that once was a dark front man of a gothic band, but now is just a friendly and relaxed musician who likes to laugh and drink a bottle of wine while doing the thing he loves; playing music and singing.
Rating
Music: 8
Performance: 8
Sound: 8
Light: 8
Total: 8 / 10
All pictures by Nando Harmsen (http://www.nandoonline.com)
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