Heaven up there

Press, 12 November 1981, Page 16

Heaven up there

By

DAVID SWIFT

Echo and the Bunnymen didn’t make it across Cook Strait, but there were quite a few southerners in the audience anyway for the Liverpool band’s first New Zealand concert in Wellington last Thursday. The manager of one city record store was amazed — “these guys came in today and said they’d hitch-hiked from Dunedin to see the show.” As it turned out, the show would have been worth the journey. The much-publicised “aggro” at Wellington concerts, combined with ex-

pected Guy Fawkes night stupidity, did not eventuate. There were a few “sparklers” in the crowd but most of the sparks definitely came from the stage. Before it started, lan McCulloch, the Bunnymen’s high-profile lead singer, wandered aimlessly around the back of the crowd, pausing occasionally to be welcomed by fans. He was wearing a black coat and an expression to match, but on stage there was a transformation. McCulloch knows that he has talent -and a certain sensual air; by now he must have been the centre-fold in

a dozen teeny-trash magazines. I though that the performance was flawless, although a certain amount of fan’s licence must be incorporated into that statement. In an attempt to equalize the Bunnymen visually (impossible with a leader who looks like McCulloch), the four were playing right at the front of the stage. Pete De Freitas somehow finished the show without breaking a drumstick and the bassist, Les Pattinson, weighed in with an equal effort. Will Sergeant, co-founder of the band, kept his head down and played and swivelled and played and swivelled . . . The crowd didn’t go wild,

but seemed more content to watch, almost in awe. How often do you get a band in concert here that’s this hip? Most of “Heaven Up Here” was reproduced faithfully on stage, including the magnificent “A Promise,” which deserves to be elevated to the same status that "Rescue” (which they also did) has found itself. One of the two encores was the mighty “Over The Wall,” which, it wasn’t hard to guess, was far better live than on record. At the end of the encores the four actually smiled .. . they were obviously surprised at the reception which really thundered by that time. Echo and the Bunnymen are one of the bands of the new decade. Console yourself with one of their records if you haven’t already done so. Gosh, forgot to make a Doors comparison . . .