Concert Review Sisters of Mercy - Melbourne - 30th October 2019
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Sisters of Mercy | Photo Len Panecki
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By Teylor Moss
Artist: Sisters of Mercy
Date: 30th October 2019
Venue: The Forum Theatre, Melbourne, Australia
Sisters of Mercy have returned to Australia after 7 years, bringing British goth-rock to Melbourne. Formed in Leeds in 1977, front man Andrew Eldritch and his sidekick, a drum machine named Doktor Avalanche, have been there since its inception. Assisting them for tours since 1996 is Ravey Davey, the nurse for Doktor Avalanche. Joining the band in 2005 is guitarist Ben Christo and most recently Dylan Smith who joined this year.
Sisters of Mercy show what it means to be punk. They stopped producing new material in the early 90s in a protest against record company WEA for incompetence and withholding royalties. To this day the band has not recorded any new albums, haven't signed to another record company and yet are still thriving on being a self-managed touring outfit only.
The Forum Theatre is the most gorgeous venue, a large open foyer that steps down onto the ground floor where it seems as though you're outside, with the high ceilings dressed as the night sky.
Starting the night off, Melbourne based act Cash took the stage and had no trouble gathering a crowd. Members of the pout rock band are Cassie Hope-vocals/guitar and Ash Acid-drums. Serving attitude and sex appeal, these ladies had no problem turning heads last night and showcasing their raw talent. After hyping up the crowd, they departed the stage followed by cheers from a won over audience.
Emerging onto the stage, shades on, S.O.M were dripping in cool and confidence. Greeted by uproarious cheering, they started to play. Eldritch was commanding attention by slowly covering every inch of the stage, interacting with every fan. Eldritch is an extremely talented unique man, he can speak 5 languages and tends to slide effortlessly between them in his music in a low growling hum. He also creates all the drum tracks and psych electronic sounds through Doktor Avalanche, Sisters of Mercy being one of the first bands to introduce this to their music.
Ravey Davey was living up to his title, positioned at the back of the stage he made sure you saw him, waving his hands in the air and dancing in his own world.
Dylan Smith was claiming the stage as his own, charging across the floor and effortlessly playing the guitar, displaying his talent to the crowd. Dylan is a great addition to S.O.M, it feels like he has been a part of the band since its inception, while also adding a new dynamic to it.
Ben Christo was born to perform; he had great interactions with the audience and looked like he was having the time of his life, giving off great energy that made you want to dance and owning the space as naturally as he plays guitar.
The combination of talents results in a loud, fiery night that made me want to jump. They gel together so well and only complement each other. The crowd were loving it although I found they weren't as hyped as I expected them to be, there were a lot of smiles and grooving but not a lot of jumping or arms in the air. Regardless, you could tell everyone was having a great time.
After playing for about an hour and a half they bowed and thanked the crowd and left the stage. But our demand for an encore was heard by the band who returned to the stage to perform their last three songs. At this point everyone was dancing and singing along with the musicians, who ended the night with a strong finish.
Once they had performed their last song, they reached the front of the stage and took a long bow, holding it for about a minute to bask in the applause.