Mark Lanegan Band at Leeds 2012
It's a moderately sized maturely aged audience that arrives in the Radio 1 tent to greet The Mark Lanegan Band. In a career spanning 27 years Lanegan has collaborated with Kurt Cobain (Nirvana) Isobel Campbell (Belle and Sebastian) and Greg Dulli (The Afghan Whigs) and been in The Screaming Trees, Queens of the Stone Age. Today however, is a chance to see him as the star of his own band, playing a collection of whisky soaked rock and roll blues taken predominantly from his past two solo albums.
They kick off with the most forceful, driving numbers. Lead track from latest album Blues Funeral The Gravedigger's Song and the moderately successful 'hit' single Hit The City from '04's Bubblegum, which gathers motion before stopping abruptly. Then the set then reveals to us some slower songs that suitably absorb his gravel-like smoking vocals. They include hypnotic, finger picked guitar and sound like a death march befitting of Lanegan's voice that he surely must have stolen from the grim reaper himself.
The mid paced Black Rose Way is the second of two Screaming Trees numbers that provide the afternoon with some good ol' dirty grunge. For the electronica-tinged cuts from current album Blues Funeral such as Harborview Hospital one guitarist switches to keys whilst Mark Lanegan stands rooted front and centre gripping his mic stand surrounded by his band dressed all in black. Their dress is apt as the blues songs exhibited are comprised entirely of darks shades, the backing track to Tiny Grain Of Truth used to add more layers of grey. The highly expressive blues guitar sends sadness straight to your synapses as Lanegan sings, "what's done is done" on repeat in a low grumble. They finish on Methamphetamine Blues which is another fine demonstration of the class and soul that the Mark Lanegan Band have.