It was hot and sweaty, out by the river. Even when the remorseless Sun hid away, it did not relinquish the fight. It was happy hour for the mosquitos gathered at the riverside. Cold beer repeatedly failed to do the trick. And yet, nobody seemed to care.
Well, nobody…
Local support, Belgrade based Vizelj, took to the rapidly gathering crowd and fired up what was to be the summit of the happening, as far as your friendly reporter is concerned. The best I can come up with, it’s a highly energetic, modern take on experimental funk ‘n’ roll. The quartet was able to stir the spirits with contemplative melancholy but also uplift the mood with snappy tunes urging you to smile and dance. Just imagine Jet or The Hives, having a collaboration with James Brown, but it’s well into 21st century and technology is providing you additional opportunities to play around. It’s almost needless to point out, but yes, Vizelj have the performance to match such sonography.
Brilliant show was just further enriched by the loving tribute to the recently departed prince of darkness. “War Pigs”, I’m sure, made many a hair stand on its end that night.
As for the Brits, well, that’s a whole other story. The Sisters Of Mercy is, without doubt, one of the most influential acts, almost singlehandedly responsible for goth culture being what it is today. For that alone, they deserve the utmost respect! However, the fact itself is probably the only thing responsible for them being able to still gather masses to their shows, despite being creatively inactive for a very long time. With gathering masses, they are also gathering adoration towards their work in the 1980’s, when it all happened for them and, later on, against them. But that’s all the work of former glory.
Upon relatively careful examination, you could easily see the differing volumes of acceptance for differing tracks. You could almost feel the majority of the audience eagerly awaiting “Lucretia My Reflection”, “Temple of Love” or “This Corrosion”. After the initial exaltation at the band appearing on stage, there was a relative standstill in the crowd until, if I’m not mistaken, “Marian” kicked things up a notch. Of course, there was enough die-hards in there who welcomed the band throughout and the energetic pulse the trio was sending out was undeniable. But there’s the fourth cog to The Sisters Of Mercy, the legend himself, Mr. Eldritch himself. His almost Nosferatuesque strut from side to side and silent voice seemed to lack vigor and made me way too often rather enjoy the compilation of sci-fi and horror film excerpts. The issue with silent vocals was fixed easily in the choruses, by the duo of backing vocalists. Plus, their choruses were always the prime carriers of band’s songs.
Altogether, The Sisters Of Mercy put on a good show. Relatively short, just under an hour and a half, but correct and to the point. Perhaps missing a few hits, but I didn’t hear anyone complain. Except for me. As for myself, it was a fine evening but leaving much to be desired.
