Echo and the Bunnymen Get Chatty at New York Show

Posted on Oct 18th 2009 12:00PM by Cara Alwill
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A talkative Ian McCulloch greeted the tightly packed, high-energy crowd at New York's Mercury Lounge on Saturday night as Echo and the Bunnymen took the stage as part of their fall North American tour, less than two months after the death of Jake Drake-Brockman, the band's longtime keyboardist, in a motorcycle accident on the Isle of Man.

The band, opening with crowd favorites like "Rescue," were met with immediate enthusiasm from the audience. But the music was soon interrupted as frontman McCulloch took a break from singing and honed in on his social skills. A few sentences into his monologue, he asked guitar player Will Sergeant to stop playing, because he was "in the middle of a speech." A soliloquy, McCulloch called it, then asked the crowd if they knew how to spell the word, giggling at his own odd request.

Such teasing quickly became the theme of the evening, as fans were treated to both straight-up unadulterated versions of favorite songs and a stand-up routine by McCulloch.

After asking if Billy Crystal was in the audience, the talkative McCulloch asked the crowd if they remembered a particular 'Dallas' episode. Though it was hard to decipher his husky British accent, it became clear McCulloch was talking about the episode where J.R. bought Sue Ellen a horse. He laughed, and the crowd eventually joined in McCulloch's laughter and egged him on.

While less impressed members of the audience talked through his banter, he hushed them with a snappy "Shhh!" and encouraged other fans to do the same, admitting that he had no problem with telling people to shut up. His honest admission even drew a few laughs from the uninterested parties, and soon enough the entire crowd was on his comedic bandwagon.

After slinking through a crisp "Lips Like Sugar," the band soared into "Bring On The Dancing Horses," shifting the attention back to the music, which never wavered despite McCulloch's juggling of humor and music. It seemed the crowd grew a little weary of his jokes after getting a taste of the dark and trippy "Seven Seas." As the song wrapped up, fans were yearning for more and yelled, "Come on, sing!" McCulloch replied "I am!," assuring everyone that a "classic" was on the way, then launching into a romantically infused and well-received version of "Think I Need It Too" from their forthcoming album 'The Fountain.' At the end of the song, McCulloch said, "I told you it was a classic."

The hour-and-fifteen-minute set wrapped up with classic renditions of "Killing Moon" and "The Cutter," which then bled into "Nothing Lasts Forever." The Bunnymen took full advantage of the intimate, basement-like feel of Mercury Lounge, showing off both their charisma and talent while giving the audience the sense that they were just hanging out with their friends.