Entertainment For Lively Minds
Lloyd Cole
Posted by Paul Waring on 16 November 2011 - 1:51pm.
When:
15 November 2011
Where:
The Platform, Morecambe
Comments:
Commotionless, Lloyd Cole took to the Platform stage armed only with a brace of acoustic guitars, a bottle of water, a white towel and an understated, deprecating wit. Over the course of two hours and two sets, he kept a small but perfectly-formed audience hushed and spellbound as he wandered through 30 years-worth of material sprinkled with a couple of covers. Stripped back to just one instrument and his still rich and expressive voice, the songs had room to breathe and Lloyd’s lyrics, always intelligent and erudite, came to the fore. As a young man, Lloyd often seemed old beyond his years but with (middle) age, his words and melodies fit him like a comfortable suit. His guitar playing was precise and a lot more technically competent than I expected – the boy can play! With no new product to plug, he was free to roam the backwaters of his catalogue whilst still finding room for a remarkable number of old favourites. A final encore of Lost Weekend and Forest Fire left us contented.
The Audience:
Hushed, middle-aged and small - a couple of hundred at most. An intimate, supper-club atmosphere in an unusual venue (quite literally, an old railway platform) on the Morecambe seafront. Rock and Roll!
Food & Drink:
Just a small bar stocked with the basics. A couple of pints in plastic beakers jarred with the vibe a touch, but only a touch.
It Made Me Think...:
There is always a place in the rockular spectrum for intelligence, dry wit and maturity. And all you need is a voice and a guitar (and, of course, the songs).
Paul
I wish I was there. I try and see him any time he is in Dublin. And he is as you alluded a genuinely a good night out.
You should come and see him over here sometime and bring some of your usual cohorts with you. We'll give you a good time out I can assure you!
Lloyd and I...
... share a birthday - 31st January. Same day, in fact, as John Lydon and that bald guy with chains that used to dance with Howard Jones.
Here endeth today's not-so interesting pop fact.
Thanks Paul
I read this with some trepidation - the FPO and I are going to see him in Buxton on Friday. Now I'm really looking forward to it!
Buxton!
Crikey - a genuine home town concert for Mr Cole. Should be good.
It was
The audience just loved him to bits, and oddly I got something in my eye when he played Perfect Skin. My GLW (aka Louise) was with me, and the song reminds us of the mid-'80s when we got married.
Spot on review
Not that I was there but I was in Gateshead 2 days later to see him and he was great. Much better than when I saw him back in the 80s with the Commotions. His voice has really improved with age and as you said Paul his guitar playing was impressive. He forgot the words to a few of his biggest tunes and said that if you ever see Lloyd Cole and he gets through a set without mistakes you are probably watching a tribute act.
Bought his last CD off the table afterwards and I'm really enjoying that too (Broken Record).