Soulsavers with Mark Lanegan

First concert in Portland was an undeniable success. You can't get much better than Mark Lanegan.

We arrived in time for the opening act but I have no idea who they were. What I do know is that I'm still confused by what I saw. They were a pretty good band, I'll give them that. Kinda dark and ethereal and the lead singer was a woman with a pretty cool voice. Most of the songs were pretty mellow but they had a couple songs that were full of energy and I think that's where they shined. They actually reminded me a lot of The Duke Spirit, especially her voice. But I can't shake the feeling that the whole time she was performing she was seeing something the rest of us couldn't. I don't know if she was high or if it was all an act but her weird looks and antics kept me more than entertained. There was something about the whole thing that made it seem like some secret magical ritual and that she was actually casting a spell on us instead of just singing. Maybe we looked like idiots giggling throughout their set but I couldn't help it.

But then the Soulsavers came on and it was brilliant. They started off with The Seventh Proof, the first instrumental from their new album. They sound exactly the same, if not better, live as they do on the album. Although because it was an instrumental, Mark Lanegan didn't come out so when the song was ending and he came out by himself, the place blew up. It was obvious then that people were fans of Soulsavers because of Mark Lanegan and not really the other way around. Which isn't surprising considering I'm the same way. He started off with Ghosts of You and Me from their second album and hearing him sing the chorus

Some say this Highway seven
Is a long and lonesome road
Don't ask me little Rosa
Which direction I am going

actually gave me chills. Every song he did was just perfect. He barely acknowledges the audience, looks down almost the whole time, squints and closes his eyes but it doesn't matter. That's Mark Lanegan. He's the man with the voice that sounds like whiskey and cigarettes. Everything about him: his voice, his persona, it all hints at this man with a dark past. A man who survived so much that you'll never know about. And that's what makes his music so amazing. Especially when he sings the sweeter songs like Some Misunderstanding and You Will Miss Me When I Burn. Even though he didn't write those songs, it's obvious that he feels them and it's the layers and the softness underneath all his rough edges that make hims so fascinating.
And they didn't only play Soulsavers songs, the Wonder Ballroom absolutely erupted when they played Hit The City. You could hear people sing along and the energy in room absolutely engulfed everything. They also played Kingdom of Rain, a song of his that is also on the album. Since that's one of my favorite songs of Lanegan's it was just so wonderful to actually hear it live. You just can't help but melt hearing that gravely voice asking you

Would you put halos in your hair
Without a hope without a prayer
With lies close to your breast
You finally lay your shame to rest
Before I go, I'll hang in a cross on nails
I hung on for you in there
And every kingdom of rain comes fallin' down
Cause I loved you so long

Just like on the new CD, there was this Australian singer, Red Ghost, who accompanied him on some of the songs and even sang solo a couple times. Mark Lanegan always sounds fantastic when paired with a woman's soft voice. They compliment each other so well that they just make the other sound even more amazing.

Like every other concert I go to my only complaint is that it had to end. And before the encore they hadn't performed the one song that I desperately wanted to hear, Revival, or the song Sunrise but I would be able to handle not hearing that song performed. And so when they went away I could only hope that they would come back to perform it. When they did come back it was sans Mark Lanegan and Red Ghost sang one of her tracks on the album which of course was great but not what I wanted to hear. And then Mark Lanegan came back. And sang Revival. And at that moment, I could die happy.

I really hope that the concert was an omen for what the rest of this experience is going to be like but I doubt that any other show will match this one and I'm okay with that because this show was everything I could hope for.

All the songs that they played (fairly certain) but not exactly in order:

Ghosts of You and Me
Death Bells
Unbalanced Pieces
You Will Miss Me When I Burn
Some Misunderstanding
Hit The City
Rolling Sky
Jesus of Nothing
Paper Money
Jesus Just Left Chicago
Praying Ground
Revival