Concert Review

ARTIST: Eivør

Date: February 11 2025

Venue: Metro Music Hall

City: Salt Lake City, UT

Supporting Act: Sylvaine

I first heard Eivør probably a decade ago while digging through a “Viking Pagan Folk” playlist on YouTube. I saw this amazing woman, wearing a live flower weave in her hair beating on a skin drum chanting this old Viking song “Tròdlabùndin” where she was using her voice most bizarrely, with throaty growls, along with some of the sweetest female vocals in the same lines of this chant, calling forth pagan spirits. I was enamored with this spectacle, as strange as this was, it looked like it was being performed in someone’s backyard on a hill, with a cabbage garden next to the stage.

Thus was my love of Eivør Pálsdóttir and her music born. Eivør is a singer from the Faroe Islands, a small chain of islands between Iceland, and North Scotland, the language is Faroese, and most like Icelandic.

In a concert venue, where the lines are blurred between people’s normal attire, or they are just dressed up for a night out, all of the Viking Subculture of Salt Lake had converged at “The Metro” for this amazing event of music and wonder.

Sylvaine

Opening was an amazing singer of ethereal folk “Sylvaine”, she had been through Salt Lake several times, but this time no band. She came to the stage, very quiet, and humble almost, then she began playing this beautiful music that felt like we were going back in time. She opened with “Dagsens auga sloknar ut” (The day’s eyes fade away), she danced in place waving her arms captivating everyone, with a silhouette behind her, reminiscent of the “Ghost” on the 1987 Echo & the Bunnymen album cover. In the first 30 seconds, I knew this woman was a trip.

She played an overpowering somber song, with the guitar sounding like Sigur Ros, that she called “L’appel du Vide” (Emptiness calls)

She talked to everyone for a minute, politely thanking everyone for listening to her set. (We were all hypnotized, and couldn’t do much else).

She closed another acapella piece “Eg Er Framand” (I am a stranger) this time swinging her hands, forward, but not swaying, because this song had that kind of emotion in it.

I talked to her for a few minutes later in the gig, only to find out we knew some of the same people, a band that I am friends with are her neighbors, literally. In short, you have to get into this amazing singer, you will not be disappointed.

Eivør

Eivør took the stage, as a blond Malificient, “star” goddess, she was already tall, but wearing even taller boots. She started singing a haunting ballad in a language we didn’t understand and didn’t need to “En Klota”, with a standing cellist, that just melted everyone, if she wanted to turn down the blood pressure, she had us with that first song.

Still beating the drum with an intense focus, and the keyboardist playing haunting tones, she sang “JARÐARTRÁ” (DUST TO DUST), in this light we noticed how she was made up, with gorgeous nails, and glitter gems all around her eyes, all done up to enchant and scare us at the same time. Most of us just stood in awe at her presence. She thanked all of us and said ” ALRIGHT SALT LAKE CITY !!! What a beautiful crowd, if you can see from here what I see”.

She picked up her guitar and started playing probably the only pop-like song of the evening “Hugsi bert um teg” (Just thinking about you) that sounded like an epic CHVRCHES meets Laura Brannigan, it was quite awesome.

She talked to us again about how she LOVES this tour, where it is warm and cold, and like in Las Vegas and Salt Lake City where it’s below freezing, and feels like going home again. She talked about the new album, and how “I’m gonna do one more song from the new album before we go completely crazy. This is a ballad about reaching for the stars, this one is called “Purpurhjarta” which translates to “Purple Heart”. With the keyboard playing a sad piano song, and the bass player playing low somber tones, everyone was so focused on how her voice was steering the song for us. This is truly one of the best songs on the album (at least til the next one).

After a few more songs, she stood there, blowing kisses, setting her guitar down, and to great cheers, she began waving a skin mallet and beating the drum and howling with the power of a witch elevating everyone to strange new heights of experience. Singing as if it was a ritual, or even a seance it was “Tròdlabùndin”! Everyone swayed along with her on this one and tried chanting those throat parts. This is what so many of us came for, entranced in the vast highs and lows of her voice chanting, it felt like we were in this for hours.

From the pit, I met a Hispanic couple from Los Angeles, who had been on this tour since the opening date, if that tells you how special this show is, clash cultures, and just let the music move you.

She played “True Love” then the title track to the album “ENN” which means “Still”, with a very dark trance-inducing drumming coupled with her voice doing things you don’t normally hear a woman’s voice do.

With Upp Úr Øskuni, (risen from the ashes) the lights only flash when the drums beat, Eivør posed like a towering witch over everyone, while she chanted very dark, intense almost prayers that we didn’t need to understand the words, we felt what they were about. Her long fingernails made perfect sense to be playing these powerful songs on her guitar, while the bass drove a very spiritual voice we all felt like we were standing on. It was all very surreal where Eivør’s music was taking us, it was almost scary, but we were really not afraid.

She told us a story about “Hymn 49” an old Faroese song that was over 500 years old, that the fishermen on the islands would sing when they left the shores, hoping to return safely. We all listened with a sort of reverance understanding the spirit of this song, and respect for a song that has lived several centuries after it’s time.

After some of her oldest pieces “Salt” and “Í Tokuni” (In the fog) Eivør set down her guitar, to all the cheers, she said, “I can see you have all been practicing, really you are such a great crowd”. She introduced the band, everyone by name, and their instrument, then she paused and said “Well, yeah that was it” in an uncomfortable moment. She explained the next song is dedicated to all the lonely souls, “Gullspunnin” (Goldspinning) means you are wrapped around with gold, in all this beauty, thinking you are alone, but you are not truly alone, and that there will always be someone who gets you, then she said, “I love you all”. Then she sang along to the saddest piano ballad we have ever heard, equal to “This Woman’s Work” by Kate Bush performed by Loreena McKenneit (yes I did say that).

She thanked everyone, waved good night, and walked off the stage, while the punters let her know we weren’t going to let her off that easy. Eivør returned to the stage and finished off the evening with “Falling Free”, which no many how often I listen to it, evokes what I would say is the essence of Eivør, a simple piano line. No one can walk away from such wonder, she builds up to “Now I surrender, I am falling down, hoping you will catch me before I hit the ground”. Everyone was swinging their heads forward on each beat, eyes closed, just feeling the purity of the music.

Evior took one last bow and left the crowd awestruck.

If this has given any justice to how incredible Eivør is live, my buddy who has been going to shows with me for 35 years said it was one of the top-ten gigs of all time, you might want to grab a gig next time she comes through the states.

https://www.eivor.com Spotify Facebook Youtube Instagram

#paganfolk #norsemusic #Eivør #nordicmusic #sylvainemusic

CONCERT REVIEW

Artist: Lauren Mayberry

Date: January 31, 2025

Venue: Club Soundwell

City: Salt Lake City, UT

The wonderful Lauren Mayberry graces the country on “Vicious Creature” her first solo US tour.

We all know and love Lauren Mayberry the small statured powerhouse voice Scottish singer for her band “CHVRCHES”, and now she has released a solo album, and is taking it live to US audiences, and let me tell you, you WANT TO SEE THIS TOUR.

My daughter and I have a tradition of seeing CHVRCHES every time they roll through town, one night we showed up at the venue just coming out of COVID-19, and the show was canceled, because they got snowed in trying to come in from Denver. So when Salt Lake was on the top of the tour dates, I was excited and took my daughter with me. We prepared for this night by listening to the album “Vicious Creature” for a couple of weeks. (get that album, you’re welcome)

The venue “Soundwell” is where I have shot so many great shows, SWANS, Thelma Huston, Alaska Thunderfuck, Noah Finns, and countless other artists, they always sound great here. While I was sitting in the ADA/VIP area, Lauren walked past me with a scarf over her head, sunglasses, and little star clips in her hair, she didn’t want to be noticed, so I didn’t bother her.

CULT OF VENUS

If Lauren Mayberry wanted to impress the hell out of everyone before even taking the stage, she did it by choosing “Cult Of Venus”. I saw the name and had a chuckle, as any old-school Dark Wave Punk music fan would remember, one of the possible band names Joy Division tossed around was “Slaves of Venus”, the name never really took, but it was great to have “Slaves of Venus” opening for Peter Hook & The Light in 2013. Cult of Venus was simply a woman with a guitar and keyboard. She played her set in high heels and managed guitar and her keyboard pedals that way. Nothing short of incredible, look her up, you’re all fans already.

Lauren Mayberry

The intro tape “Liability Waiver” “The Following is a work of fiction, any similarities to actual events or actual persons or events is purely coincidental” played in a loop while the band (a drummer/keyboard player, and bassist) took the stage, and they opened playing several measures of “Crocodile Tears” for a few measures then Lauren came out in a pair of leather shorts, knee high boots, and a T-shirt saying “SAFETY, DIGNITY, AND HEALTHCARE FOR ALL TRANS PEOPLE”, that statement on her shirt alone made all of us instantly love her. She picked up an old rotary telephone on the stage, as a prop, and sang “I picked up the phone to start a chain reaction”. She already had everyone singing along with her, she didn’t need to do much to get the punters at the top of their game. I sat in the pit getting photos, like previous times, but honestly, this felt like a different experience.

“Hello, my name is Lauren Mayberry and I am too short for this microphone” she greeted the audience and was cheered for a welcome. While she adjusted the microphone stand Lauren thanked everyone for coming out, and explained that she had canceled the gig the night before because she was suffering through a cold, and asked us to ignore if she coughed. Then she went right into “Change Shapes”, laying into “God I know you love it when you’re eating your young” as if that line was meant for that moment.

She sat down on the stage, in her leather shorts, and boot, singing “Mantra” (looking taller than she is when she stood up), getting right in the faces of punters in the tiny space between us in the pit, and the barrier. She did this contorted back bend and back into her twirling dance. Going to the elevated panels at the back of the stage to finish the song. It was hearing it live that I noticed the drum beat being that of “In A Lonely Place” by New Order, but with a very happy upbeat vibe to it.

Lauren began using a throat spray, apologizing ahead of time for her voice being weak because of this cold. She would take a spray, and mention something about Trump, saying “FUCK THAT GUY!!!” in between songs.

When she got to “Anywhere But Dancing” she was sitting on the edge of the platform, with her drummer on piano, she got up drank some water, and hummed the next line, to applause. She was doing everything to keep her voice in good form for the punters. With some more banter “Fuck that guy, Fuck that guy the first time, and Fuck that guy the 2nd time too.” with a very receptive audience responding in cheers.

Her bassist started thumping out the bassline (on a regular guitar) of “Punch Drunk”, she was dancing like Cleopatra to the strobes behind her, and red lights illuminating her in front. With all the power she could put into her voice “Kiss me quick, drive me right around the bend, I’m punch-drunk, baby, I hope it never ends” with the entire hall dancing and singing along with her, but as quickly as the song started, it ended.

I noticed a family behind me, on the other side of the VIP rope, a mom and dad, and two young girls. One couldn’t have been older than 8, and the other was probably 11. The younger was standing on a chair, with hearing protection phones on, and her phone up, I walked over and took her phone from her hands and she thought I was confiscating it, her parents nodded at me, and I walked up really close to the stage and took a few up close pics for her, then handed it back. I was surprised at how elated this little girl was over that, but she was a die-hard fan, starting early.

We had a longer intro to “Something In The Air”, while she paced the stage, giving a silhouette and building the atmosphere. Lauren would sing the chorus into a red bullhorn/flashlight. It was poignant when she sang “If you want to believe then that’s your prerogative, I wish you the very best” giving us all the power of a voice that we were not accustomed to. She was giving us far more with her voice than we had ever heard at any prior CHVRCHES gig. After she finished the song, she told us about the bullhorn she was using. She bought the first one on Amazon and found it had been contaminated with pictures and statements supporting Donald Trump. She said she had to package it up and send it back, hoping she hadn’t gotten some sort of illness from having handled it. All to the cheers and laughter of the audience. She then said how she found a different one without MAGA all over it and purchased that one for the tour. Then she said again “Fuck That Guy”. She went off and apologized to the younger listeners for dropping F-Bombs, and saying a few other things, intending for it to be “Family Friendly”. I honestly don’t think anyone had an issue with what she said, as much as everyone was laughing.

Lauren took the stool at the keyboard to play “Are You Awake”, it was a somber presentation, “Are you awake I don’t remember when we last spoke”, we all were able to feel the absence and what was missing when she wrote this song. She gave us a quiet thoughtful moment, with this song still having the power it did when we heard it over a year ago, just more “real” live.

A good couple sprays for her throat and Lauren was playing “Bitter Sweet Symphony” the timeless classic by the Verve, first verse on the piano and then the full band was playing behind her with all the vigor as if we were listening to her, OR the VERVE at Glastonbury. The moment was wonderful while she gave us everything, in a small club. This is one of those gigs where you experience so much greatness, in a small venue, where she could just as easily be headlining Lollapalooza, Lauren Mayberry is happy to give us something new, unique, and wonderful, showing everyone she can do it on her own.

She finished up the first part of the set with “A Work of Fiction” and “Sorry, etc”, leaving everyone happy, and wanting more.

After a somewhat extended break, and the house lights still dark, we knew she would be back, knowing that it might be a short encore set because of her voice, the shadows of each member of the band came back to the stage. The drummer took the guitars, and the guitarist sat at the keyboard, showing she had a very talented band with her switching out instruments.

“Dress me up, take me to school

Parties with birthday balloons

And you teach me about all the bad and good

Oh, Mother, I couldn’t do without you “

The opening verse of “Oh Mother” hit us all pretty hard, the crowd was completely silent, recognizing this feminine powerhouse, and paying tribute to help make her who she is. With dream pop guitar lines, enhancing the mood of the song exactly how Lauren wanted it to reach us.

With all the applause, and a few more sprays from the bottle, she thanked everyone for coming out to the gig in sub-zero temperatures, she unloaded her gratitude to us and said this would be the last song. The piano line for the one song I was waiting for “Sunday Best” finally!!! It is my fave song on this album “Vicious Creatures”, and I was thrilled to be hearing it after waiting through a wonderful set, this song alone made it worth going. With more animation than she had most of the night, she was everywhere on that stage, working off the drummer, making eye contact with as many people as she could. In the final verse with the entire venue clapping along with the beat, she was giving us everything her voice could give us under great strain. She walked off the stage, to a satisfied crowd.

Not a single punter would say her voice was off because Lauren Mayberry knows how to give it all, for her, 50,000 at Glastonbury or Lollapalooza, 15,000 at The Ogden Twilight Amphitheater, or even 600 at Club Soundwell, Lauren Mayberry will make sure she performs nothing short of perfection. Though I can honestly say, after all of the CHVRCHES gigs I have seen, this was the best performance I have ever heard from Lauren Mayberry.

Epilogue

Within 30 seconds of the house lights coming on, Lauren’s manager walked right up to the two young girls handed both of them 2 of the star hair clips, and said “Hi, Lauren saw you both and wanted you to have these”. She noticed her fans and was happy to see these young sisters at her show, by the simple act of giving those little star-shaped hair clips (See photos), those kids are now die-hard fans, and their grandkids will hear this story of how they got them.

Thanks for everything Lauren, we all hope your voice feels better soon.

To all you readers, grab a show if you can

#laurenmayberry #Chvrches #viciouscreature

“Everybody Shouts on “I Love Lucy” Pee Wee Reads the Evening News, a pre-owned song or a secondhand Uzi, everybody’s got a job to lose, here come the golden oldies”.

Was the opening line to the Sisters Of Mercy opening song “Doctor Jeep”, written over 30 years ago, about the American culture, media, and how we get our news, somehow the song is more relevant today than when it was written. Welcome to “The Golden Oldies” The Sisters of Mercy are on their way through a world tour, and they stopped in Salt Lake City for the first time since 1991. I was at that show, which was legendary to all who went, and I have seen them since, most recently while on work assignment in Germany in January.

If you have followed them which I have since 1987’s “Floodland” then you know what they will give us live.

Opening Band

Blaqk Audio.

I had no idea who Blaqk Audio was. I bumped into my mate Jeff who worked at a local venue I have shot at over the years, and he was rather excited for their set, explaining that these guys were members of AFI, 5 albums deep into this project.

They are in the vein of AFI, but I would describe them as follows: If Erasure was moderately goth, with the vocals from Apotgyma Berzerk, and a tinge of Alphaville. They were a big surprise, and good, they worked the crowd, as the vocalist Dave Havok bantered with the audience. He was very intense as he sang but kept the crowd lively and took every opportunity to thank us for being such a devout crowd over the years and to say how grateful they were for being on the road with such a legendary band as The Sisters of Mercy. Next time you see their name on the bill, you REALLY will love Blaqk Audio.

The Sisters of Mercy.

The stage had the lighting cages, in towers with camouflage wrapped around them, as well as the “Doktor Avalanche” booth with the “Operator”, and drum machine also covered with it. The “Operator” Chris Catalyst went behind the panels and fired up the beats while the guitarist ripped out the opening riff of “Doctor Jeep”, and Andrew Eldritch walked out to cheers, and began the show with the line “Everybody shouts on I Love Lucy”. Immediately for Salt Lake City, the absence from April 10^th, 1991 til now was filled, and they cranked out a few verses of “Doctor Jeep” to the 3^rd bridge suddenly Ben (The guitarist) flew into a key change, and Kai sang the chorus of “On Detonation Boulevard”, the time change was tight, and the finished the two song opener.

In Germany Andrew Eldritch was wearing a Hawaiian shirt, tonight he was in a sleeveless top, his head shaved, and of course sunglasses.

By now so many of us had collected bootlegs of the tour (they are everywhere online) so a lot of us knew the unreleased material, starting with “Don’t Drive On Ice”, sounding properly out of the Floodland era, had having a dance-able beat.

I was allowed into the photo pit for songs 3-5, getting my pics with “Ribbons” probably my fave song off the 1990s “Vision Thing” the last album of new material. I was a bit caught in the hypnotic groove of this one, and just casually took some photos while Andrew stepped out of his typical low droning vocals to give us the intense like as if sung by Robert Smith of ” The Cure” , “BUT SHE LOOKED GOOD IN RIBBONS!!!! So just walk on in”. “Ribbons” live never gets old, and tonight was no exception.

With a simple cymbal tap beat coming from Dr. Avalance and Ben kept motioning us to make more noise, the guitar riffs began to build on top of the drums, so we knew were into “Alice”. Andrew was singing almost beneath the guitar, very different than we have heard that song done live for the last almost 40 years.

I finished my time in the pit with “Summer” some new material that had developed on the tour. On earlier dates, the natives were restless with the new material, but now it seems to work well putting these songs in between some classics. Right before I left the pit I yelled at the guitarist “Ben, give me a good one, make it pretty” he smiled and gave me a good rock-star pose. Ben Christo is a god on the guitar, I have known his previous work with Nathan Gray.

With “Dominion / Mother Russia” from “Floodland” living up to everyone’s expectations, a staple for live performances, and on almost every bootleg I have ever heard. They then launched into several songs we would have expected to be on “The New Album”, as follows: “I Will Call You”, We Are The Same”, “Quantum Baby” and then the instant classic “Eyes of Caligula”. I am sure you will be able to find some great live recordings of them out there and when you hear “Eyes” you will understand why we have been waiting so long for the new material. This song is the updated version of the entire zeitgeist of the “Vision Thing” album, starting with Palestine, to the tunnels through the landscape of Israel, to what I imagine a young Palestinian girl “Wrapped in sugar for her pain, “NO” she says, “I’m wearing stains”, and what think was a wedding, cut short, a one-sided view of a country “No “New Jerusalem” there’s no us, it’s only them, this is not my map at all”, then on to what I experienced living in Rotterdam Holland in 1997, playing soccer with mates, and finding discarded syringes on the grass near the benches in the park. Saying “Eyes of Caligula look on”.

In the 30+ years of listening to The Sisters, and diving into Andrew’s lyrics, most people call it depressing, gloom, and doom music, I always found the lyrics mostly full of biting commentary, calling out the social and political situation, but this time, with these lyrics, I actually felt pain and despair. This song was also written before the October 7^th launch of the conflict in Israel / Palestine. This song gave voice to the pain of so many people, helpless in the face of those who can do something to make a difference, just looking on, indifferent to the shitshow innocent people are living through. A total banger on this one, Andrew Eldritch has given us plenty to think about this time around.

On the turn of a dime, the string arrangement from “MORE” and the punters went wild. Most of the punters that night had been to the last gig they played in SLC, 33 years ago, and as legendary as that gig was for anyone who went, the two complaints on the setlist were the absence of “More” or “Doctor Jeep” we were hard pressed to find bootlegs with either for quite a while. Opened with “Doctor Jeep” and then we finally got it, and this time “MORE” was “enough”.

Mixing up the setlist with a new song “But Genevieve” was followed by the 1990s “I Was Wrong” which was in a different position from the gig in Germany. A song that I would have loved to have heard in 1991, but really didn’t start getting plays until when they kicked up tours again in 2019, so this was a fantastic one to insert into the set, pretty much any place.

They played “Here” and “When I’m on Fire” both getting played on the new sets and growing with the punters, as somehow we are waiting to hear recorded versions of these songs, each evoking a different feeling and still capturing the essence of “The Sisters Of Mercy”, as they closed the first part of the set with “Temple Of Love”, with the entire venue 3000 strong dancing along to it. The lights turned a strange blue, purple, red, and even pink all around the strange camouflage that wrapped around the equipment on the stage.

The band left the stage, while the venue continued cheering, and everyone was wondering what we would get for an encore. They were back for a while, longer than most bands would make us wait, and everyone knew that they were going to hear more, I personally think the band did it just to ramp up the anticipation.

With the shadow of Chris Catalyst coming back to the console, and Ben and Kia’s shadows were barely visible, the synthetic beats tapped out and the ever-familiar bass line of “Lucretia” rang out, and the punters went wild. I know this bassline well because it was the first one I learned outside of the New Order / Joy division catalog. Andrew sang this one in higher registers than on the album, giving it a very different take, and it was fabulous to hear it this way.

Everyone was almost satisfied, we could have gone for another 5 songs, and The Sisters finished off the evening with “This Corrosion” the punters loud enough that it could have counted as a singalong.

All in all, this was one of the best gigs I have seen of theirs, and I can say the sound was a hundred times better than the Wiesbaden show I saw in January. All the punters left happy with the set, though we would have had plenty of suggestions, the 30-plus years of waiting was worth it for so many who were in high school the last time they rolled through town.

For now they are taking on Europe on another leg of this what seems to be a very long world tour.

https://www.the-sisters-of-mercy.com/

#thesistersofmercy #gothrock #andreweldritch #benchristo #kaid’esprit

Kai D’Esprit Ben Christo