BRENDAN PERRY
28.03.2010,В ‘4 РљРњ’ Party center, Sofia – Bulgaria
words byВ Maya Davidoff, photo:В Dee DeeВ
“I’ve heard this man lives in an old church by a river in Ireland. He must be a bit weird, eh?” - Words from an old acquaintance I happen to run into at Brendan Perry’s first ever Bulgarian gig.
Said person has never even heard of Dead Can Dance. I sort of envy him, or to be precise – envy the epiphany he is about to have in a few minutes, when he finally becomes privy to the exquisitely wonderful cosmos that is Brendan Perry live in concert.
Well, the 2005 Dead Can Dance reunion tour passed us Bulgarians by, although some were lucky enough to be at the London South Bank show.
Personally, although I always thought Lisa Gerrard was incredible, I more often than not preferred Perry’s voice, which, to me, was warm and somewhat comforting.
Hence my excitement at the news of a new album from the mystery man. Sadly, we do not have the chance to buy “Ark” tonight at the show, as it turns out its release is being held back due to Mr. Perry not being entirely satisfied with the artwork.
Oh well, one thing is certain – if the new material performed tonight is anything to go by, this will be yet another exceptional Brendan Perry work. Tonight’s performance is exceptional too.
Brendan’s touring band is made up of supremely talented musicians, not least Rachel Haden – daughter of the great Charlie Haden – on guitar, bass and backing vocals. From the moment the band open with “The Arcane”, it’s obvious that this is going to be one intense love affair between Perry and his devotees.
At certain points during the evening, the entire crowd seems completely hypnotized by the music and that voice – it takes you onboard a floating cosmos of emotion, sometimes dangles you from atop a precipice, but you somehow feel blissfully safe within it.В
It’s not only a voice, it’s a power and energy from somewhere out of this world. Add to that Brendan’s almost antique mask-like face and you have an experience of epic mystical proportions.
The set is varied and well balanced, giving us the Dead Can Dance fix we have so badly been craving, as well as showcasing songs from “Ark” whilst also taking us back to Brendan’s previous solo outing. The crowd does not want to let him go – even two encores later. It was, as one member of Brendan’s website forum wrote: “A magical and heartwarming experience!”В
SETLIST:
01. The Arcane
02. Love on the Vine
03. The Carnival Is Over
04. The Golden Rule
05. A Passage in Time
06. Dream Letter
07. This Boy
08. You Never Loved This City
09. Wintersun
10. Medusa
11. Eros
12. Utopia
—
13. Voyage of Bran
14. Spirit
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15. Severance