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Gutter Twins at Beachland Ballroom - 3/12/08 |
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Written by Mary
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Monday, 17 March 2008 |
The Gutter Twins performed with Los Angeles-based openers Great Northern at Cleveland, Ohio's Beachland Ballroom, a mid-sized venue and lounge. For those not familiar with Gutter Twins' two front men's other projects, Greg Dulli fronted the bands Afghan Whigs and Twilight Singers, and Mark Lanegan was the front man for Seattle's Screaming Trees and has collaborated with many musicians such as Queens of the Stone Age and Isobelle Campbell. Expectations aside, fans were treated to a deeper, more avant-garde experience.
Opening band Great Northern initiated the illusory feel of the evening with dreamy songs and intense stares. Singer Solon's musings, with their soft surface/strong undercurrent, resonated with the crowd. The band proved to be an appropriate, uniquely talented opener, with solid musical backing (including lovely keyboard solos) and memorable lyrics (from Our Bleeding Hearts- “Here is a song for the only one that you know that you never know.”) The flow of music went from soft to sweetly driving, as the set ended with the front rows of the crowd swaying appreciably.
Greg Dulli of the Gutter Twins
Dulli self-describes the Gutter Twins as “the Satanic Everly Brothers.” All of the Gutter Twins songs showcase the talents of the pair and explore their inner psyches-- a dark but comforting conglomeration of Dulli and Lanegan's other projects with a surprisingly pure core. The songs flow with the mystery and darkness that are of Mark's disposition, and characteristic of Greg's many personas. Spiritual overtones, personal mantras, honest pleading and foreboding themes spiral and interact in the songs of the Saturnalia album. Each front man's perspective is brought into the songs and swirled into each emotionally wrought piece. Performed live in ultra-dim lighting, the songs were moody, saturnine and deliciously atmospheric.
The band opened with Stations, a vaporous song which mentions loss and the Rapture. Certainly an attention-getter, as the song carried the heavy yet dreamy mood of the evening. The piece “Circle The Fringes” was a stand-out that ended with Lanegan's growling caveat as punctuation.
Mark Lanegan of the Gutter Twins
Ever-expressive, mysterious Dulli and the more dusky, pensive Lanegan have an intense yet abating presence and chemistry as a performing duo. Dulli worked the room, at one point perched on a stool at the edge of the stage, arms stretched out over the crowd. Ever Dulli's equivocal accompanist, Lanegan leaned into the microphone and used his deep voice to fill the room. The crowd responded either with closed eyes and nodded heads or with arms raised, chanting the choruses and responding to Dulli's candor.
The most satisfying part of the show came at the encore. Our dark pair put the Gutter Twins spin on each man's own songs and pasts, turning songs such as Screaming Trees' “Shadow of the Season” into a haunting, penetrating stunner and Twilight Singers songs into poignant anthems. Mystery and darkness abounded, yet even the stony Lanegan ended up cracking a smile. I walked out of the venue having experienced something familiar yet strange, and achingly satisfying.
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