Mark L

Mark Lanegan

Simon Bonney

Philadelphia, Underground Arts, May15, 2019

Underground Arts is a good club, with good beer, nice workers, and it's clean, but it has terrible sightlines. Since I can’t stand for long periods of time due to arthritis, sitting made it worse, but people were very kind. They stood aside and let me see as much as I could.

Simon Bonney is a name I’d heard, and I knew he's from Down Under, but beyond that not much. This was my first time seeing him. A happy surprise. He was great, a folk singer with his wife on violin. I talked with her a bit while buying his CD. She seemed nice, as did he. When I found out later he was in Crime and the City Solution, I instantly remembered the film Wings of Desire, and knew I’d heard them in it.

Mark was as wonderful as when I saw him in August of 2017, but due to the sightlines and a muddy mix, I could barely make out the band, him, or the music. But what I did catch was terrific. He played selections from his entire output, was humble and very appreciative of the crowd, and it was a good-sized crowd. What I’ve always liked the most about his music is that he has hope. No matter how thin and faint it is, he has hope, which was the case here.

All in all it was a good night, and I will be reviewing Simon’s album in the near future. Awaiting the next Lanegan album, due out in October.

Andrea Weiss