The Lemonheads @ O2 Ritz, Manchester, 12 Feb

Evan Dando and co mine gold from their back catalogue tonight

Live Review by Ed Bottomley | 19 Feb 2019
  • The Lemonheads live at O2 Ritz, Manchester, 12 Feb

For a band who haven’t released an LP of original material for well over a decade, touring on the back of their second covers album in a row, it’s hard to know what to expect from The Lemonheads. Though much of their interpretations of Yo La Tengo, Eagles and Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds may be perfectly good, it’s clear from the outset that these veterans of the scene are happier mining the gold from their own repertoire, with a focus toward their early-90s creative apex. With Down About It, The Great Big No, It’s a Shame About Ray and Rudderless all getting an airing within the first 20 minutes, the setlist is dense with beloved hits.

Thick and punchy guitars and drums provide a simple and solid foundation for Evan Dando’s rich and sweet baritone drawl; unobtrusive but full of personality, embodying a wit and warmth, never trying to show off. It’s in the significant acoustic section of tonight’s performance that the humour and humanity of the miraculously youthful Dando’s songwriting shines through. From The Outdoor Type, Being Around, and Alison’s Starting to Happen – the story of only noticing a girl once she becomes a punk – leading up to All My Life, a lilting and meditative country-inspired song from Dando’s 2003 solo record, Baby I’m Bored.

As the rhythm section stealthily rejoin the stage through the dark for mass sing-alongs (My Drug Buddy and Into Your Arms) the band seem to take a pretty breezy, ad-hoc approach to the final song choices and arrangements, and during one of the few covers of the evening, Linda Ronstadt’s Different Drum, each member seems to play just as and when they feel. But for any loose twin guitar solos, or wayward notes, there’s really no demand for slick production when the material stands up on its own, the product of an unshakeable charisma.

http://www.thelemonheads.net/