mark lanegan and greg dulli

i haven't written anything lately, because i haven't really had anything to write about.. my life pretty much consists of work, coming home and having dinner and falling asleep on the couch. but last night, i went to see mark lanegan and greg dulli at the showbox and, pardon the cliche, but i was absolutely floored. it was billed as the "stripped down in the gutter tour" and it definately was - it was mark and greg, plus another guitarist and a cellist. greg alternated between the acoustic guitar and keyboards. and mark didn't alternate between anything - his gorgeous voice was the only instrument he needed.

i go to a fair amount of concerts and i really like most of them, but every once in a while you see a group that makes you remember what you love about music. seeing mark and greg - the stripped-down gutter twins, or whatever you want to call them - was a show that will stand out in my memory for a long time. it's one where you wake up the next morning and are genuinely sad that it is over. there's a lot to be said for feeling like you are in the presence of talented, seasoned, heartfelt musicians who are taking you along with them for the ride.

one of the highlights for me (there were a lot.. they played from 10:45 to about 12:30) was sworn and broken, a screaming trees song that i used to spend hours listening to over and over again. another one was during the encore when they played all i have to do is dream by the everly brothers. THAT got a lot of smiles from the stage, and i don't think there are many things better than seeing mark lanegan and greg dulli smile.. seriously, it lights up the entire place.

at one point, greg said that this was the 106th time they have been on stage together (which got a big smile from both he and mark) and the last time they would play together for a while (which earned a collective groan from the audience). but that's okay, because they have opened a wealth of music to me that will take quite a while to digest. i have an overwhelming urge to go to easy street records and dive into the afghan whigs and the lanegan solo albums that i don't have.

the stations


all misery/flowers


shawn smith opened the show, and he has an incredible voice in his own right. he played a couple of brad songs, including buttercup - which made my heart do flip flops. what a beautiful song: