27 January, 2007, Vooruit, Ghent, Blegium - Ballad of the Broken Seas Tour

review by Danny

ISOBEL CAMPBELL & MARK LANEGAN
VOORUIT, GHENT, BELGIUM
27th JAN 2007.

"A SPECIAL, EXCELLENT EVENING WITH MARK & ISOBEL"

Although I am not that wild about the album "Ballad of the Broken Seas", I did not want to miss another chance to watch and listen to Mark perform live in Belgium, having skipped his passage a couple of months ago with The Twilight Singers in Brussels. It turned out to be a good decision to spend 22 euros on this concert, because it was a truly excellent gig.

It already started unforgettably for me: thanks to stage manager Bart I managed to have my concert ticket signed by Mark and Isobel! I'm not a signature-hunter whatsoever, but this souvenir I will cherish for the rest of my life! First the Belgian audience showed much appreciation for the support act, a certain William or Willy L, a singer-songwriter from Illinois, playing the banjo and singing with a raw, husky blues voice. Good stuff!

Then the main gig: having nothing to write with me, I did not manage to take down all songs Mark and Isobel and their excellently efficient backing band performed. Songs worth remembering however were magnificent versions of The False Husband, Ballad of the Broken Seas, Ramblin' Man, (Do you wanna) Come Walk With Me?, Honey Child What Can I Do? and, at the very end of the set, a beautiful version of The Circus Is Leaving Town, which honestly brought tears to my eyes. As a splendid bonus during the set, Mark also picked some great songs off the "I'll Take Care Of you" cover album: the title song, the wonderful Jeffrey Lee Pierce song "Carry Home" (second song of the set) and I'm sure, another one, but I can't remember which one exactly. Please forgive me for that, they played for one hour and fifty minutes!

In the encores Mark sung Wedding Dress from the "Bubblegum" album, which ended a really good concert. There was a great atmosphere amongst the crowd (sold out gig!), everyone grew more and more silent during the songs as the gig advanced (I hereby challenge the Dutch audience to do the same…) and the applause after each song grew louder and louder. They must have been doing something right! Isobel and Mark also played a brand new song (title unknown) after which Isobel – one of the rare occasions she adressed the audience (Mark, of course, never spoke at all inbetween songs) - apologized for messing up, adding that she might want 'to sack herself'… No need for that at all, Isobel. On the contrary. We enjoyed this evening very much. Us Belgians will always welcome Mark and Isobel back in our country, preferably in a concert hall like the Koninklijk Circus/Cirque Royal/Royal Circus in Brussels, where we can all sit down in red velvet seats during the gig (Ryan Adams, Mercury Rev played there in the past, Damien Rice will play there soon, so…). Although the Vooruit concert hall, an old renovated socialist party hall, was a pleasant venue too. I hope Isobel and Mark and – I cannot stress this enough – their great band have fond memories of this evening. I know I have! Thank you so much.